I have always been thankful that I was born "in Ole Vlrginny befo' de
Wah" so as to remember those times.
After living through the greatest half of our country's history as a
nation, and seeing the marvelous discoveries and improvements of the
last seventy odd years, in all material arts and sciences from the old
ox cart and covered wagon, stage coach, and sailing craft, etc., etc.,
to the modern express train, automobile, air plane, ocean greyhound,
dreadnought battleship, submarine, wireless telegraph, radio voice
communication around the globe almost -- to say nothing of the wonderful
developments in agriculture, mechanics, printing, photography, surgery,
medicine, chemistry and all the rest, for peace or war, inaugurating
changes in laws and civilizations of the world, with our country in the
lead of all the rest in wealth and influence for good and only good let
us hope.
Still I am free to confess that in my humble opinion, the Civilization
of the Old South, notwithstanding crudities and imperfections when, as
a rule, every one knew and kept his place, respected himself and
neighbors, kept honestly employed and minded his own business, was the
happiest, cleanest, noblest and free-est the world ever saw -- in spite
of its African slavery (the occasion tho' not the object of our Civil
War) imposed on us by others, and recognized by Thomas Jefferson and
other statesmen as an evil to be legally eliminated as soon as
practicable by gradual purchase, emancipation, and deportation of the
slaves by the State.
African slavery was beatific bliss and freedom compared to the political
slavery of Reconstruction by non-combatant carpetbaggers and scallawags
imposed on the South after the war, or to the corporate industrialized
economic slavery, antagonism, unrest, and distrust in our whole country
now since the World War.
The first abolitionists I ever heard of were Virginia planters like
General Washington and members of the Custis, Lewis, Dabney and other
families who by will or deed manumitted their slaves and had them
comfortably settled in Liberia or elsewhere abroad.
The free negro was looked down on with contempt by the slaves in
Virginia and found it hard to live in the country even though allowed
to do so. The more slaves a man owned the prouder they were to belong
to him. And a planter who mistreated his slaves or allowed it to be
done, as some few did, was socially ostracized.
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