On the way to some other idea, this article from the Boston Globe caught OldSouth's attention.
He's a hopeless history buff, and the causes and events that led to the War Between The States always capture his attention, for more reasons than need be detailed here and now. Moh' latuh on that subject.
Before proceeding, however, OS needs to make one thing unmistakeably certain for his readers: Slavery was, and is, a heinous and inexcusable practice, wherever practiced, in whichever century.
OS hopes everyone gets to visit Charleston, South Carolina, at least once, for two reasons. First, it is breathtakingly beautiful. Second, the old slave market has been preserved. To visit that place, and contemplate that human beings were imported to and auctioned from that location is utterly chilling. For anyone who may privately harbor the idea that 'Well, it really wasn't that terrible', a visit to the Charleston slave market should put that fantasy to rest.
So, back to the Boston Globe:
As the nation prepares to mark the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War in 2011, with commemorations that reinforce the North/South divide, researchers are offering uncomfortable answers to that question, unearthing more and more of the hidden stories of New England slavery — its brutality, its staying power, and its silent presence in the very places that have become synonymous with freedom. With the markers of slavery forgotten even as they lurk beneath our feet — from graveyards to historic homes, from Lexington and Concord to the halls of Harvard University — historians say it is time to radically rewrite America’s slavery story to include its buried history in New England.
The article is worth contemplating, as the research may do much to deflate the historical sense of self-righteousness purveyed by old-school New Englanders about their history.
OS believes humility, from all corners, is a virtue.
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