Brent, You put it so eloquently;and yes we have strayed from TJ. Anita -- Brent Tarter <[log in to unmask]> wrote: It has become increasingly obvious the more that historians research about slavery and the exeriences of enslaved people and of free blacks in the slave south that a great variety of personal experiences existed within the ostensibly strick laws of the slave system. Permit me to recommend Melvin Patrick Ely's recent award-winning ISRAEL ON THE APPOMATTOX, an extraordinarily subtle study of free blacks in a slave county. The ways in which white people and black people, free people and enslaved people, interacted is very instructive and shows, among other things, that in some places and times and circumstances the rigid laws were ruthlessly enforced but at others they were not. It is not safe to generalize too far from a specific example. Even though the laws required manumitted slaves to leave Virginia after 1806, local community opinion often allowed them to remain. PS: We ought to change the subject line on this discussion, which no longer has much to do with Jefferson or conservatism or principles, even though so far pretty good common sense has prevailed. 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 -----Original Message----- From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Anita Wills Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 1:11 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: "common-sense Jeffersonian conservative principles" I know that several of my ancestors were freed by the Will of Charles Yates in 1811. Yates was a friend of George Washingtons, and a businessman in Fredericksburg. He left one of the freedmen $500 in his Will, which was used to purchase property. My ancestors remained in Fredericksburg until prior to the Civil War. I did not find any documents requiring them to leave the area after manumission. Anita -- Paul Finkelman <[log in to unmask]> wrote: The fact is that thousands of Virignians did what Jefferson refused to do; they freed their slaves; moreover the 1806 law did not require "exile" but only made manumssion in state more difficult. Thousands of slaves gained their freedom in VA after 1806; indeed Jefferson freed 5 slvaes in his will and they were allowed to stay in the state. Jefferson did not believe blacks ought to be free. They are "pests on society" he told Edward Coles, his neighbor. He opposed any efforts to end slavery in Virginia. But, as Henry so wisely notes, facts are facts. Paul Finkelman 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