Mr. Dixon--

I don't fully understand the question you ask below--can you expand a bit
on what you wish to know?  Which specific claim of mine do you wish for me
to defend?  It is certainly the case that liberal individualism (of the
kind that Locke embodies, and that Jefferson employs in the Declaration)
develops in conjunction with slavery--and to that degree Orlando
Patterson's quote is accurate.  There is a fine study by David Eltis, THE
RISE OF AFRICAN SLAVERY IN THE AMERICAS, which demonstrates this claim with
regard to the British colonies.

> While slavery and its aftermath threads through the societal and political
> history of the United States, my comment intended that you (and several
> other posts) justify the claim summarized by your reference to the above
> quote.

Your comment below is the part I don't understand.  Can you develop this
thought a bit further? If slavery "threads through the societal and
political history of the United States," how can you say that it is not
part of the "values of 18th century colonial America?"  Are you implying
that slavery assumed cultural and intellectual and political importance in
North America only after the Founding?

>Historical analysis does not support an assertion that to the
> values of 18th century colonial America, based on the evolution of
> English law and thought and the philosophes of the Enlightenment, we can
> also add the social dynamics of slavery.

I do not understand why you have directed the comments below to me.  Please
go back and review the claims I have advanced--unless you can characterize
what I say with some degree of accuracy, it will be hard for us to have an
intelligent conversation.

> But more to the point of my
> challenge is the fact that Jefferson owned slaves does not add support to
> the claim that one of his slaves was his concubine.

> It is not a
> permissible assumption that whatever is discovered about the Virginia
> master/female slave relationship implicates Jefferson.

Why are you directing this comment to me?

Best,
Kevin

--
Kevin R. Hardwick, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of History, MSC 2001
James Madison University
Harrisonburg VA 22807
Phone:  540/568-6306
Email:  [log in to unmask]

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