[Ads-l] "slave"

[Ben Zimmer]

This piece has been widely circulated over the last few days:

https://theintercept.com/2016/08/28/colin-kaepernick-is-righter-than-you-know-the-national-anthem-is-a-celebration-of-slavery/

Snopes investigates:

http://www.snopes.com/2016/08/29/star-spangled-banner-and-slavery/


On Wed, Aug 31, 2016 at 12:37 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I stand corrected.
>
> I was too flabbergasted/dismayed/etc. to choose a more historically precise
> term, something I'm pedantically inclined to do at all times.
>
> Google shows that Blake is not alone in his belief.
>
>
> On Wed, Aug 31, 2016 at 11:57 AM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>
> wrote:
>
> > > On Aug 31, 2016, at 11:02 AM, Joel Berson <berson at ATT.NET> wrote:
> > >
> > > Sali,
> > >
> > > Do you consider 1814, when "The Star-Spangled Banner" was written, as
> > being during the colonial period of the US?  A very Anglo-philic stance,
> > just what the British were still believing then?  :-)  I would say there
> > were "enslaved African-Americans" in 1814.
> > >
> > > Joel
> >
> > Maybe it depends on whether to be an "X-American" you have to be an
> > American citizens.  As late as the Dred Scott decision (1850s?) it was
> > clear that legally slaves (or "enslaved persons") were not citizens, and
> > thus perhaps on that basis were not (African-)Americans.  On the other
> > hand, they would have been considered American slaves, where "American"
> is
> > more of a place name than nationality.  This is all pretty hindsighty, of
> > course.
> >
> > LH
> > >
> > >
> > >      From: Salikoko S. Mufwene <s-mufwene at UCHICAGO.EDU>
> > > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > > Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2016 9:51 AM
> > > Subject: Re: [ADS-L] "slave"
> > >
> > > Just a minor correction, JL. From a historical perspective, there were
> > > enslaved Africans, not enslaved African Americans during the colonial
> > > history of the US or of the 13 English colonies. During that time the
> > > class of Americans was very restricted, even some Europeans did not
> > > count as Americans.
> > >
> > > Sali.
> > >
> > > On 8/31/2016 7:06 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> > >> Former tennis star James Blake has explained to CNN that "The
> > Star-Spangled
> > >> Banner" is "a song that advocates the killing of slaves."
> > >>
> > >> The "hireling and slave" in the song, of course, are not enslaved
> > >> African-Americans but redcoats, Hessian mercenaries, and cringing
> > Tories.
> > >>
> > >> Proof? Read the lyrics.
> > >>
> > >> Of course, as D----d T---p has demonstrated, words don't mean much
> > anymore.
> > >>
>

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