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Defenses of Slavery, help and critique.

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legally.blonde16's picture
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Defenses of Slavery, help and critique.

Analyze the ways in which supporters of slavery in the nineteeth century used legal, religious, and economic arguments to defend the institution of slavery.

My Brainstorm
Legal - not directly mentioned in constitution, slaves are property and the government does not have the authority to take property, the Dred Scott v. Sanford case ( no citizenship, Mo. Compromise unconstituional, Congress doesn't have the power to ban slavery. ) Plessy v. Ferguson ( labor contract, no juries, no vote, punished for idleness )
Religious - slavery is in the bible, they were raced to be very racist, being black and enslaved is god's punishment because they were inferior, it is the chain of being, the slaves are not protestant ( only applicable at first ) slaves are in a "family-like" atmosphere where owners provided for them ( this was preferrable to being free and poor )
Economic - wage slavery ( slaves are legally voluntarily employed, rights are gains on the labor market, there is no choice of emplyer or work ) the north is also tied economically, slavery is capitalistic, the american dream ( someday the system will work in favor of the non-slave owners and they will acquire slaves ) and nobody wanted to compete for jobs with the freed black slaves.

This is my thesis
The United States economy was very dependent on the production rates of slaves in the south, and therefore sought reasons to legally, religiously, and economically justify their need for slave labor.

What can be improved or added to this. It is an extra credit essay and I need all the help I can get.

pianogirl2422's picture
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It looks like you have a good start here. I don't have anything to add, and I don't have my books with me to look anything up. Post/PM me what you write and I can probably critique it before you turn it in. I'm on vacation so no school work for me at the moment :o

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"I refuse to prove that I exist," says God, "for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing."
"But," say Man, "the Babel fish is a dead giveaway, isn't it? It could not have evolved by chance. It

Azntoxicwaste's picture
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Joined: Sep 2006

i think you should add the power of "slaveocracy". Remember that the Southern Legislatures were almost directly controlled by large slave owners. There was also an economic bond between Slave owners and non owners since the poor whites often borrowed things from slave owners. Thus, it was in their interest to have slave owners. Also in the economic situation, remember that the non-slave owners had aspirations of gaining slaves.

legally.blonde16's picture
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Joined: Feb 2007

power of "slaveocracy".

Ahh! I cannot believe I forgot that! Thanks for your suggestion but I turned the essay in already.....:(

Azntoxicwaste's picture
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Joined: Sep 2006

aww too bad =(! but at least you will remeber it if you need to do another essay on the subject =)

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