Answering the Cry for Freedom

[lcole]

I just felt though that the author was being a bit misleading -- making it sounds like absolutely none of the founding fathers believed what they wrote (why would they have wrote it that way then, especially since no other country had declared such a thing?) or that in 1775 everyone agreed slavery was legal and right (several groups were already starting to try to abolish or discourage slavery, even before 1775, and eventually the colonies became so divided on this issue, they fought a war over it).

I think these points come out in all the other readi gs, like the Abigail Adams biography and George Washington's world as well as Abbraham Lincoln's world all include the various sides of these issues.

I would skip the intro with the children if it bothered me and keep the stories. I think when taken with the whole curricul, you get the balance you are speaking of.

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[amerebreath]

Thanks for the response -- I didn't think the book was anti-white people, and I'm not afraid to discuss racial issues or look at both sides of history. I just felt though that the author was being a bit misleading -- making it sounds like absolutely none of the founding fathers believed what they wrote (why would they have wrote it that way then, especially since no other country had declared such a thing?) or that in 1775 everyone agreed slavery was legal and right (several groups were already starting to try to abolish or discourage slavery, even before 1775, and eventually the colonies became so divided on this issue, they fought a war over it). I feel in our "cancel-culture" we have become quick to say "America is bad and it's founders were evil men" and I don't love that interpretation of history -- I think it's much more complex than that. I briefly thumbed through some of the stories and I thought about keeping it and just skipping the parts that seemed biased, but since I bought the book (and it was $20), I'll probably still just return it and read some other biographies on people like Phyllis Wheatley.

This book in no way ignores those points. You can't fully interpret what the author means by that statement if you haven't actually read the book though. The fact is that while there were signers of the Declaration who wanted to give freedom to slaves, they had to give up that battle. And those words in the declaration therefore did not actually refer to every person. The author is not being misleading by pointing this out. It is an incredibly important point which comes out in the stories the author goes on to tell. If you take a step back, and with an open mind give the author a chance to continue making her case, you can understand why she started the introduction with those words. It's not an idea she created. It's not just an attention-grabbing intro. It's the crux of how slavery was eventually ended - a truly remarkable thing in the course of human history. Slavery has always been a part of human history. It was the particular talk of freedom in early America which prompted black Americans themselves to start questioning the fact that they were being enslaved by the same men who declared "all men" were entitled to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." The incongruency was brought out by both black and white Americans and is a huge part of why freedom for the slaves was even sought after. The author does not make that statement in a way which is disparaging to the Founding Fathers. She makes that statement because it is how it happened. Keep reading.

I think these points come out in all the other readi gs, like the Abigail Adams biography and George Washington's world as well as Abbraham Lincoln's world all include the various sides of these issues.

I would skip the intro with the children if it bothered me and keep the stories. I think when taken with the whole curricul, you get the balance you are speaking of.

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Yes, exactly. These books all balance each other so well. Reading Abigail Adams, you will hear of the people in Massachusetts who were very against slavery. And that picture will be completed when you read the context of that story in fuller detail in Answering the Cry for Freedom. Why was it that the Adams were against slavery, but Thomas Jefferson and George Washington were not? Answering the Cry for Freedom provides a fuller context. Thomas Jefferson and George Washington were not spoken of in disparaging ways in this book. Their stories were told, but also set in context, which I find really quite helpful. Finding out that Thomas Jefferson had relations and children with one of his black slaves... and only knowing a tiny part of the story... I was far more likely to join those tearing down his monuments (not really. not even close.), but really after I read his story in Answering the Cry for Freedom, I have a deeper understanding for the whole situation... and while I do not think Thomas Jefferson is fully justified, I have a deeper regard for him.

I've never read anything which tells the story in such a careful, balanced way as Answering the Cry for Freedom. And I'm so thankful for it. I'm sad that I even have to discuss these sorts of things with my children. I finished the book with a deep sadness for the sinful state of mankind. But not just the white enslavers... she tells the story of what happened when blacks were freed, chose to go join a colony in Sierra Leone, and then started drinking and enslaving other Africans. She tells the story of the African people who sold their own so they wouldn't have to work for a living. It's sad all the way around. But in the end, the fact is that people in America did end slavery in our country. That is remarkable and I'm so glad for this book which tells the whole story so well. I hope she tries to write another book which carries the story farther.

[Crussell]

I just wanted to say "thank you" for scheduling this book I had a bit of a shock as we started our year at the beginning of August so I already had my first term scheduled and wasn't on the forum. When I went in to schedule Term 2 I was like "WHAT IS THIS BOOK?!?!" I am so excited that you've added it as a "window" into someone else's experience in America. You guys are the best

[lklivingston]

All the discussion posts that were here are still available!  I just split them off into their own thread and moved them to Hot Topics.  You can find them there.  Maybe they didn't need to go to Hot Topics, but that was the best place I could think of at the time.    There was no problem with the discussion, but Announcements is not the right place to have it.