Loretta,
I have no difficulty believing slave owners were able to love their slaves as fellow human beings, and it's evident the capacity to love is different in individuals, but what's really important is what we mean by the word l-o-v-e and how far we're willing to go to demand for our neighbor what we demand for ourselves. Anything less is not much better than sentimentalism, and may produce lots of warm fuzzies, but not much in the way of improvement for the enslaved.
Your story of the TN woman who used the balance of her estate to enable her "black family" to establish themselves in a free state is obviously an example of love, but so was the story of the slave owners who came to realize slavery itself was wrong and didn't wait until after they died to do something about it. Which
took more courage? Would I have taken the easy way or ??? I don't know.
We can make excuses for the small-farm slaveholder who accepted and took advantage of the status quo (own a slave or two = plant more fields = make more money: A tempting concept, and once hooked, who's going to give up income to set things right? Only those with the kind of love that demands the same rights and all-around goodness for one's fellow humans.
Keep in mind that in 1860, the percentage of households who owned slaves was approx. 12% in all of south, and higher in VA (est. 20-28%). Only 3% of all slaveholders in VA had more than 20 slaves, and this group of the elite accounted for ownership of 48% of all slaves in VA. Aside from the Tidewater & Piedmont areas of the state, most slaveholders in VA had less than 10. Augusta Co. was
typical:
# Slaves per owner 1860 Augusta Co.
1 2-5 6-10 11-20 21-30 31+
44 64 48 49 1 1
For those who still think stats can be useful, see
http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/histcensus/
Reason I mention this is to point out that it wasn't exactly a case of "My neighbor made me do it." Those who owned slaves did so for economical gain and/or because it was a way they could afford hired-help on the land and help in the house and raise their social status.
Loretta, you made several good points, but one comment that I really find disturbing. You wrote,
"Your inspection of meanness
and speculation about how people may have felt a
hundred or two hundred years ago is neither productive
nor constructive."
Just what is your definition of history? Are we to leave people out of it? Or do
you really think it should all be Betsy Ross singing Amazing Grace?
As an experienced, mostly retired, but still thinking genealogist/wanna be
historian/anthropologist/younameit, I yearn to know more, and General
Frank Paxton is a perfect example of a successful Southerner; a warm, loving,
gentle person, who along with Stonewall Jackson made Rockbridge Co. proud.
I would love to know why he kept slaves he didn't need. If somehow that
offends you and the discussions don't end when you think they should,
I'm sorry, but, Loretta, take a look at the qualifications of the REAL historians
who are participating and tell me the slave issue is a worthless discussion.
--Joanne
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