Tag Archives: Slavery

What Is To Be Will Be

What Is To Be Will Beby Michael DoyleAs the day of celebration approaches,My thoughts turn to the prayer that encroachesOn every other day and on all my ways.It is as important as Christmas Day.The Lord’s Prayer is, itself, a revolution.It … Continue reading

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First Principles: Christianity, By Introducing Into Europe the Truest Principles of Humanity, Universal Benevolence, and Brotherly Love, Had Happily Abolished Civil Slavery

“Christianity, by introducing into Europe the truest principles of humanity, universal benevolence, and brotherly love, had happily abolished civil slavery. Let us who profess the same religion practice its precepts… by agreeing to this duty.” – Richard Henry Lee

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A Nation’s Passion Play

A Nation’s Passion Playby Michael DoyleFrom our earliest days, when we dwelt in caves,We have tried to understand what it is that savesOur rarest sentiments are served up like a delicacyThese are questionable as we define principled libertyIt is a … Continue reading

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Nat Turner’s Legacy

Nat Turner’s Legacyby Michael DoyleExceptions seldom make the ruleFoolish thinkers need their schoolThose who dwell on the mysteryOf why so few rose against slaveryIt is a cowardice of cultureThat we cannot afford to nurtureLet’s recall a moment of historyLived by … Continue reading

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Ways of Life Previously Chosen

Ways of Life Previously Chosenby Michael DoyleEating smoked salmon and in contemplationAbout what will be the fate of my nationI will let no untruths be varnished or toldBut insist on telling how history did unfoldI have watched the destruction of … Continue reading

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First Principles: Nothing Is More Certain Than That A General Profligacy and Corruption of Manners Make A People Right For Destruction

“Nothing is more certain than that a general profligacy and corruption of manners make a people ripe for destruction. A good form of government may hold the rotten materials together for some time, but beyond a certain pitch, even the … Continue reading

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Happy St. Nicholas Day 2023!!

The spirit of this day is a celebration of generosity and a very historical person. Saint Nicholas of Myra was a 4th century Greek bishop who also served the church in Finland. While he is the basis of Santa Claus, … Continue reading

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Thought For the Day: How Did American Capitalism Survive the End of Chattel Slavery?

“Slavery has been a fact of human existence throughout recorded history. Why did it suddenly create capitalism a couple of centuries ago in a few select places, namely the Netherlands, Britain and the American colonies? Why didn’t the Romans create … Continue reading

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First Principles: Nothing Is More Certain Than That A General Profligacy and Corruption of Manners Make A People Ripe For Destruction

“Nothing is more certain than that a general profligacy and corruption of manners make a people ripe for destruction. A good form of government may hold the rotten materials together for some time, but beyond a certain pitch, even the … Continue reading

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First Principles: The Magnitude of This Evil (Slavery) Among Us Is So Deeply Felt, and So Universally Acknowledged That No Merit Could Be Greater Than That of Devising A Satisfactory Remedy For It

“The magnitude of this evil [slavery] among us is so deeply felt, and so universally acknowledged; that no merit could be greater than that of devising a satisfactory remedy for it.”  – James Madison (1825), 4th President of the United States … Continue reading

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