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Diana Murray's avatar

Kevin,

NHJ is being both counterfactual and illogical in claiming that the rebellious colonists wanted to preserve slavery. In "Union," Colin Woodard cites the historian Lorenzo Sabine, who proved that South Carolina had the fewest rebel patriots per capita and Massachusetts the most. Given that South Carolina was the cockpit of secession and practiced the most barbaric form of Caribbean slavery and Massachusetts ditched slavery early on and became the cockpit of Abolition, wouldn't it have been the other way around logically if NHJ was right?

Thanks for the tip about Carter's novel. I'll look into it.

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Kevin Mims's avatar

Fascinating point. I’ll have to check out Colin Woodard’s book. Thanks.

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Diana Murray's avatar

It's a good book about the creation of the American identity. I didn't think it was as good as Woodard's American Nations, which I believe is a must-read about that subject, but it was worthwhile.

Many historians have criticized various aspects of 1619 from a factual perspective, and they're all correct, but Stoddard's findings are a direct, logical refutation of The 1619 Project's core message.

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