As list manager and moderator of Va-Hist, who neither manages nor moderates, as all messages go directly from contributors to subscribers, I always hope that conversations on controversial topics, or topics on which thoughtful people may disagree, do not get personal. We've done remarkably well in this regard on subjects about which people feel strongly and do not entirely agree. Imagery or historical themes that have resonances with painful or controversial periods in our national history naturally bring out strong opinions in the present, and we cannot expect everybody to view things in the same light or to assign the same weight to the varied component parts of the discussion. Our friends Paul Finkelman and Kevin Hardwick give us an example of thoughtful and well-informed examinations of historical events and modern consequences and bring their different perspectives to the evaluation of the evidence and the manner in which it is employed. That leads them to give different weights to different parts of the history and produces different ways of assessing the topics being discussed. This is in the best tradition of historical scholarship. We learn from each other as well as from our own study of the evidence. We disagree sometimes because we are different people. Otherwise we wouldn't need a list for discussions. Discuss. Just don't cuss. Brent Tarter The Library of Virginia [log in to unmask] Visit the Library of Virginia's web site at http://www.lva.lib.va.us To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html