----- Original Message ----- 
From: "James Hershman" <[log in to unmask]>

> Your assumption that slavery was something seen as evil only in retrospect
> certainly doesn't apply to any time after the founding of the United
> States.

I didn't mean to take the United States as a whole, because obviously the 
anti-slavery movement proclaimed slavery's evils loud and long, and people 
spoke out against slavery even in Virginia. But within his own self-chosen 
social group, a slaveowner could find support for the idea that slavery was 
acceptable, from a religious, ethical, practical, scientific, and legal 
viewpoint. With that kind of social support he (or she) could more easily 
ignore those who pointed out its evils.

Hank Trent
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