This post continues my efforts to explain some of the consequences of the Columbian Exchange, one of my favorite historical topics. Today I want to talk about the importance of sugar in the Caribbean. To read previous posts about the Columbian Exchange, please see Introduction to the Columbian Exchange The Columbian Exchange and Human Extinction […]
Tag: Slavery
The Core Values of Manifest Destiny
I’ve written a bit about Manifest Destiny in previous posts, but today I’d like to write about the core values of Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny is a flexible concept, which helps account for its durability over time. This is a brief overview of the idea and the values driving it. The term first appeared in […]
Review of Freshwater Road, by Denise Nicholas
Freshwater Road is a historical novel from Denise Nicholas and appeared in 2008. To read my other recent book reviews, see: A Long Petal of the Sea, by Isabel Allende This Tender Land, by William Kent Krueger The Impossible Girl, by Lydia Kang The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret […]
Providential Design & American Christianity, Part 1
The doctrine of providential design arose in the United States after the Civil War and the end of slavery. It was, perhaps, the most perfect combination of racism and religion ever created in the United States. To understand the full importance of this pernicious doctrine, let us lay out what its beliefs were. How to […]
The Emancipation Proclamation Issued by Lincoln
On September 22, 1862, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Although long overdue, it began the chain of events that ended slavery in the United States. Today, I’d like to explain some things about the Emancipation Proclamation and, hopefully, clear away some misconceptions people might have about it and its author. As I wrote a […]
Robert Carter – A US Founding Father?
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” The immortal words of Thomas Jefferson, penned in the preamble to the Declaration of Independence, still resonate today. Yet Jefferson, and […]