Slave Owners on US Money

The above featured image for this post shows John Trumbull’s 1818 oil painting “Declaration of Independence”. The red dots are courtesy of film maker, Arlen Parsa. The red dots cover the faces of the slave owners who were supposed to be present at the original signing of the the Declaration of Independence. Accordingly, 34 of the 47 founding fathers shown in the painting were slaveholders.

Money can build a community and money can divide a nation. Money has played and is playing a major role in the disarticulation of America. There is an echoing irony in the continuation of honoring slave owners on a nation’s currency. Even South Africa replaced the images of the apartheid leaders—and that was thirty years ago. Why is the US so slow in developing a 21^st century mindset? The change should have come 60 years ago during the MLK period of the Civil Rights Movement. Is there any other nation in the world that honors slave owners and human rights violators on their currency?

Would it not promote a better impression of the United States if images of wildlife and scenic destinations decorated US currency instead of controversial dead politicians? It is time for a currency makeover!

George Washington owned slaves before, during, and after his presidency. He held over 600 enslaved individuals throughout his lifetime. His widow freed the remaining 123 within a year of his death.

Jefferson not only enslaved over 600 African Americans, he fathered multiple children with an enslaved woman he kept as a concubine. Jefferson would seem to be the epitome of hypocrisy as he he was a a lifelong slave owner,but condemned the institution of slavery and advocated emancipation.

Abraham Lincoln, the 16^th president, never owned slaves, was morally opposed to slavery and issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. However, his wife’s family did keep a small number of enslaved individuals.

Although Alexander Hamilton opposed slavery, he profited from buying and selling enslaved people. Despite any moral objections he held, his social and political ambitions motivated him to use slavery to advance his fortunes—both indirectly and through compromises he chose to make. (BTW, he was never a president. He was a “founding father” and Secretary of the Treasury.)

Andrew Jackson, the country’s 7^th president, kept as many as 200 enslaved individuals during his lifetime. He earned a large portion of his private wealth from the slave trade. As president, he introduced legislation that protected slave owners and slavery in the southern states. He did not free his slaves in his will. Not a hypocrite, just a human rights violator.

Ulysses S. Grant inherited one enslave individual in 1854 who he freed 2 years later. His wife Julia had possession of four enslaved people during the American Civil War. They had been given to her by her father.

Benjamin Franklin was never a president. He was an abolitionist. Still, he owned 2 slaves during his life. Both assumed positions as household servants, yet were legally enslaved individuals.

History is exactly that – history! We can learn from it. We should never forget it or erase it. However, we should not continue to honor historical individuals that profited from human rights violations. We should not ignore their hypocrisies. To do so only teaches our children to recapitulate world views that perpetuate social injustice and manufacture divisions of communities.

Capitalism as a Religion

Born-Again Capitalism (Part 1)

To imply capitalism is a religion verges on cynicism. The term religion connotes a belief system that intends to purify the physical existence in preparation for the spiritual realm. By that interpretation, religion is a guide on the transcendental path away from selfish motivations toward spiritual enlightenment. Since the success of capitalism is dependent on selfish motivation (a.k.a., entrepreneurial spirit), capitalism should be the antithesis of religion. However, membership in institutionalized religion is not necessarily the same as a quest for spiritual enlightenment. Some may see institutionalized religion more as a ruse for establishing hierarchal order in the earthly realm. By that interpretation, capitalism may fall into the category of religion.

Capitalism is akin to institutionalized religion in that a major objective of “institutionalized capitalism” is to structure the perception of the world and justify the social hierarchies of a class system. A belief in capitalism generates absolution for selfish desires that create an uneven distribution of resources. Capitalism maintains an expiatory quality that allows for a freeing of the guilt associated with even the slightest responsibility for the inequalities of society. Institutionalized capitalism shapes that mindset. Like an ever present invisible hand, free markets are omnipotent in their justification and determination of social structures including systemic dominance and systemic inequalities.

Currency is communion, profit the deity to worship, and for the devout capitalist there is a promise of heaven on earth.
Brian J. English

Whether amusing metaphor or topic for bar-stool debate, institutionalized capitalism and institutionalized religion have commonalities:

Wars have been fought for both.
Both seek to give hope (false hope?) to the poor.
Both have been bedfellows with systems of government.
Both rely on marketing tactics to survive.
The marketing tactics that are used by both are intentionally deceptive.
Propaganda has been essential to establish institutional dominance.
Both assume the authority to modify the world-view of their followers.
Both intend to structure the perception and thinking of the world.
Both are hegemonic systems in which the dominant culture intends to maintain its dominant position.

Go to Born-Again Capitalism (Part 2)

Two Great Books for ESL/EFL Reading Classes

Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan

This is a magnificent story of Koly, a young Indian girl. Her life changes dramatically after she is forced into an arranged marriage. Her dream world of comfort and love comes to an end when she is sent off to marry a sickly boy who soon dies and leaves her as a 13-year-old widow. While it would appear as though Koly’s only hopes for happiness are in the hands of her new family, she soon realizes that true happiness must come from within. The book takes the reader on an emotional journey as Koly travels through India battling adversity in her search for happiness.

Although it is a story of a teenage girl, it is a story that can be enjoyed by both young women and young men. Anyone who reads this book will be moved by Koly and her determination.

Using this book in an ESL/EFL reading class is an excellent way to help students learn about Indian culture as well as acquire new English vocabulary. The writer uses very descriptive language to tell this beautiful story. In addition, the story helps to raise awareness of social issues and gender issues that are common in many countries around the world.

Another advantage of using this book with second language learners is that Gloria Whelan’s prose is rich with metaphors. This is important because metaphors and similes are common in daily conversation and in pop culture. Metaphors and similes are also the beginnings of understanding and formation of analogies in higher levels of communication. The ability to infer meaning from new metaphors takes practice and helps to build critical thinking skills that are essential for a language learner’s meta-linguistic analysis during the language acquisition process.

Children of the River by Linda Crew

This is a heart-warming story of Cambodian refugees living in America. Although the story is set in the backdrops of the Cambodian Civil War and conflicts in Southeast Asia that continued throughout the 1970s, the situation is very relevant to the refugee crises that are taking place in the world today.

It is a story that teaches the reader about cultural differences and the difficulties of living in a new culture. The story’s main character is a Cambodian girl, Sundara. She fled Cambodia with her aunt’s family to escape the Khmer Rouge army when she was thirteen, leaving behind her parents, her brother and sister, and the boy she had loved since she was a child. Four years later, in America, she is struggling to fit in at her high school while still trying to keep her Aunt’s expectations that she should be “a good Cambodian girl” at home. A good Cambodian girl never dates, so Sundara is told she must wait for her family to arrange her marriage to a Cambodian boy. Despite this, Sundara and an American boy begin to fall in love. The power of love draws them to each other. However, Sundara cannot forget her family that she left behind in Cambodia. It is that grief for her lost family and for the life left behind that makes Sundara want to be with the American boy, Jonathan. The closer she grows to Jonathan, the more she wonders if her hopes for happiness and new life in America are disloyal to her past and her people.

This is a wonderful story for all young people and especially those interested in learning about the challenges of living in a new culture.

Questions or Suggestions

If you have any questions about these books or about how to use them for teaching reading in the ESL/EFL classroom, please leave a comment. Also, let me know of any suggestions you many have!