The Politics of Slavery
In the book, The Politics of Slavery, Linda Jacobs Altman explains different perspectives and the evolution of slavery. From politically based views to emotionally based views everyone has their own way to acknowledge slavery. Some people have based their opinions off of the founding documents of our country, while others have based their opinions off of their religious beliefs or their morals. Some have even used the documents of our country, merged with their beliefs, to come up with their own reasoning’s and justifications. It all depends on whom you may ask.
Is slavery constitutionally ethical? In the Declaration of Independence, it states that “All men are created equal,” but with slavery in existence, is this true? It’s a logical argument, but slave owners and some whites didn’t want to accept the fact that Africans should have the same rights. They claimed Africans were inferior to whites and only suited for servitude. Equality was out of the question. Some
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There were many compromises to fulfill the needs and wants of both parties. Politicians and slaves spoke out on their concept of slavery. Anthony Burns wrote a letter to a church and said “Look at my case, I was stolen and made a slave as soon as I was born…The manstealer who stole me trampled on my dearest rights. He committed an outrage on the law of God” (98). In my opinion, most people who were against slavery based it off of religious beliefs.
Some might say that the men that founded this great country we know as America didn’t believe in slavery, but do their actions say the same? That’s a great question, but as the saying goes “actions speak louder than words,” and indeed their actions did. From my point of view, slavery should have never existed. In the Declaration of Independence it says “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,” this declares that everyone is equal and shall be treated as