I have taught in much of the South (Duke, Virginia Tech, LSU, U. of Texas, U. of Tulsa, U of Miami) and have had hundreds (or more) students who were the descendants of slaveowners and prominent proslavery southern leaders; and lots of students who were descendants of slaves.
My first comment to my students, when these issues come up, is that we are not responsible for what our ancestors did nor can we bask in the glory of what they did if they were famous or heroic. But, we are responsible for cleaning up the mess that we have inherited. That often means coming to terms with what our ancestors did.
That requires actually learning about the past in a meaningful way, and as all students of southern history know, that is not always a pretty past.
*************************************************
Paul Finkelman
Senior Fellow
Penn Program on Democracy, Citizenship, and Constitutionalism
University of Pennsylvania
and
Scholar-in-Residence
The National Constitution Center
Philadelphia, PA
518-439-7296 (p)
518-605-0296 (c)
[log in to unmask]
www.paulfinkelman.com
*************************************************
________________________________________
From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Linda Threadgill [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2014 4:08 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Out-migration from Virginia early 1810-1840
For those who feel it is not your burden to carry, if you profited in any
way from slavery you are indeed responsible. If you received monies,
property, etc that has been handed down thru the generations because of the
efforts of slavery, you are responsible. That is, unless your turned down
the inheritance. I love the way some like to separate themselves from the
wrongdoings of their ancestors regardless of what the wrongdoing was.
Linda
-----Original Message-----
From: Hardwick, Kevin R - hardwikr
Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2014 10:52 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Out-migration from Virginia early 1810-1840
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
>> ______________________________________
>> 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 instructions
> at
> http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
______________________________________
To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at
http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
---
This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus
protection is active.
http://www.avast.com
---
This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active.
http://www.avast.com
______________________________________
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 instructions at
http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
|
