Oh Ned, You KNOW Samuel Eliot Morison was a professor of history at Harvard for most of the twentieth century! David Kiracofe Quoting Ned Heite <[log in to unmask]>: > At 2:04 PM -0500 4/12/01, Paul Finkelman wrote: > > > >In fact, Jefferson's status or that of any > >other president may be harmed or enhanced by what we find out about > >them. Their > >private lives may not affect how we view their public acts or even > >their famous > >words; but surely what we know about Jefferson as slaveowner does > >affect our views > >of him as person and even as a president. > > snips happen > > > > >Serious historians, on the other hand, are not in the business of > >defending the > >honor or reputation of the Founders; we are in the business of > understanding > >people, their lives and the world they lived. > > I have problems reconciling these two statements from Professor > Finkelman. Jefferson as slaveowner was merely a member of his class. > To appreciate his works, of course, we must understand that they are > from the pen of a slaveowner. But he was a lot of other things, too. > He was a serious student of the Bible. He was a scientist. He was an > amateur architect. He was a farmer. He was an industrialist. He was a > politician. > > To identify "slaveowner" as a dominant characteristic of Jefferson's > persona is to seriously distort the man as a whole, in the context of > the milieu where he lived. So do we interpret the advocate of > religious freedom as a slaveowner, or as a friend of Baptists? Do we > interpret the architect of Monticello as a slaveowner, or as a > student of classical architecture? While you can't isolate any > aspect of this incredibly complex person, all the aspects must be > present in any interpretation. > > While I happen to be a professional historian, I have misgivings > about some of the basic tenets of the profession. Professional > historians supposedly keep a certain detachment, but the best > historical writing is anything but detached. Read any of the great > historical writers: Samuel Eliot Morisn, Winston Churchill, or Ivor > Noel Hume. I could name many more, but the curious fact is that none > of the best historical writers are professors of history. There is a > possibility that detachment is a disability when we want to interpret > people's lives and works. Is it really possible for one human being > to write about another without developing some kind of personal > attachment? > -- > Ned Heite ([log in to unmask]) > ************************************************* > * Today's compost wisdom: * > * Think about your fertilizer bill before * > * you throw out that biodegradable garbage! * > ************************************************* > > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions > at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html