#I'm back
4 messages in this thread
Jack,
I don't know if there's an effort to rewrite history or be more frank about it.
I don't recall being taught that Jefferson was a slave owner in grade school.
But somewhere along the line this has been pointed out. Maybe debunking of some
of mythic founding fathers is in order. It just shows that despite their flaws
and the institution of slavery they tried to build a new country. As you
mentioned in another message, I hope that flawed people are not excluded from
government solely on that basis, but that seems to be the trend.
Paul
Well, okay, I'm a historian, but I assure you that MY students knew
Jefferson was a slaveowner and I don't remember a time when I didn't know, and
the slave quarters of Mt. Vernon are still there and explained as they have
been for the almost two centuries since it was opened to the public.
The problem really is that up to a certain generation these were taught and
were in history books; then, in the Sixties, they stopped teaching history and
started teaching pablum. The ignorance is appalling. When I was teaching,
though, my students got it straight because I simply ignored the crap. I also
taught real African history, not this crazy stuff Jeffries and others are
spouting that is pure fiction. The worst part of it is, if guys like that
really did know anything they'd know they wouldn't have to rewrite history and
make things up and co-opt other histories. They have quite a good one that they
apparently never took the trouble to learn anything about.
I get a particular kick out of this "The ancient Egyptians were black"
stuff. The one thing we CAN know is that it wasn't true because, thanks to that
ancient culture, we HAVE ancient Egyptian bodies around to look at! On the
other hand, why is Zulu royalty the only royalty recognized as such by European
monarchy of all the people of Africa? Answer: like Europe, Zulus trace their
royal lineage back to King David. No kidding. And they have as much of a claim
as the houses of Europe….
History is fun when you start really looking at it.
I'm sure that I would find African history as fascinating as I found European
and Asian history. Hopefully we will be seeing more scholarly views of it in
the future. I find a tendency in people to want to find a link to some royalty
in their background and I think this is almost universal. Unfortunately
detailed records weren't kept, so who knows. History and historical discoveries
can be amusing. The discovery of the Ice Man in the Alps resulted in a few
women volunteering to bear his children. The motivation for this type of
request would be interesting to explore. Maybe it will be on the next Oprah.
Paul
Oh, well, I can prove that everybody has royal blood. Just assume you have
two parents (you do, don't you?), four grandparents, eight great-grandparents,
etc. and take it back as far as you can. Using average lifespans for the
covered period, you will find that your total of ancestors will exceed the
maximum number of people ever born well before you hit the second century A.D.!
My ancestors were not royal, but they had money, which is why Charles I
summoned them to him and said, "Sign over thy holdings to me and go ye and
explore the New World in my name or hang by the neck until ye be dead." So,
being patriotic sorts….
We haven't had much money since.