Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary historian and professor John Wilsey was on Michael Brown’s radio show Line of Fire yesterday talking about American Exceptionalism and David Barton.
You can listen to it here. He was on from 25:00 to 49:00.
Specifically he mentioned my book with Michael Coulter, Getting Jefferson Right: Fact Checking Claims about Our Third President as a factual response to Barton’s The Jefferson Lies.
Wilsey pointed out how Barton is often correct on certain points of history but has a pattern of omitting key elements, thereby making his claims false and misleading. Wilsey’s illustration was Barton’s citaton of Virginia’s 1782 law on manumission. That law allowed slaves to be freed but Barton failed to disclose in his first book that those slaves could be freed by their living owners. In other words, emancipation was legally allowed after 1782. Barton claims Virginia law didn’t allow private emancipation of slaves which he says hindered Jefferson from freeing his slaves. This is contradicted by Virginia law and the example of other slave owners in Virginia at the time.
I would have preferred for Brown to disclose to his audience that Barton’s initial appearance on the Line of Fire was riddled with errors.
However, I am glad Brown had Wilsey on to address even if briefly Barton’s historical misadventures.
Wilsey’s newest book is American Exceptionalism and Civil Religion. I believe readers of this blog will find it interesting and helpful.