Price of chains and slavery

To Richmond first thing on Friday as had several things I wanted to do. First stop was the fantastic Library of Virginia, even more fantastic in my opinion as you can park for free underneath and as long as you come down the stairs at the end of the day to get your ticket stamped, all is well and they let you drive out. It is right in the centre, so a perfect location for my day's plans. 
Went to their reference section to see the Ledgers of Patrick Henry from the 1760s to see if they shed any light on his relationship with Alexander Donald. They did not have the originals - although I got my hands on them later on, and more on that in a bit - but they had a slightly strange copy which is negative - so text in white, page in black. 
And there were all the pages for Alexander Donald - three pages in total of cases which Patrick Henry took on for him. Entries in total: 7 in 1764, 10 in 1765, 5 in 1766, 38 in 1767, 18 in 1768, 3 in 1769 and 4 in 1770. 
I have to admit, for all his great qualities, Patrick's handwriting and book keeping were not his best features. Here's a page to give you an example. 

You can probably just see the fact that it says Alexander Donald at the top. However, there was one line which was quite easy to read. On the left hand page you have what Alexander owes him - and then on the right hand page you have how Alexander pays. 

By your old slave account against me - £52


That you can read, right in the middle. The me is obviously Patrick. 
Now, this is a debate that has obviously been had by much better informed people for many years, but I do still find it worth pointing out - that this is written by the man who was about to say the following in 1775:  
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!
But here he is writing down, in a ledger, in his own writing - a fee for exactly that. Purchasing chains and slavery. Again, I know it has been said a million times and there is a quote from Jefferson about holding on to a wolf by its ears which is used to justify how the founding fathers can write: 
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Again, liberty. And then all own slaves. And I know that the Donalds were obviously involved - that's up in the page in black and white, or white and black in that case - but still, a debate which I am sure will go on for years and years, and as Alexander Donald would say "I will not presume to be competent to give an opinion on such a Complex subject". 
I asked the library where the originals were and was told California or some such. However, when I went to my appointment at the Valentine History Centre at noon, there they were. The originals. Obviously a little worn - but I couldn't believe that I was given them but annoyingly they wouldn't let me photograph them although I could photocopy pages, which I found odd as they were so delicate.  
Here I worry about my worship of relics. I remember years ago with mum going to the Medici chapel, or ossuary was it? in Florence, where they had all the bits and pieces of saints in these amazing glass cases. So a thigh bone from a saint here, a piece of hair from another, or of course a piece of the cross. I think around the world St John has 23 thumbs in boxes - presumably the origin of the expression "I'm all thumbs". 
I used to think it crazy that people would worship objects - but I was pretty close when I held these books. These really were a "magic cord" back to far off ages from that last blog. These books were used on a daily basis by Patrick Henry during a time when he was fighting against the Stamp Tax - when he said his quote about treason in 1765. When he won the Parson's Cause for that matter. When everything was building up to the Declaration of Independence and of course the Revolutionary War, in which Patrick was a Colonel. 
I know Patrick Henry doesn't seem to be the most studied or written about founding father, and certainly not the most loved - a point backed up by the ladies who were working in the Valentine that very few people come and see what they have there - but I think he played a much bigger role that he seems to be given credit for. Again, running the risk of presuming to be competent - but I vote for more credit to be given to him.