Addendum to my post. I should have added that an additional factor (the additional factor) that forced Alexander to give land to the serfs is that THEY were beating down his doors for relief. As was pointed out in another post, there was no organized rebellion of American slaves, so no need to really have to come up with "a plan" with subsequent direct accountability to the slaves for their welfare. I like that "Lincoln didn't free the slaves; he fired them". Janet (Baugh) Hunter To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html