I only asked because you said that you never had heard before that the original Republican Party was founded on an anti-slave and civil rights platform. I'm in my 60s and we were always taught that in school.
I don't know when they started changed the way American History was taught -- or whether it was a regional thing - but my children in their mid 40s did not get the same lessons I did. I had to teach them myself! LOL.
I know that by the time my oldest child was in elementary school, the teachers were hard at work tearing down any vestige of patriotism or honor for our forefathers. But we lived in Berkeley at the time, so it was to be expected.
My ancestors were slave owners in Georgia. Today, a good many black families have the historic family name, which, I surmise, was because the slaves took the names of their owners in the 1800s. I've uncovered a will giving evidence to my speculations.
Two books came into my office last year about the Metoyer family in Louisiana, a black family of plantation owners who owned slaves - men even owning their wives and children.
So, in summary, at age 50, I'm learning great things about the history of my ancestors and slavery.