Talk:dumbwaiter

Enslaved People

Isaac Jefferson used this term to described enslaved Blacks in Thomas Jefferson's Monticello who would bring him "water, fruits, or anything he wanted." Below is the link to his autobiography:

http://www.archive.org/stream/memoirsofamontic031158mbp/memoirsofamontic031158mbp_djvu.txt

Sorry I did not sign this post before: Dennishidalgo (talk) 02:38, 28 May 2014 (UTC)

Your source doesn't say anything about slaves. It says that Jefferson had a device called a dumbwaiter that could be used to haul things up or down from another floor. I'm sure he would put a note on it and send it to a floor in the house where there was a household servant/slave who would put the requested items on the dumbwaiter, after which it would be cranked back to his own floor. The text specifically states that the dumbwaiter would be used when Jefferson didn't want anyone to enter his room, and it refers to a crank, so it has to mean the device. Chuck Entz (talk) 02:58, 28 May 2014 (UTC)

Chuck, thanks. You are correct. In "Jefferson’s Spaces," (Early American Literature, V 48, N 3, 2013) explains this was a mechanical invention. In _Thomas Jefferson: scientist_ Edwin Thomas Martin says it was a sort of a lift. His purpose was to keep enslaved people out of sight as much as possible. Thanks for your correction. Dennishidalgo (talk) 03:17, 28 May 2014 (UTC)