I was born into a Jewish family that fled the Holocaust and came to America in the early years of World War II. Years ago I observed religious traditions but no longer practice them today. Still, I studied the Jewish Bible, popularly referred to as The Old Testament. Slaves were mentioned in 2 contexts. The historical context highlighted how the descendants of Jacob became Egyptian slaves led to "freedom" by Moses. The general context of slavery accepted that the institution existed throughout the known world and laid out rules and regulations for Jews to acquire, treat, and eventually release slaves. The Rabbi with whom I studied suggested that the process of accepting a slave as permanently enslaved was so odious that no one knows if it ever occurred. First, the enslaved person had to verbally request permanent enslavement. If the head of household accepted the slave's request, then an iron ring had to be affixed to the slave's earlobe using the house's doorpost as the backing for the nail that made the hole in which said iron ring was inserted. In that way, everyone would know that individual was permanently owned.
You are correct. It was the southern states that wanted all slaves to be counted for apportionment and representation. The more industrialized northern states did not want to count slaves for those reasons. It was a compromise just to get all states to ratify the constitution. The constitution was written for white landowners and was flawed for that reason. If applied as it should for all people equally, it is a good document. We should now use the provisions in the constitution to change what is bad and make new amendments that are good for our country
Absolutely incredible. Horrifyingly so. ❤️
Excellent article. Horrifying, but excellent.
I was born into a Jewish family that fled the Holocaust and came to America in the early years of World War II. Years ago I observed religious traditions but no longer practice them today. Still, I studied the Jewish Bible, popularly referred to as The Old Testament. Slaves were mentioned in 2 contexts. The historical context highlighted how the descendants of Jacob became Egyptian slaves led to "freedom" by Moses. The general context of slavery accepted that the institution existed throughout the known world and laid out rules and regulations for Jews to acquire, treat, and eventually release slaves. The Rabbi with whom I studied suggested that the process of accepting a slave as permanently enslaved was so odious that no one knows if it ever occurred. First, the enslaved person had to verbally request permanent enslavement. If the head of household accepted the slave's request, then an iron ring had to be affixed to the slave's earlobe using the house's doorpost as the backing for the nail that made the hole in which said iron ring was inserted. In that way, everyone would know that individual was permanently owned.
You are correct. It was the southern states that wanted all slaves to be counted for apportionment and representation. The more industrialized northern states did not want to count slaves for those reasons. It was a compromise just to get all states to ratify the constitution. The constitution was written for white landowners and was flawed for that reason. If applied as it should for all people equally, it is a good document. We should now use the provisions in the constitution to change what is bad and make new amendments that are good for our country