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Fitzhugh's Sociology For The South Or The Failure Of Free Society

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Slavery was used by many nations over the years, but one of the last countries to abolish the widespread use of this system was The United States. Slaves were robbed from their homes and sentenced to a life of physical and mental turmoil in America. They were beaten when they could not fulfill their masters’ desires. The institution of slavery also stole their intellect and well-being as they were treated as subhuman. The damages in the physical and mental states of slaves during this time leads me to conclude. Slavery should have been abolished years ago. Slavery is detrimental to the physical state of slaves. The attached visual of Louisiana slave Gordon’s back depicts the extreme physical damages that slaves received. Gordon’s back is …show more content…

In Fitzhugh’s Sociology for the South, or the Failure of Free Society he argues that slaves will not be self-sufficient if sent free. “The maddest abolitionist does not think the negro’s providence of habits and money-making capacity at all to compare to those of the whites. This defect of character would alone justify enslaving him” (Fitzhugh). The wildest freedom activist won’t believe that slave’s foresight in manners and sustainment capabilities can at all rival the abilities of their owners. The fault in their make-up could easily allow continuation of slavery.Fitzhugh argues that the slaves actions and mannerism are inferior to the white race. Slaves do not have the same ability to make money like whites, and so they are in position of economic weakness. Many slaves do exhibit behavior that is odd in society and would not be welcomed if free. However, while Fitzhugh argues that slaves are inferior to whites and must be held in captivity, de Crevecoeur argues for the reasons why it may appear to be the case. In Letters from an American Farmer by de Crevecoeur the author states, “What can be expected from wretches in such circumstances? Forced from their native country, cruelly treated when on board, and not less so on the plantations to which they are driven.”(de Crevecoeur) What else should be anticipated by people in similar situations. Stolen from land and home, inhumanly treated while being shipped, and continuing to be treated viciously on estates where they are worked. De Crevecoeur argues that the hardships slaves experienced resulted in their wretched status. Those in captivity were treated as inhuman since the beginning of their capture, as a result they have a different path to recover their humanly status. Fitzhugh’s argument that slavery does not protect slaves from economic tragedy, is disproved by the fact that they are in this situation, because they were robbed of everything in their home

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Worse than Slavery, by David Oshinsky, is a novel about post-Civil War America, and the life it gave free African Americans in Mississippi and other parts of the South. Oshinsky writes about the strict laws and corrupt criminal justice system blacks faced after they were freed, and while the contents of the book are not typically read about in history textbooks, it is important to understand what life was like for the freedman. Anyone interested in reading his book would profit from it. With the end of the Civil War came the destruction of the old system of slavery. Many white Southerner’s were outraged, but were forced to accept the newly freed blacks.

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Throughout the argument, James Henry Hammond is very vague and states many half-truths that allow him to lie through omission. These half-truths are hidden and are the basis of Hammond’s statement, hence the bias in his argument. Furthermore, the actual relationship between slave owner and slave can be examined through accounts that demonstrate the more likely situation of a slave: that of being constantly mistreated. It is possible that there were slaveholders who treated their slaves with kindness like Hammond claims, but it is clear that the majority of slaves suffered mistreatment from their owners. Fanny Kemble’s journal is a prime example that illustrates the situation of many slaves in the nineteenth century.

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First Douglass writes about his relatives who were still being held by his old master. He begs Thomas Auld to tell him how they are doing and set them free. However, this is not enough so he asks his master how he would "look upon me, were I, some dark night, in company with a band of hardened villains, to enter the precincts of your elegant dwelling, and seize the person of your own lovely daughter, Amanda, and carry her … make her … compel her … place her … disregard her … feed her … and so on" (105). This is an important rebuttal which asks not only his master, but oppressors in general to imagine the reverse, where they are the ones being treated like that. It allows them to think about what it would be like were they in the same position as Frederick Douglass and his fellows.

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Douglass uses paradox to demonstrate that slavery degragrates the slaverholder. When Douglass under Mr. Sever’s care he described that: “He was less cruel, less profane… He whipped, but seemed to take no pleasure in it. ”(Douglass 24). Most slaveholders are characterized to be cruel and inhuman because of the whipping and the way they treated the slaves.

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This shows how each slave lives in constant fear of brutal punishments for slowing down the production of cotton and other good. As shown here, Nightjohn, is historically accurate due to its accurate knowledge of the horrid punishments which were proven in the Mingo White’s Narrative and Solomon Northup’s, Twelve Years a

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Their beliefs show how slaves should be joyful about how their owners show their concern about them. Fitzhugh quotes, “...yet have all the comforts and necessities of life provided for them (Doc 1).” This quote implies how Fitzhugh explains how slaves should be cheerful about their life as a slave. He explained that slaves have a balance of their time and that they also have their holidays off. He also mentions, “White Slave Trade [Northern free labor] is more exacting and fraudulent (in fact, though not in intention) than Black Slavery; (Doc 2)...”

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In this manner, the slave is depicted in its rightful place as a servant to slave masters and in fact enjoys more freedom than most people. Fitzhugh is not alone in his unusual justification of slavery.

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But there can be no efficient protection without enslavement of some sort” ( Fitzhugh L. l1-13). The author is getting his point across by persuasion and manipulation towards his audience, to become pro slavery. Fitzhugh is persuading the audience by explaining the needs for slavery because the african americans need the protection to live. If the slaves were on their own they would not be sheltered or secured. But by letting people

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Fitzhugh believed that slavery was a positive good for society and uses oversimplification to support his belief. During the late 1850’s society had begun to steer away from slavery, so much so that it was on the verge of ultimate extinction (Facing Facts). Fitzhugh however, had an opposing view and believed that “There can be no protection without enslavement” meaning that slavery was needed in order for whites to protect the rest of the weak population (slaves without). He believed that slavery was a form of keeping order in the world and without it too many people would want power resulting in chaos. This is when he uses oversimplification in order to present his argument in a manner that made slavery seem like it was a great positive.

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In the 1700-1800’s, the use of African American slaves for backbreaking, unpaid work was at its prime. Despite the terrible conditions that slaves were forced to deal with, slave owners managed to convince themselves and others that it was not the abhorrent work it was thought to be. However, in the mid-1800’s, Northern and southern Americans were becoming more aware of the trauma that slaves were facing in the South. Soon, an abolitionist group began in protest, but still people doubted and questioned it.

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This concludes that people should change what they think about slavery since many have been in pain during

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It is necessary to darken his moral and mental vision, and, as far as possible, to annihilate the power of reason. He must be able to detect no inconsistencies in slavery; he must be made to feel that slavery is right; and he can be brought to that only when he ceases to be a man,” (p. 64-65). Douglass notes how a slave must become complacent and darken their “personal vision.” That darkened vision is critical in understanding how the institution of slavery entraps a human in a way to goes beyond physical captivity: it aims to make a slave feel

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From this, derives a bond with the reader that pushes their understanding of the evil nature of slavery that society deemed appropriate therefore enhancing their understanding of history. While only glossed over in most classroom settings of the twenty-first century, students often neglect the sad but true reality that the backbone of slavery, was the dehumanization of an entire race of people. To create a group of individuals known for their extreme oppression derived from slavery, required plantation owner’s of the South to constantly embedded certain values into the lives of their slaves. To talk back means to be whipped.

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In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, the dehumanization of slaves often occurs, as plantation owners view slaves as undeserving of humane treatment in order to uphold power and warrant unjust practices. Limiting knowledge for African

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By using this reference, it illustrated the severity of the alienation of blacks in the Southern United States. In 1619, a Dutch ship “introduced the first captured Africans to America, planting the seeds of a slavery system that evolved into a nightmare of abuse and cruelty that would ultimately divide the nation”. The Africans were not treated humanely, but were treated as workers with no rights. Originally, they were to work for poor white families for seven years and receive land and freedom in return. As the colonies prospered, the colonists did not want to give up their workers and in 1641, slavery was legalized.

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