Jerry--

My family too owned slaves.  I also have reason to believe that at least one of my ancestors, in the early 19th century, was herself enslaved.  

That was their misfortune, not mine.  I am responsible for my choices, just as they for theirs.  It is hard to argue at this remove, given the many generations and decades that separate them from us, that either you or I have derived much expansion of opportunity relative to others.  So I do not see the purpose of this discussion as to be about assigning personal moral culpability to any particular person, in the present.

But it seems to me that it is possible, and indeed useful, to engage in this conversation for other reasons.

Martin Luther King talked about the ideals of America's public, political and constitutional tradition as a promissory note to which all Americans are heir.  One of the things of which we all should be proud is the ongoing effort to realize that dream.  The story of slavery and its aftermath in our country is very much a part of that, and necessary if we are to appreciate properly the struggles and aspirations of the admirable men and women who bequeathed that dream to you and to me.

All best wishes,
Kevin 

Sent from my iPad

> On Sep 9, 2014, at 1:41 PM, "Jerry Midkiff" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> We are talking about a subject that is over two hundred years old.  My family owned slaves.  It's hard  taking the blame for them.  I cannot change history. 
>> On Sep 8, 2014, at 9:39 PM, Paul Heinegg <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> 
>> Is there evidence that a significant number of small slave owners considered their slaves to be something other than property?
>> 
>> -----Original Message----- From: Craig Kilby
>> Sent: Monday, September 08, 2014 2:46 PM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Out-migration from Virginia early 1810-1840
>> 
>> Dear Paul,
>> 
>> I am so sorry you are insulted and deeply offended. I have no idea why you should be. I did not mention you by name, and in fact was not really referring to you specifically, just the comment that 800,000 slaves were sold into the Deep South and that the huge out-migration had many aspects that should be considered. In that vein, I talked about out-migration of small slave-holding families to the Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys, specifically Kentucky, Missouri and Arkansas. Nowhere did I say anything about Mississippi which I do not think was an area highly sought-after by the outwardly bound Virginians and their slave families.
>> 
>> It is indeed true that small slave owners had slaves owned by other people on other farms. More often than not, these groups moved in bulk, and webs of kinship were deep. I do not think that kinships were quite as uprooted as you would like to believe. Again, the humanity factor comes into play here. These were not massive cotton plantation families like the in the deep south. These were close-knit family units. These were real people with real feelings and attachments. I know this does not fit well into the narrative of evil white people tearing up black families, but on this I suppose we will have to disagree.
>> 
>> Craig Kilby
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> /va-hist.html 
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