slavery

When I used to think of George Washington, I usually thought of the guy whose picture was on the one dollar bill. Most everyone else I know thinks of Washington in the same way, which is sort of sad. In the past few years, I’ve read more about George Washington and have grown to admire him. During his lifetime, he was revered by his countrymen for his courage in leading the Continental Army to victory against the most powerful military in the world, and he drew even greater praise for his willingness to give up power and respect the spirit of republican government of the early United States. He was a good man and a wise leader, and nothing shows Washington’s character more than his evolving views towards slavery. Though he started out having the same views on race as his fellow Southern plantation owners, Washington’s views evolved to the point where he was a strong voice against slavery and wished that some means for the country to rid itself of the institution.

I've been conducting a bit of research into the historic background of African slavery. What I have discovered has been enlightening.

First of all, slavery of Africans is not the "whiteman's invention". Slavery is a creation of the human family. The word "slavery" in fact has as its root the word "Slav", from the Slavic peoples of eastern Europe. In Africa it dates back many centuries, back to sub-Sharan roots. While there was some slave trade dating back to the Nile River, the transportation of huge numbers did not occur until camels were introduced in the 10th century. Arab traders began large scale trade in human slaves after that.

 With the birthday's of Washington and Lincoln and the coming of President's Day, I wrote this post:

Right now I'm reading Howard Zinn's book A People's History of the United States and it's a wonderful book of the contributions and struggles that women, African Americans, Native Americans, workers' groups and various other marginalized people have made to build up America.  It's a history that needs to be told, as these stories talk of the struggles of marginalized people to be included in America's democratic experiment, and Zinn sees a struggle based on an oppressive economic system.  One of the few things where I disagree with Zinn is in his take on the Founding Fathers and their relationship with slavery.  Slavery was a subject that the Founding Fathers struggled with mightily, and their inability to resolve the issue was something that they themselves realized was one of their greatest failures. 

In today’s Washington Post, Religious Right Michael Gerson is at it again in his selective use of the facts. This time, in employing the legacy of William Wilberforce , he effectively credits religious conservatism with ending slavery.

The historical revisionism never stops.

Once more Michael Gerson demonstrates the Right’s endless need to take credit for liberal accomplishments.

Wilberforce was not a conservative at all. Instead, he was more like an Evangelical with quite a bit of what historian Garry Wills defines as Enlightened faith—combining reason with faith. Today there are similar examples of individuals such as Wilberforce in the persons of Jimmy Carter and Tony Campolo.

Still, Michael Gerson feels the need to twist the truth by not telling the whole story.

If I had the talent of Sam Clemens, I'd write a scathing prayer to match the famous Mark Twain prayer for victory in war (http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/mtwain/bl-mtwain-war.htm). Prompted by the jingoism of the Spanish-American War, it went unpublished until after his death.

I'll content myself with giving thanks for the bounty of this great land and for the opportunity our European founders were given to steal it from its original unworthy inhabitants who didn't know how to exploit its resources to the maximum; and for the means of accomplishing that great transfer -- the guns, steel, and germs that made genocide feasible and a continental empire possible. And the Bible that was used to bless it.

Lest in our tales of Pilgrims and Savages we forget the other great member of the trinity that provided the material foundations of our great nation, I also give thanks for the slavery that enriched both North and South -- the one through wise, enriching participation in the great trans-Atlantic Triangle Trade of slaves, molasses, and rum; the other through the clever use of unpaid labor to build the region's wealth.