Well said!
Loretta
----- Original Message -----
From: "Johnson, Eric" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, September 03, 2001 10:28 AM
Subject: Valid Perspectives (was RE: Hampton (Virginia) National Cemetary:
757.723.7104)
> Deane--
>
> The issue here is, I think, not whether or not your grandparents had valid
> perspectives (which they certainly did) or that their views were or
weren't
> shared by others (they certainly were). Instead, the historians here are
> trying to point out that generalizations can't be made from the personal
> accounts of only a handful of people, no matter who those people are or
how
> passionately they held their views. In one regard, you're right--your
> grandparents' views *are* perfectly valid primary sources. But they are
> only four such sources, and they need to be compared to many other views
> before generalizations can be made. That, among other things, is what
> historians do when approaching a particular question asked of the
historical
> record.
>
> On the flip side of that coin, generalizations are only that: broad trends
> drawn from the analysis of a myriad of sources. Any one source is going
to
> differ to varying degree from the particular generalization (how's that
for
> oxymoronic) being made. There are instances where individual sources seem
> to match very well, at least on the surface, the generalization which had
> been drawn from the sources as a whole. These are the individuals we
often
> see quoted to support a particular generalization or perspective. We've
> seen examples in the recent discussions about Virginian vs. American
> patriotism. And the particular instance of Patrick Henry's quote shows
how
> careful we must be about using these kinds of quotations to support a
> generalization; the person being quoted might or might not be saying what
we
> think he or she is saying.
>
> So we can't say "My great-grandparents didn't fight to support slavery;
> therefore no southerner fought to support slavery." But nor can we say
"My
> great-grandfather was a slave-owner and fought to defend that right;
> therefore all southerners fought to support slavery." You see how
> ridiculous that is. But if we look at the records of hundreds or
thousands
> of great-grandparents, we can start seeing trends--we can make
generalities
> about causes and effects, moods and beliefs. Yet these conclusions are
> always drawn with a grain of salt because we know how many exceptions
there
> are to the generalization.
>
> And we know that in the end, five million people supporting a cause would
> have five million reasons to do so; all we can do is try to relate those
> reasons to one another. That struggle--balancing the individual
perspective
> against the collective perspective--is what gives rise to so much of what
is
> interesting about history, in my opinion. And it's what gives space for
> intellectually stimulating conflicts, because different people have
> different opinions about the evidence in front of them. And *that's*
> because each person involved--historian and historical subject alike--is a
> human being and is therefore complicated and multilayered.
>
> --Eric
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Deane [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> > Sent: Monday, September 03, 2001 10:14 AM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: Hampton (Virginia) National Cemetary: 757.723.7104
> >
> >
> > Well, I suppose that is why those Virginians fought for the North.
> > They considered themselves Americans rather than Virginians and they
> > probably also espoused the causes of the North rather than the South.
> > Nevertheless, I believe that many Southerners were extremely
> > patriotic about
> > their individual states and, in fact, saw themselves and felt
> > themselves to
> > be "Virginians" first; "North Carolinians" first;
> > "South Carolinians" first, etc.
> > I would also like to make the point that in some ways these
> > philosophical
> > and political battles are still being fought.
> > Today, Americans in every state of the Union are now fighting
> > the idea of an
> > over-big, gargantuan, ravenous, "morbidly obese", centralized
> > government
> > that is over regulating and over taxing its citizenry.
> > In other words, States' Rights is still an issue.
> > Those issues, I think, were the crux of the Civil War.
> > To the folks out there who disagree with me, please do not
> > tell me that the
> > reflections and memories of my four, Un-Reconstructed
> > Southern grandparents
> > were the rantings and ravings of some old bigots. Their beliefs had
> > absolutely nothing to do with the issues of slavery and they were not
> > racists.
> > What some of you (notably you liberal, college professors) call
> > 'propaganda', others might call a primary source.
> > The reason I keep mentioning my grandparents at this site dedicated to
> > Virginia history is because I want to give them a voice in
> > these matters.
> > They lived through the times being discussed and they were
> > hardly alone in
> > what they thought and believed in.......and believed in
> > strongly enough to
> > go to war and fight for.
> > Deane Ferguson Mills
> > A 13th generation Tidewater Virginian!
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: <[log in to unmask]>
> > To: <[log in to unmask]>
> > Sent: Monday, September 03, 2001 6:11 AM
> > Subject: Re: Hampton (Virginia) National Cemetary: 757.723.7104
> >
> >
> > > How about General Thomas and other Virginians, like the substantial
> > portion
> > > of Loudoun county German Quakers that fought for the Union
> > and considered
> > > themselves Americans above Virginians?
> > >
> > > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see
> > the instructions
> > > at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
> >
> > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the
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> > at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
> >
>
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