As a freshman at the University of Washington in 1955 , my introductory economic history class was taught by Douglas North. His comments on the economic importance of slavery were an eye-opener for me. He stated that had the Civil War been fought 10 years earlier the South may have won. Such was the economic importance of cotton to the nation's economy. Only much later did I learn of the profound evil associated with slavery.
This should set us all to thinking about the profound effects of those bold and widely read commercial book series that are often ignored by intellectuals. Many minds bear the stamp of such series.
Great column, David. As an old white guy of similar age, I related deeply to your belated “discovery “ of history and writers whom we were never taught, including in our beloved Landmark books. In the past year I’ve read Blight on Douglas and Taylor Branch‘s remarkable 3 volume bio of MLK. These are incredible stories, American stories. Forget the distraction of CRT etc. let’s start by ensuring everyone- and not just one race or group-knows our common heritage. Otherwise the forces or fragmentation and identity politics prevail. Thank you
As a freshman at the University of Washington in 1955 , my introductory economic history class was taught by Douglas North. His comments on the economic importance of slavery were an eye-opener for me. He stated that had the Civil War been fought 10 years earlier the South may have won. Such was the economic importance of cotton to the nation's economy. Only much later did I learn of the profound evil associated with slavery.
This should set us all to thinking about the profound effects of those bold and widely read commercial book series that are often ignored by intellectuals. Many minds bear the stamp of such series.
Great column, David. As an old white guy of similar age, I related deeply to your belated “discovery “ of history and writers whom we were never taught, including in our beloved Landmark books. In the past year I’ve read Blight on Douglas and Taylor Branch‘s remarkable 3 volume bio of MLK. These are incredible stories, American stories. Forget the distraction of CRT etc. let’s start by ensuring everyone- and not just one race or group-knows our common heritage. Otherwise the forces or fragmentation and identity politics prevail. Thank you