Download It is beyond debate that slavery has caused tremendous suffering

It is beyond debate that slavery has caused tremendous suffering and ineliminable scars
throughout our Nation’s history. No reasonable person can fail to recognize the malignant
impact, in body and spirit, on the millions of human beings held as slaves in the United
States. Neither can any reasonable person, however, fail to appreciate the massive,
comprehensive, and dedicated undertaking of the free to liberate the enslaved and
preserve the Union. Millions fought in our Civil War. Approximately six hundred and
twenty thousand died. Three hundred and sixty thousand of these individuals were
Union troops. Union soldiers, sailors, and marines gave their lives on bloody
battlefields and the sea to maintain one sovereign nation in which slavery would be
eradicated. The impact of this struggle on the families of the wounded and the dead
was immeasurable and lasting. The victorious and the vanquished together shared
the cup of suffering. Death deprived the youthful warriors of the opportunities that
survivors of the War would enjoy. The impact of this struggle on the Union as a whole
was also significant. The enslavers in the United States who resisted or failed to end
human chattel slavery sustained great personal and economic loss during and following
the four years of the War. Generations of Americans were burdened with paying the
social, political, and financial costs of this horrific War.
Finally, in 1865, this great human and economic tragedy ended. The ultimate objectives,
the preservation of the Union and the eradication of slavery, were accomplished. The
“yoke of bondage” was removed from Garrison Frazier, to whom we earlier referred, and
millions of other slaves. The freed slaves then began another journey, this time not from
captivity to slavery, but from slavery to citizenship and equality under the law. All of the
participants had endured great suffering in this momentous conflict. It takes little
imagination to understand the tremendous disruption and destabilization the Civil War
caused America’s existing social and political institutions. And yet, the dark clouds
following the War were giving way to a future brighter than the great majority
could have imagined in 1865. The extremely difficult task of amending the Constitution
three times was accomplished in approximately five years, granting former slaves
freedom, citizenship, and the right to vote. The citizens of the Union would move onward
to meet the challenge made by President Lincoln on March 4, 1865, “to achieve and
cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves and with all nations.
Plaintiffs’ Complaint, which seeks reparations for Defendants’ alleged roles in chattel
slavery, the institution that precipitated this great conflict, fails based on numerous wellsettled legal principles. First, Plaintiffs’ claims are beyond the constitutional authority of
this court. Without alleging any specific connection between themselves and the named
Defendants, Plaintiffs lack essential constitutional standing requirements to bring their
claims. Second, prudential limitations prohibit the court from deciding such broad
questions of social importance when such claims are brought on behalf of absent third
parties, as Plaintiffs attempt here. Third, the long-standing and well-reasoned political
question doctrine bars the court from deciding the issue of slavery reparations, an issue
that has been historically and constitutionally committed to the Legislative and Executive
branches of our government. Fourth, Plaintiffs’ claims are untimely. Conceding that
many of the torts alleged in the Complaint occurred prior to the formal end of slavery,
Plaintiffs fail to show how any of these claims fall within the applicable statutes of
limitations. Finally, under the rules of procedure which guide the federal judicial system,
Plaintiffs’ Complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, a serious
defect the court cannot overlook regardless how egregious the circumstances giving rise
to the claims.
In summary, Plaintiffs’ attempt to bring these claims more than a century after the end of
the Civil War and the formal abolition of slavery fails; this determination is consistent
with the position taken by numerous courts which have considered the issue over the last
century. Ultimately, the legal obstacles prohibiting judicial resolution of such claims
cannot be circumvented by the courts. Moreover, from the onset of the Civil War until
present, the historical record clearly shows that the President and Congress have
the constitutional authority to determine the nature and scope of the relief sought in
this case, not the courts. This is historically manifested in the signing of the
Emancipation Proclamation, the enactment of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth
Amendments to the United States Constitution, and the promulgation of over a century of
civil rights legislation and governmental programs. The sensitive ear has heard the
collective “thank you” from those who were freed, as well as the historic apologies in
words and deeds from persons of good will for the evils of slavery.
The court therefore finds that the defects in Plaintiffs’ Second Consolidated and
Amended Complaint cannot be cured by further amendment. For the foregoing reasons,
Defendants’ Joint Motion to Dismiss brought pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure 12(b)(1) and (6) is granted with prejudice.
IT IS SO ORDERED.