Lincoln’s Awakening on Slavery and the Fight for Food Freedom

Broadcasting from Virginia near Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, Kim Monson welcomes patriotic historian Ben Martin to explore Abraham Lincoln’s political transformation in the 1850s, followed by sixth-generation farmer Trent Loos addressing government overreach in food policy and the Supreme Court’s consequential Proposition 12 ruling on May 17, 2023.

Lincoln’s Character and Political Awakening

Start listening at 21:04 – Hour 1

Ben Martin reveals the complex character behind the Lincoln legend, examining how the future president’s difficult upbringing shaped his hatred of slavery. Martin explains that Lincoln’s father mistreated him, renting him out to other farmers where he was “beaten like a rented mule,” giving Lincoln firsthand understanding of what it meant to be treated like property. This personal experience fueled his conviction that slavery deprived others of their freedom to become what they wanted to be.

Martin traces Lincoln’s political journey through the 1840s disappointments in Congress to his law practice in Springfield, where his partner William Herndon observed that “Lincoln’s ambition was a force that did not rest.” Despite his awkward appearance and social anxiety about his humble origins, Lincoln possessed a gift for storytelling and an obsession with clarity in his thinking and speaking. His strongest trait was his honesty, earning him the title “Honest Abe.”

The 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act, championed by Stephen Douglas, shattered Lincoln’s belief that slavery would naturally die out. Martin explains how this legislation violated the Missouri Compromise by allowing slavery to expand into territories previously designated as free. Lincoln’s response crystallized three arguments: the founders recognized slavery as evil, Kansas-Nebraska was a covert means of propagating slavery, and the moral right against slavery was grounded in natural law.

“Lincoln always detested slavery, but he never took any serious public stance on the slavery issue before the 1850s. It was inconceivable to Lincoln that slave labor could ever effectively compete with the labor of free men. And he expected that it would naturally die out on its own, just like the founders did.”

Ben Martin, Patriotic Historian

Government Overreach in Food and Agriculture Policy

Start listening at 75:02 – Hour 2

Trent Loos sounds the alarm on Biden administration efforts to ban chocolate milk in school cafeterias, connecting it to a longer pattern of nutritional mismanagement dating to Michelle Obama’s changes to school lunch programs. Loos argues that removing whole milk, protein, and fat from children’s diets deprives them of essential nutrients needed for brain health and learning capacity. He points out that fat is an essential nutrient, and when children don’t receive proper nutrition, behavioral issues like ADD often get treated with prescription drugs rather than dietary corrections.

The Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling upholding California’s Proposition 12 draws sharp criticism from Loos. He explains that this animal confinement law, which originated with 2008’s Proposition 2 on chicken housing, allows California to dictate farming practices nationwide for any products sold in the state. Loos reveals that the National Pork Producers Council spent $700 million fighting this case, which he opposed from the start, preferring to let Californians experience the consequences of their own policies. Justice Gorsuch joined the liberal justices in upholding the law.

Loos warns this ruling extends beyond food to energy, appliances, and fuel, establishing a precedent where any product crossing state lines faces out-of-state regulatory control. He emphasizes that farmers understand animal welfare better than “cubicle dwellers” and illustrates with the example of how USDA regulations on boar handling actually increased animal suffering by preventing proven methods that reduced fighting among aggressive animals.

“The farmer is the only one that really knows how to take care of the animal correctly. But this won’t stop with food. This will lead to other repercussions in other areas of our life, including energy, including appliances, including fuel.”

Trent Loos, Sixth-Generation Farmer and Rancher