Thomas Jefferson directed that his grave marker list the three accomplishments he was most proud of: writing the Declaration of Independence, founding the University of Virginia, and drafting the Virginia law for religious freedom. He thought, and most of his contemporaries agreed, that these were three signal advances for human welfare.
Great essay, but that's normally a redundancy with Dr. Brands' essays. As to removing statues, renaming schools, I'm against it. Where do you draw the line? What historical figure was morally perfect? One of Dr. Brands' colleagues at UT once e-mailed me that one should ask what the historical figure is known for. For example, we don't erect statues of George Washington because he owned slaves, but because he was the towering figure of the American revolution. That's the way I feel about Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. I think of them as military geniuses, not as slaveholders. We don't think of Martin Luther King or JFK as adulterers, but for their work for civil rights.
Robert E Lee and Stonewall Jackson were traitors who broke their oaths to defend the Constitution and the Republic and instead used their skills to attack and dismember both. They should have no monuments, regardless of their military skills.
My Univ. of TX colleague made the same point. As she put it, "no country honors traitors."
Oh really? There's a statue of Oliver Cromwell outside Parliament in London. (In all fairness, some have called for its removal.) In Glenfinnan, there's a monument to Charles Edward Stuart (better known to us as Bonnie Prince Charlie), who led a rebellion in 1745 (officially known to historians as the Second Jacobite Uprising) to try to bring the Stuart line back to power.
Cromwell is a sticky issue because the Roundheads held that they were defending England from the illegal actions of the king. Remember that Charles was executed for treason. There is that strong English tradition that the king is not above the law.
I can’t speak about whether Cromwell took any oath of loyalty that he later broke, but Charles Stuart certainly never took an oath to defend any Hanoverian usurper of his father’s (and his) right to the throne. Consequently, he can’t really be classified as a traitor or oathbreaker.
Jefferson wasn't an exception to the rule as a slave-owner who took advantage of his slaves, so he shouldn't be thought of as such. Rather, we should approach him as a well-rounded human being who accomplished much in his life (as his biographers have shown).
Both Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. built their programs to free and advance black people on the words and philosophy of Thomas Jefferson. That, for me, is the most important point to remember.
It irks me that nearly every candidate running for some office or other feels the need to be at least implicit about their religious affiliation to some degree or other. My own representative's page says "A foundation of faith has motivated Congresswoman Scholten’s career in public service." My 2016 opponent's page reads "Bill attended Holland Christian High School, and later received his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Calvin College." Calvin College, now Calvin University, is affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church.
Even in a discussion once with the Green Party opponent in that 2016 race over a beer he said "I'm a Christian and you're a Christian" as a big assumpion which I immediately rebutted bluntly tell him, No, I am an atheist.
Great essay, but that's normally a redundancy with Dr. Brands' essays. As to removing statues, renaming schools, I'm against it. Where do you draw the line? What historical figure was morally perfect? One of Dr. Brands' colleagues at UT once e-mailed me that one should ask what the historical figure is known for. For example, we don't erect statues of George Washington because he owned slaves, but because he was the towering figure of the American revolution. That's the way I feel about Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. I think of them as military geniuses, not as slaveholders. We don't think of Martin Luther King or JFK as adulterers, but for their work for civil rights.
Robert E Lee and Stonewall Jackson were traitors who broke their oaths to defend the Constitution and the Republic and instead used their skills to attack and dismember both. They should have no monuments, regardless of their military skills.
My Univ. of TX colleague made the same point. As she put it, "no country honors traitors."
Oh really? There's a statue of Oliver Cromwell outside Parliament in London. (In all fairness, some have called for its removal.) In Glenfinnan, there's a monument to Charles Edward Stuart (better known to us as Bonnie Prince Charlie), who led a rebellion in 1745 (officially known to historians as the Second Jacobite Uprising) to try to bring the Stuart line back to power.
Cromwell is a sticky issue because the Roundheads held that they were defending England from the illegal actions of the king. Remember that Charles was executed for treason. There is that strong English tradition that the king is not above the law.
I can’t speak about whether Cromwell took any oath of loyalty that he later broke, but Charles Stuart certainly never took an oath to defend any Hanoverian usurper of his father’s (and his) right to the throne. Consequently, he can’t really be classified as a traitor or oathbreaker.
Jefferson wasn't an exception to the rule as a slave-owner who took advantage of his slaves, so he shouldn't be thought of as such. Rather, we should approach him as a well-rounded human being who accomplished much in his life (as his biographers have shown).
Both Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. built their programs to free and advance black people on the words and philosophy of Thomas Jefferson. That, for me, is the most important point to remember.
It irks me that nearly every candidate running for some office or other feels the need to be at least implicit about their religious affiliation to some degree or other. My own representative's page says "A foundation of faith has motivated Congresswoman Scholten’s career in public service." My 2016 opponent's page reads "Bill attended Holland Christian High School, and later received his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Calvin College." Calvin College, now Calvin University, is affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church.
Even in a discussion once with the Green Party opponent in that 2016 race over a beer he said "I'm a Christian and you're a Christian" as a big assumpion which I immediately rebutted bluntly tell him, No, I am an atheist.