Talk:Slavery at Tuckahoe plantation

Address issues

The following comments were made on the Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Slavery at Tuckahoe plantation but so far these issues are not being discussed there in a way to improve the article. I would like the article to be its best, particularly if it is merge into or becomes part of another article with greater scope.

So, if anyone is interested, I am not getting these points by Softlavender and any input about how to improve the article is appreciated:

1. This article is like a term paper (or blog post/essay)
2. cited by primary and self-published sources (like the Tuckahoe website)
3. small sections in works on slavery in the antebellum South in general or in Virginia in particular.
4. Way too much WP:OR.
5. "Slavery at Tuckahoe plantation" gets zero Google hits outside of Wikipedia mirrors and a 2019 vandal graffiti.

Thanks much!--–CaroleHenson (talk) 15:09, 11 May 2021 (UTC)

#1 term paper and #4 too much OR

I am not understanding these points at all. If the point is that I have personal knowledge of this plantation, that's not the case at all. I had an interest in Colonial Virginia, Thomas Jefferson, and the Hemings. I became interested in what slavery was like on plantations when I worked on articles about the Randolph's and Albemarle County estates and there was very little written about their role as slaveholders in their biographies. Further research was needed and was fulfilling.–CaroleHenson (talk) 15:36, 11 May 2021 (UTC)

#2 sources

Regarding #2 sources - there was a fair amount of content from the Tuckahoe website about a family that were enslaved at Tuckahoe. I removed that from the article here.

I don't see how that item remains relevant. My take on Wikipedia:Identifying and using primary sources is that sources can be used judiciously (I agree that there was a lot of info about the Boyd family that wasn't necessary) and the use of their content should not be a means of promotion. In this case, I don't see how Tuckahoe benefits, but they are uniquely qualified to have records and information that are helpful.–CaroleHenson (talk) 15:17, 11 May 2021 (UTC)

They are just one **Tuckahoe** source now that the Boyd info was removed.–CaroleHenson (talk) 15:54, 11 May 2021 (UTC)

Added "**Tuckahoe**".–CaroleHenson (talk) 08:36, 12 May 2021 (UTC)

#3 Small sections and #5 Hits on article title (in quotes)

Regarding #3 small sections in works on slavery in the antebellum South in general or in Virginia in particular. —That's true about anywhere where there were slaves. The most content, I have been finding, are slave narratives. Unfortunately, I have not found a narrative so far for Tuckahoe, but we are lucky that Tuckahoe is a rare in that it provided some detail (not just a museum source about architecture and the plantation owner's family members). There are a number of other sources. And, I have not cracked into all the jstor journal articles yet.

Please see this content that I added to Slavery at Tuckahoe plantation#Background:

Plantations were small in number in colonial Virginia, but were key to the economic welfare of the state. Yet, history often "whitewashes" the realities of slavery during the 19th century by focusing on the history of the plantation owners and the architecture of the plantation manors and relegates the history of enslaved people to the margins of the history of the plantation.

References

Hits—If I had only used the title in parenthesis, I would not have gotten all the sources that I did. One reason is that while Tuckahoe is a plantation it is rarely referred to as a plantation. Perhaps "plantation" should not have been used in the title. This is also the first time that I've heard that someone needs to search on the exact article title. If I used "Slavery at Tuckahoe" as a search criteria, I wouldn't have gotten much. I absolutely would have missed Tuckahoe and the Tuckahoe Randolphs which I just started looking at.–CaroleHenson (talk) 15:28, 11 May 2021 (UTC)

I don't really share these concerns at all. It's well-written in an appropriate style and the sources are adequate, but it would work better discussed with the history and layout of Tuckahoe (plantation). That could make a fine GA. Reywas92^Talk 17:55, 11 May 2021 (UTC)

Thanks, I posted it on Talk:Tuckahoe (plantation), too. I would like to address any issues possible before a final verdict is made on this. I am guessing that there aren't enough votes and it will be relisted for at least another week.–CaroleHenson (talk) 18:07, 11 May 2021 (UTC)

Viewpoints

I have moved this section over here to figure out where it might be best to put this info. A couple of options are: Monticello, Thomas Jefferson and slavery, History of slavery in Virginia. And, if all of it should be moved or just part of it.

Jefferson and Randolph viewpoints

Thomas Jefferson came to formulate his moral viewpoint of slavery from his early years, about two years of age until the age of 9, at Tuckahoe: The whole commerce between master and slave is a perpetual exercise of the most boisterous passions, the most unremitting despotism on the one part, and degrading submissions on the other. Our children see this, and learn to imitate it… — Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia  Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. supported gradual emancipation and forced emigration of free African Americans to Africa. Martha Jefferson Randolph, his wife and Jefferson's daughter stance on slavery was described: Martha's interactions with enslaved people support the findings of historians who contend that slaveholding women generally experienced slavery as more of a personal relationship than a political issue and that mistresses strove to be benevolent, particularly toward familiar slaves who worked as domestic servants in their households. Like many Virginia women of her era, Martha claimed that she detested slavery, both for making white people cruel and immoral and for being unjust to blacks. At the same time, when forced to choose, like her father and countless other self-consciously benevolent slaveholders, she consistently put the economic interest of her white family ahead of any genuine desire she may have had to prevent the breakup of enslaved families or to emancipate her bondpeople. Like other slaveholders, for her entire life she profited, either directly or indirectly from unfree labor. — Cythia A. Kierner, Martha Jefferson Randolph, Daughter of Monticello References

I am copying back the Jefferson quote, because it's relevant to Tuckahoe and is mentioned in the intro.–CaroleHenson (talk) 04:38, 12 May 2021 (UTC)

Scaled down article

I moved (and also copied) content that is more germane to the entire state of Virginia from this article to History of slavery in Virginia.–CaroleHenson (talk) 06:42, 12 May 2021 (UTC)

Reywas92, when you have a chance, do you mind taking a look at the article now? You mentioned paring some of the info down before it's merged - and I have thought the same thing - and thought I could take a stab at myself first. I edited this article so that it is focused clearly on Tuckahoe, and I copied or moved info to the History of slavery in Virginia that covers what generally happened within the state. My intention is to make it the best it can be - so that it's easier to manage merges, etc. Your input would be much appreciated!–CaroleHenson (talk) 08:33, 12 May 2021 (UTC)

Yeah I think these changes make sense. The History article is nicely fleshed out now! I did like the Jefferson quotation, but I haven't read the rest of its context to know where best to put it. Reywas92^Talk 17:59, 12 May 2021 (UTC)

Excellent! Thanks for weighing-in.–CaroleHenson (talk) 19:04, 12 May 2021 (UTC)