Excellent start of a dialogue on history! All the compromises listed are in fact part of Kelly's point: from the Declaration of Independence on, the USA found ways to "solve" slavery up til the late 1850s/ early 1860s---when that broke down, war was the consequence. From this, we could think about the desirability of "compromise"---each one was a way to perpetuate slavery for a few more years; and William Lloyd Garrison famously burned the Constitution because its compromises preserved slavery. And we could consider "inevitability"--- if there hadn't been compromises when the Constitution was written, it doesn't seem inevitable that the USA adopt it; the Articles of Confederation may have just continued. Or without a compromise over Missouri, could the USA have split up in 1820, with or without a war? What implications would that have had for abolition? Some are saying that Kelly implied both points of view are equally valid---is that what compromise means? I don't think the US and North Korea have equally valid positions on nuclear weapons, but i sure hope a compromise can be found.
thanks for today's provocative cartoon
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Excellent start of a dialogue on history! All the compromises listed are in fact part of Kelly's point: from the Declaration of Independence on, the USA found ways to "solve" slavery up til the late 1850s/ early 1860s---when that broke down, war was the consequence. From this, we could think about the desirability of "compromise"---each one was a way to perpetuate slavery for a few more years; and William Lloyd Garrison famously burned the Constitution because its compromises preserved slavery. And we could consider "inevitability"--- if there hadn't been compromises when the Constitution was written, it doesn't seem inevitable that the USA adopt it; the Articles of Confederation may have just continued. Or without a compromise over Missouri, could the USA have split up in 1820, with or without a war? What implications would that have had for abolition? Some are saying that Kelly implied both points of view are equally valid---is that what compromise means? I don't think the US and North Korea have equally valid positions on nuclear weapons, but i sure hope a compromise can be found.
thanks for today's provocative cartoon