Throughout the course of the 19th century, the topic of slavery changed the face of the nation. This issue was of incredible importance to the south, where slave labor was the cornerstone of the economy. Anti-black ideologies permeated every part of southern society, in both the pre-war era and through the reconstruction period. The belief that slavery was a moral practice ordained by god, continued and strengthened discrimination in the American south for the entirety of the 19th century. Because of prejudice culture, racial equality developed very slowly, such ideas were halted by strong hate for freed slaves and their abolitionist allies.. Even after the war, blacks could still feel the lingering shadows of slavery outside their doors. Many examples of the internal turmoil can be seen in the cultural products of the day. Pieces like “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” humanized slaves in the eyes of many. One …show more content…
Huck begins to struggle with the central ideas of his upbringing, he must decide between what he has seen and what he has been taught. “Conscience says to me, “What had poor Miss Watson done to you that you could see her nigger go off right under your eyes and never say one single word? What did that poor old woman do to you that you could treat her so mean?” In this excerpt, Huck is controlled by the culture in which he was raised, despite his personal positive experiences with Jim. Once an individual has become accustomed to a certain way of life, it is difficult for that person to expand or even change their values. This is why racism had such a long