tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post8142303828197064614..comments2024-03-24T23:57:28.687-07:00Comments on Undercover Black Man: The Vice President and His MulattoUndercover Black Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08704721024820668555noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-29421559567542032022009-11-16T11:34:59.650-08:002009-11-16T11:34:59.650-08:00Quite an interesting story. I just read about you...Quite an interesting story. I just read about your ancestor in American Lion, Andrew Jackson in the White House. Actually the story was about Col. Johnson but they mentioned Julia Chinn. This is one story that we will never read in 'mainstream' American history and that is a shame.Barry Williams.......Phoenix, Arizonahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10541930664849966235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-29509987145364372762009-09-22T13:03:31.302-07:002009-09-22T13:03:31.302-07:00Family lore has that we are somehow related to Ric...Family lore has that we are somehow related to Richard Mentor Johnson, although my father's opinion is that we are related to one of his brothers. That would make sense if RM only had daughters as this article indicates. My great grandfather William Tecumseh Johnson lived in Colorado. My father has never been able to trace his ancestry beyond WT.Karl Johnson, Lacey Washingtonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-47558061556117230882009-08-22T13:56:02.045-07:002009-08-22T13:56:02.045-07:00I know I am late on this topic,but I have just dis...I know I am late on this topic,but I have just discovered the blog and I am now back reading.<br />On this subject though, this should be no surprise to anyone, just research the history of the New Orleans Ramparts. The Octoroon balls and what happened to the children of these unions, some were sent to France for education, some stayed in France some returned and moved into white society, and a large number just moved into the southern and northern society as white.<br />Passing is not a new issue...DNA testing today of most citizens would be very interesting as to who is who..as my grandmother would say...<br />Thanks for this blog I love it.D W JazzLoverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10364668632222212220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-77368326895037062002009-01-20T05:15:00.000-08:002009-01-20T05:15:00.000-08:00Lincoln was half Ethiopian. Check the Library of ...Lincoln was half Ethiopian. Check the Library of Congress - you'll find the cartoons they circulated to make fun of him. He knows what it's like to be a Mulatto and I'm sure he got tired of being thrown back and forth. In those days, Mulattoes were a means for whites to acceptably pursue their exotic African beauty, and Mulattoes were a means for blacks to "make it." <BR/><BR/>These quotes of Lincoln's only reinforce the fact that he was a realist. Being Mulatto means having two sides of races and both of them wanting you to pick a side. He didn't want to pick.Darienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07271054689658557599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-25030965965493220532008-08-31T16:45:00.000-07:002008-08-31T16:45:00.000-07:00I wish I was a descendant of Richard and Julia! I ...I wish I was a descendant of Richard and Julia! I fell so in love with them while preparing a US history lesson for my students that I began research for a work of historical fiction. My students are enthralled by the girls Imogene and Adaline - but only as I can imagine them - and I would like to give them more "real" flesh. If any of you actual descendants would be generous enough to share family lore, no matter how seemingly insignificant, I would be more than thrilled. And if you are also working on a book about them, as my husband ( a published author) assures me - the more titles on a book store shelf about the same topic, the better in a reader's mind. Please, please email me, and thank you in advance = and thank you Undercover Black Man for a fantastic blog! judalonjudalonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14357977623387198139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-11012534115825454822008-06-16T03:36:00.000-07:002008-06-16T03:36:00.000-07:00I am also a descendent of Richard Mentor Johnson, ...I am also a descendent of Richard Mentor Johnson, and have known it most of my life. I am still very happy that he was brave enough to stand up for his love and his beliefs in a time when that was not very popular. MarieMarie McIntyre-Maupinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07828331057345060877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-61485106287211953722008-06-04T06:37:00.000-07:002008-06-04T06:37:00.000-07:00Wow, Richard M. Johnson is my Great, Great, Great,...Wow, Richard M. Johnson is my Great, Great, Great, Great, Great Uncle on my moms side and I didn't even know he was a VP much less all the drama about Julia Chinn. I'm writing a family history paper for school and I'm basing most of my info on a family tree my aunt made a few years ago. Under Richard M. Johnson and Julia Chin there are two boxes, one saying son and the other daughter. Neither has any dates or information. Now at least I have the Daughters' names, but whats up with the son?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-21682414431613129862007-10-30T14:09:00.000-07:002007-10-30T14:09:00.000-07:00I am also a direct descendant of Richard M. Johnso...I am also a direct descendant of Richard M. Johnson. He is my (great great great great great great)Grandfather on my mother's side. I just found out today in one of my college classes that he was married to a "Mulatto" woman. <BR/>If anyone has anymore information about him or the woman who is also related to him please e-mail me at alina.rinaldi@us.army.milAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-11433603244940701382007-08-13T11:59:00.000-07:002007-08-13T11:59:00.000-07:00Ok, I am late on this one but...what exactly did L...Ok, I am late on this one but...<BR/>what exactly did Lincoln do? "Free the slaves?" I think not! The Emancipation Proclimation only freed those slaves in the Confederacy, not the Union. And seeing as the Confederacy didnt recognize the Federal government...what did that document really do? Technically nothing. <BR/><BR/>BUT, slaves everywhere, when told of this document, took it to mean they were freed, and then took that freedom themselves. Now, if youre including Reconstruction in Lincolns good deeds, thats a whole other discussion, lol.Lola Getshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07058543308191117858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-45997061916997355782007-06-19T12:43:00.000-07:002007-06-19T12:43:00.000-07:00This story would make a great "History Channel" pr...This story would make a great "History Channel" program....<BR/><BR/>>>>That’s what you get for looking too deep in the woodpile.<BR/><BR/>I feel your pain. I've done this a few times and the rest of the family is none too receptive to learning there are perhaps relatives or ancestors who do not "fit in" with their idealized version of our family tree.<BR/><BR/>JJanicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17476918537317701594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-35638239551679006302007-04-28T02:14:00.000-07:002007-04-28T02:14:00.000-07:00I completely defend lincoln - as the transformatio...I completely defend lincoln - as the transformation of john kerry, hero of vietnam vets against the war and the brave, lonely investigator of Iran-Contra into the stammering coward of 2003 and 2004 can testify, nothing gets weaselier faster than a politician who isnt sure he has the votes.<BR/><BR/>The South already had its verdict on Lincoln in before the debate - that he was a South-hating abolitionist demagogue eager to take power and destroy "their way of life" and "independence" forever no matter what it took. Douglas was playing off that, as he had no choice but to do, and lincoln's response was predictable, "me? a race traitor? you're the one with the race mixing friend!"<BR/><BR/>The Southerners were paranoid, but Lincoln definitely had an abolitionist background and agenda (not sure it would have been any quicker than the southern apologists claim slavery would have gone away by itself). In any event his tactic in the debate and on the campaign trail of out-moderating everyone else did zero good: lincoln was still considered by all sides the abolition candidate. When he won the election, the south immediately declared independence, and when he took office, they shelled ft. sumter.<BR/><BR/>I don't mind his pandering. It was in a good cause.<BR/><BR/>By the way - the first president to use overnights in the lincoln bedroom to reward contributors and allies was, naturally, lincoln himself.Marion Delgadohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09493068399042656060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-84944230587686059352007-04-27T13:13:00.000-07:002007-04-27T13:13:00.000-07:00Coming to a theatre near you: "Richard & Julia". ...Coming to a theatre near you: "Richard & Julia". <I>He</I> was a Vice President. <I>She</I> was a slave. In a world torn apart by hatred, their love broke all the rules. Starring Clive Owen, Rosario Dawson and Sir Anthony Hopkins as Martin van Buren. <BR/><BR/>Sorry, I couldn't resist.Anna Laperlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12595451374067190954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-16120132827139753952007-04-27T12:47:00.000-07:002007-04-27T12:47:00.000-07:00UBM, There was recently a review in the NYRB of ...UBM,<BR/><BR/> There was recently a <A HREF="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/19994" REL="nofollow"> review</A> in the NYRB of James Oakes' <I>The Radical and the Republican: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the Triumph of Antislavery Politics</I> that you might find interesting. I haven't read the book, but reading Lincoln through Douglass' lens sounds like a fascinating (and daunting) conceit for a historical study.<BR/><BR/>AnonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-71256020778027992182007-04-27T06:09:00.000-07:002007-04-27T06:09:00.000-07:00I was tripped-out by hearing those words from Linc...I was tripped-out by hearing those words from Lincoln's mouth too... that's what got me looking deeper into this peculiar thread of history in the first place.<BR/><BR/>Yes,Interghost, he was a politician. But he was also a man of his time. It's not fair to judge his racial attitudes by a 21st-Century standard.<BR/><BR/>My own bullshit analysis is this: White people didn't enslave black people because they hated them. They did it, first, for the money. But then they <EM>developed</EM> a hatred for black people, because that's the only way they could live with themselves, psychologically, as they profited from the brutality and injustice of the system.<BR/><BR/>Lincoln illustrates that it's not necessary for privileged white people in power to <EM>love</EM> black people in order to help black people. The best we can expect is for a person to do the right thing at the right time... and Lincoln did the right thing when it counted. That's what matters.<BR/><BR/>The rest of it is cool, because it shows just how intricately complex human history truly is.<BR/><BR/>Dez: I'm a big "Bullshit!" fan, but have been away from my cable. I'll have to catch up with the immigration episode down the road.Undercover Black Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08704721024820668555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-40501560320980241622007-04-27T00:33:00.000-07:002007-04-27T00:33:00.000-07:00What I don't understand is how you could tell some...What I don't understand is how you could tell someone was 'octoroon'; I've met people who were a quarter black before and had no idea until they told me, so I can't imagine that someone who was only 1/8 black would be easily identifiable as such.<BR/><BR/>re: Lincoln's opinions. Lincoln was a politician - do you think that in those days politicians were any less likely to say what they thought people wanted to hear?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-62260788609558419032007-04-26T22:37:00.000-07:002007-04-26T22:37:00.000-07:00I had no idea about those opinions of Lincoln's, e...I had no idea about those opinions of Lincoln's, either. Yikes!<BR/><BR/>UBM, not sure if you get Showtime or if you watch "Penn & Teller's Bullshit!" but they did an ep tonight about illegal immigration that was both informative and funny (and Auster-unfriendly, I hazard)!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-71303429648457741622007-04-26T18:05:00.000-07:002007-04-26T18:05:00.000-07:00Wow - so interesting. I had no idea that Lincoln ...Wow - so interesting. I had no idea that Lincoln held those opinions. What an amazing history this woman discovered in her own family. Thanks for sharing it.quirkychickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04353130475402887985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486244714643027014.post-55802224926882653032007-04-26T13:25:00.000-07:002007-04-26T13:25:00.000-07:00Interesting - thanks!Back to ESPN, where they all ...Interesting - thanks!<BR/><BR/>Back to ESPN, where they all pick Brady Quinn over Jamarcus Russell, and yet never seem to have an actual *reason*...sherifffruitflyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14676077292357887614noreply@blogger.com