Slavery and Freedom

Edmund S. Morgan's conclusion in The Challenge of the American Revolution states "It was slavery, I suggest, more than any other single factor, that had made the difference, slavery that enabled Virginia to nourish representative government in a plantation society". This conclusion is important because it suggests that slavery was essential to the establishment of America as a country. At first, this proposal seems absolutely crazy, or at least I thought so. Isn't American slavery a giant contradiction? Edmund Morgan argues that although it is hypocritical, that America could not be a free country if it weren't for slavery. Slavery solved the problem of an excess of freemen without work. The aristocrats of the early New World were threatened by the growing number of liberated men (previously indentured servants) because they were hungry and had weapons. Enslaving Africans united the white men, the plantation owner and yeoman farmer, and allowed for the upper-class men to create an organized government. It is important to clarify that the men who enslaved the blacks were not racists, but they had no other population to enslave as it would have been impossible to enslave English-born laborers. I think that slavery expanded in a way that the first slave owners were unable to predict and would not have wanted. The origins of American slavery were not based on cruelty and racism, but on the necessity to calm the increase of free men without work.

Slavery in America

I learned many new things about slavery in America while reading "Afro-American Housing in Virginia's Landscape of Slavery". I did not realize that there was a common custom of "allowing slaves ground of their own". I have always been taught that the slaves of early America lived in absolutely horrible conditions, that they were not allowed any privileges and were forced to work until death. Obviously, the living conditions of the slaves were not desirable, but apparently poor white men were also forced to live in  comparable circumstances. Furthermore, this article suggests that prominent slaveowners encouraged their slaves to develop a culture of their own by giving them their own land to work and gardens to keep. The slave dwellings were built in the same place, surrounding the slave gardens and land. I do not approve of slavery by any means, but think that perhaps the average conditions in which early slaves lived are exaggerated just a little.

Architecture

"The upward reach of truth and beauty and the deep seated striving of the human mind and heart for an ideal lying far above things common place and material". This quote from "New Norman Gothic 'Mount St. Olaf'" is particularly significant. It is significant in that it juxtaposes traditional Gothic architecture with modern and contemporary styles. This quote suggests that tall buildings parallel an institution's strive for greatness and ultimate truth. St. Olaf does not have many tall buildings. Hoyme Hall only has four floors, yet is expansive in length. The lack of height of the buildings at St. Olaf does not mean that St. Olaf College and its students are in search of truth. In fact, I would suggest that Oles are more interested in ideals than many comparable college students. I think that the elaborate architecture of Olaf's buildings speak to this point. The meticulous Gothic architecture seen across campus symbolizes the traditional virtues instilled in Oles. Modern houses and buildings in America are sometimes tall and sometimes short, but have in common a type of simple and straightforward architecture. I will go so far to suggest that the people living in these houses are simple-minded, in terms of not pursuing a higher knowledge and sticking to what they know. In conclusion, I think that the architecture of a building is more important than size or height and that the style of the buildings at St. Olaf complements the beliefs of this wonderful school.

Thanking the Tea Party

After our conversation in class yesterday regarding the Tea Party and it's defects, I feel compelled to reiterate my consensus about the Tea Party. I think that the purpose of the Tea Party is simply to encourage middle-class Americans to become politically active and that the Tea Party will slowly dissolve after it's goal has been accomplished. And because the Tea Party riles people, I think it is a good thing. Who knows if we would be writing a political editorial for AmCon if the modern Tea Party movement wasn't so prevalent in the media. Many AmCon students, myself included, are ignorant when it comes to politics. I have a faint sense of what the different parties stand for and how the government exerts its power, but I have never taken the time to really analyze modern American politics. In taking the time to research the Tea Party, I have learned a lot about politics in general and become a better citizen for it. With that, I would like to thank the Tea Party movement for riling American citizens and encouraging us to stand up for our beliefs.

African Americans and the Revolution

In reading Woody Holton's "Unruly Americans in the Revolution", I was particularly intrigued by the effect of the Revolution on the slaves of early America. Holton describes that "for African Americans the outcome of the Revolutionary War was more complex" (pg. 4). Some of the slaves were freed because they agreed to fight for the British. On the other hand, many new slaves were shipped to America as the cotton gin allowed for the vast expansion of slavery. I think that on thing can be clearly established about early African Americans - they were not in control of their own lives. Whether they were promised freedom by the Loyalists or forced to work on plantations or even used as bargaining chips, African Americans were not free. Moreover, the slaves who were freed upon the ending of the Revolutionary War were lost. They literally had nowhere to go. Some returned to Africa, others emigrated to Australia. Indeed the Revolutionary War had a complicated effect on the lives of African Americans.