Cotton Revolution, The
Historian and author Ira Berlin explains that with the advent of cotton as the most important crop during the nineteenth century, many slaves were uprooted from the seaboard states and transported to the deep south. This forced migration broke apart...
Moral Issues and the Self
Philosopher Michael Sandel continues his discussion of morality and the self, exploring the ideas of both the encumbered and the unencumbered self. As an example of someone who acted with the sense of solidarity and moral obligation consistent with ...
Thomas Jefferson: A Study in Contradiction
Historian Peter Onuf talks about the apparent contradiction between Thomas Jefferson as a champion of freedom, liberty, and democracy, and Thomas Jefferson the aristocrat and slave owner.
Thomas Jefferson and Slavery
Historian Peter Onuf talks about reasons why Thomas Jefferson didn't free his slaves. Professor Onuf explains that one reason was Jefferson's personal financial debt. "For financial reasons, (his) estate wouldn't allow it." But the other reason was ...
What is Human Nature?: Critics of Greek and Christian Views of Human Nature
Greek and Christian ideas of human nature have posed problems. Feminists point out that women are seen as creatures of emotion or symbols of temptations of the flesh because of these historical perceptions. Other critics point out that people in pow...
From Days Before Time: Impact of Spanish Colonization on Native Populations
Two centuries of conflict leave its mark on both Native American and Spanish cultures. The Indian population is ravaged not only by warfare and enslavement, but also by diseases introduced with the arrival of Europeans. Europeans also introduce the ...
Laws of Slavery, The
Historian and author Ira Berlin explains that the laws pertaining to slavery were written so as to give slave owners virtually unlimited power over their slaves, while the slaves themselves had no power. In some cases, slaves were allowed to carve o...
Process of Enslavement, The
Historian and author Ira Berlin explains that the process by which African were enslaved was much more complicated than the stereotypical notion that, "...Europeans placed a few beads....on the coast of Africa, and Africans came out and somebody bop...
Master and Slave: Power of the Planter Aristocracy
The South in the mid nineteenth century is one of the few areas in the Western world where slavery still exists. The countryside is often portrayed as a society replete with great plantations and wealthy landowners, but more typical is a landscape p...
Impact of Slavery, The
Historian and author Ira Berlin argues that slavery was vile, hideous and obscene, but also an institution which became, "...the seed bed of so much creativity, and so much we...appreciate and love about American life."