An American Brain Drain the Life of Samuel Ball Represents

Samuel Ball was an ex-slave who escaped from a North Carolina plantation in the 18th century. He fought on the side of the British during the Revolutionary War. By the time of his death, he was the largest landholder in Nova Scotia. Samuel Ball's never say die attitude to overcome is what Americans see at the core of their exceptionalism. He is obviously an exceptional individual who could have added to America and its legacy of exceptionalism. Yet, we rejected him. We celebrate the death of those like him in song.