In message <BE69E78E.AA43%quillcottage@earthlink.net>, Gregory McReynolds <quillcottage@earthlink.net> writes > >In recent research, however, I was unsettled to find that what the >Quakers did is being sharply criticized by modern historians: In their >opinion, these programs forced Native Americans to adopt the ways of the >white man and destroyed their traditional way of life. That is more a problem of the modern historians than the Quakers themselves. You should not judge history by modern standards. John -- John Rouse -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.308 / Virus Database: 266.8.3 - Release Date: 25/03/05
>You should not judge history by modern standards. True to a point. Often, when one looks more closely, one finds that people at the time were making criticisms that "modern historians" are also making today. We could say, for instance, that it's wrong to judge George Washington's slaveholding by today's standards. But Washington and John Woolman were contemporaries, and Woolman was very critical of slaveholding. So, who was right on the issue? Washington or Woolman? Mark
Thank you to everyone who responded to my query regarding the Quakers and their work with the Native American peoples. I've received a broad range of response and as usual the people on this list have provided very interesting insights and information. Thanks again, Gregory McReynolds Pasadena, California On 3/26/05 1:41 PM, "Mark E. Dixon" <mark.dixon@att.net> wrote: >> You should not judge history by modern standards. > > True to a point. Often, when one looks more closely, one finds that people > at the time were making criticisms that "modern historians" are also making > today. > > We could say, for instance, that it's wrong to judge George Washington's > slaveholding by today's standards. But Washington and John Woolman were > contemporaries, and Woolman was very critical of slaveholding. So, who was > right on the issue? Washington or Woolman? > > Mark > > > ==== QUAKER-ROOTS Mailing List ==== > Quaker-Roots Archives - Search List Messages From 1996 On > http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl >