Is “enslavement” built into human evolutionary genetics? Having so much exposure in the last few days to the condition of enslavement, our period of servitude where more than one of our Presidents found slavery abhorrent yet were unable to free their own enslaved people. But we are just babies on the timeline of human enslavement….
Day: June 10, 2026
Semantics: Slave or enslaved?
You may have already heard the term “enslaved people” as a replacement for “slaves” This was new to me though. The linguistic shift from “slaves” to “enslaved” is deliberate. The thinking is this: “slave” defines a person by their condition and becomes their primary identity. “Enslaved person” describes the condition of slavery as something imposed on a…
Mount Pleasant
Montpelier, home of James Madison. Like Jefferson, Madison spoke of his abhorrence of slavery but never freed his own enslaved people. Truly I wanted to hear more about Dolly Madison but I have to admit it was awe inspiring to see the small desk Madison used to pen the most important document in our history.