Elizabeth said:
> Slavery was awful, but most people alive before 1900 lived in conditions
> that were at least as bad, if
> not worse, wherever they lived.
Elizabeth,
I think there is more to it than living conditions. Take, as one example, a
slave named Ona Judge. She belonged to Martha Washington, her personal maid.
She was not treated badly. But, when Washington was president, she slipped
away and made it to Connecticut. People who knew her as Martha's maid
recognized her and knew where she was living. When President Washington
tried to get her back, he tried to circumvent the law that required him to
show up in person to claim her. He sent a message to her, more than once,
asking her to come back. He even promised (with his fingers crossed) to free
her if she came back. For about two years he persisted, and she repeatedly
said no. During that time she married and had a child. He definitely wanted
her and the child back. Ona chose to stay in Connecticut with her husband
and child.
Now, if, as you say, living conditions were so horrid for non-slaves, why is
it that slaves who obtained their freedom, including ones like Ona Judge who
had good masters, would prefer to remain free rather than return to slavery.
Somehow, Elizabeth, I don't think you are fully grasping the concept of
being a slave.
Anne
Anne Pemberton
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http://www.erols.com/apembert
http://www.educationalsynthesis.org
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