Harold, The justification you provide for purchasing enslaved persons remind of the decisions of the early US in the matter of land ownership by the Indians. In a landmark decision, John Marshall concluded (without any input in the case by Native Americans), that the Natives only had the right of occupation on their lands and that that right was lost forever when any member of the tribe, with or without the consent of the whole tribe, to sell any lands even when the compensation was just a night of drinking. It was also considered legal to purchase land from an Indian deliberate made intoxicated to seal the deal. Justice, sometimes, is in the eye of the beholder. Anne Anne Pemberton [log in to unmask] http://www.erols.com/apembert http://www.educationalsynthesis.org ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html