I don't think anyone has suggested that Black slavery in the South was an acceptable institution by today's standards. Clearly, it is not, at least in this country, although it still does exist in Africa and portions of the Islamic world. However, I also have never supported the "everyone knows" school of history which takes as Gospel whatever the majority, and usually most vocal, historians believe to be true. Historical "truth" should always be reexamined and tested based on the most current evidence. There is clearly first hand evidence in these interviews that at least some of the former Black slaves preferred their pre-war conditions to those they lived in after the war, for whatever reason. I find it interesting that in spite of their 'testimony" that this was the case many want to deny it for some reason, or find a reason to discredit their perspectives in order to make them seem illegitimate. I find this very presumptuous, and demeaning of these brave people who lived through the slavery period and knew what they were talking about.....unlike anyone in this forum. I, for one, take people at their word unless there is verifiable evidence to the contrary. I don't see that here. If you read these narratives you will see that when the interviewee decided it was time for the interviewer to leave, they typically told them so and that was the end of the interview. No one was holding a gun to their head as far as I can tell. So, I take it that only one person in the forum actually teaches that there may be another side to the treatment of American slaves in the South? <BR><BR><BR>**************************************<BR> AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com. To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html