Eric my suggestion to find this out is to look at the dialogue between
Washington and Jefferson, I believe you are correct that in one of
Jefferson's letters to him he referred to it as such. This was while
creating the Declaration and how to please many in support of it. Sadly any
reference was removed for further discussion and study to come later

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Eric Johnson
Sent: Thursday, November 17, 2005 12:12 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Codes in slave quilts

I've got a couple of questions on related notes:

First, can anybody point me towards scholarship around the issue of coded 
slave songs?  All of my knowledge is based on the popular understanding of 
such songs and I am interested in learning a little more about the formal 
studies thereof.

And secondly, does anyone know off-hand the origin of the well-used term 
"peculiar institution" to refer to American slavery?  I've seen one source 
that credited that to Thomas Jefferson, but a quick search didn't turn up 
anything concrete.  It may be that it didn't originate from any one person 
or writing, but it strikes me as something that certainly could have.

Thank you so much,

--Eric

Eric D. M. Johnson
Proprietor
The Village Factsmith Historical Research & Consulting
http://www.factsmith.com/
[log in to unmask]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Carol Ely" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, November 17, 2005 10:45 AM
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Codes in slave quilts


> The problem is, now it's something every school child knows. It's in the
> curriculum. It's warm, friendly, and hands-on. It would be nice if it
> were true. We like stories of people actively subverting oppression. We
> want the slaves to have escaped. But the quilt/underground railroad
> story is no more true than Washington and the cherry tree.
>
> Carol Ely
> Locust Grove
> Louisville, KY
>
> =========================================================
> Important Subscriber Information:
>
> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at 
> http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed 
> information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail 
> message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should 
> read "help" (without the quotes).
>
> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to 
> [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read 
> "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
> 

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message
to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help"
(without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to
[log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff
Museum-L" (without the quotes).

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).