OVPWH Slavery INT 3/1/04 2:58 PM Page 1 Slavery OVPWH Slavery INT 3/1/04 2:58 PM Page 2 Other books in the Opposing Viewpoints in World History series: The French Revolution Immigration Reconstruction OVPWH Slavery INT 3/1/04 2:58 PM Page 3 OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS® IN WORLD HISTORY Slavery James D. Torr, Book Editor Daniel Leone, President Bonnie Szumski, Publisher Scott Barbour, Managing Editor Helen Cothran, Senior Editor San Diego • Detroit • New York • San Francisco • Cleveland New Haven, Conn. • Waterville, Maine • London • Munich OVPWH Slavery INT 3/1/04 2:58 PM Page 4 © 2004 by Greenhaven Press. Greenhaven Press is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Greenhaven® and Thomson Learning™ are trademarks used herein under license. For more information, contact Greenhaven Press 27500 Drake Rd. Farmington Hills, MI 48331-3535 Or you can visit our Internet site at http://www.gale.com ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, Web distribution or information storage retrieval systems—without the written permission of the publisher. Every effort has been made to trace the owners of copyrighted material. Cover credit: New York Historical Society, New York, USA/Bridgeman Art Library LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Slavery : opposing viewpoints in world history / James D. Torr, book editor. p. cm. — (Opposing viewpoints in world history series) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7377-1706-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-7377-1705-X (lib. : alk. paper) 1. Slavery—United States—History—Sources. 2. Antislavery movements— United States—History—Sources. I. Torr, James D., 1974– . II. Series. E441.S6365 2004 306.3'62'0973—dc21 2003044812 Printed in the United States of America OVPWH Slavery INT 3/1/04 2:58 PM Page 5 Contents Foreword 11 Introduction 13 Chapter 1: Moral Issues Surrounding Slavery Chapter Preface 21 1. Slavery Is a Positive Good by John C. Calhoun 23 The institution of slavery benefits both slaves and slave- holders by providing a stable social and economic sys- tem. In all societies an upper class benefits from the la- bor of the lower, and Southern slaveholders treat their laborers better than employers in the North or in Europe. 2. Slavery Is Evil by Theodore Dwight Weld 28 Slavery is a sin and a curse upon humankind. Slavehold- ers try to defend themselves with talk of their kind treat- ment of slaves, when in fact slaves are overworked, un- derfed, and brutally flogged and even branded for transgressions against their masters. 3. Slavery Was Oppressive and Dehumanizing by Robert Liston 35 Most slaves’ lives consisted of constant toil, from sunup until sundown, and they were regularly whipped for not working hard enough. They lived in squalor their whole lives, but worse, they were denied the dignity that free men earn through hard work. 4. The Harshness of Slave Life Has Been Exaggerated by William K. Scarborough 45 Slavery was an inhumane institution, but the Southern culture of which slavery was a part was not without its merits. Most slaveholders considered it their Christian duty to care properly for their slaves, and it was not un- common for slaves to receive regular holidays, health care, and in some cases, a limited income. OVPWH Slavery INT 3/1/04 2:58 PM Page 6 5. The U.S. Government Should Pay Reparations to Blacks for the Harms Caused by Slavery by Ronald Walters 55 Slavery is partly responsible for many of the problems facing blacks today, including poverty and the break- down of family structure. Paying reparations to black Americans for the crime of slavery would help them overcome social inequality and symbolize the U.S. gov- ernment’s acknowledgment of the lasting harms that slavery caused. 6. The U.S. Government Should Not Pay Reparations to Blacks for the Harms Caused by Slavery by Karl Zinsmeister 63 Although there is some merit to the argument for slavery reparations, so much time has passed since the Civil War that determining exactly who is owed and who should pay would be impossible. Moreover, the United States has already made considerable restitution for the sin of slavery, with the lives that were lost in the Civil War. Chapter 2: Slave Resistance and Rebellion Chapter Preface 73 1. Resistance to Slavery Is Justified by Frederick Douglass et al. 75 Slaves should do everything that they can to escape, us- ing violence if necessary. Slaves are as justified in fighting for their freedom as the American revolutionaries were. 2. Resistance to Slavery Is Not Justified by Jupiter Hammon 82 The Bible says that slaves should obey their masters and that murder is wicked. Rather than committing sinful acts to win freedom in this life, slaves should strive to achieve the true liberty that awaits them in heaven. 3. The Underground Railroad Aided Many Runaway Slaves by Louis Filler 89 The Underground Railroad was a secret network of thousands of white and black abolitionists who helped tens of thousands of slaves escape to freedom in the Northern states. OVPWH Slavery INT 3/1/04 2:58 PM Page 7 4. The Underground Railroad Was Largely a Myth by Larry Gara 94 The legend of the Underground Railroad has overshad- owed the bravery of the countless slaves who made their escape with little or no help from abolitionists. Most runaways did not receive aid until they had made their way to the North, where abolitionists protected them from being recaptured under the Fugitive Slave Law. 5. Black Resistance to American Slavery Was Widespread by William F. Cheek 104 Resistance to slavery took many forms, from passively avoiding labor to actively running away, committing in- dividual acts of arson or violence, or even organizing re- bellions. Slaves did not simply accept their situation but found numerous ways to fight for freedom against an unjust system. 6. Open Rebellion Against American Slavery Was Relatively Limited by John B. Boles 116 Compared to Latin America and the Caribbean, there were few armed slave rebellions in the United States. This relative lack of revolt was due to many factors, in- cluding the geography of the Southern states and the fact that, unlike slaves in Latin America, many slaves in the American South had wives or families that made them less willing to risk open insurrection. Chapter 3: Abolitionists and Their Opponents Chapter Preface 128 1. Emancipation Should Be Gradual by St. George Tucker 131 Because slavery is cruel and because slave insurrections could lead to widespread violence, the state of Virginia should begin the process of gradually abolishing the in- stitution. All slaves born after a certain date should be considered free, and freed slaves should be encouraged— by denying them the right to vote, bear arms, or own land—to emigrate from Virginia. OVPWH Slavery INT 3/1/04 2:58 PM Page 8 2. Emancipation Should Be Immediate by William Lloyd Garrison 142 Slavery is a sin that should be abolished immediately. Plans for gradual emancipation are impractical and based on poor logic: If it is determined that slaves de- serve freedom, then nothing can possibly justify keeping them in bondage any longer. 3. Emancipation Is Impractical by Thomas R. Dew 150 Emancipation would deprive the Southern states of their labor force, since it is widely known that free blacks are idle and lazy. Moreover, without the institution of slav- ery, disharmony between whites and blacks would soon lead to violence. 4. Emancipation Is Practical by Lydia Maria Child 157 Chile, Colombia, and Mexico have all adopted emancipa- tion, and those countries experienced no bloodshed as a result. Freed blacks are quite capable of supporting them- selves and contributing to society, and it is only ignorance and prejudice that leads whites to believe otherwise. 5. William Lloyd Garrison Made a Minor Contribution to the Abolitionist Movement by Dwight Lowell Dumond 165 The abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison was a self- righteous zealot. His extreme views on the sinfulness of slavery in some cases hindered the work of more main- stream abolitionists. 6. William Lloyd Garrison Made an Important Contribution to the Abolitionist Movement by Russel B. Nye 171 William Lloyd Garrison’s fanaticism did put him outside the mainstream abolitionist movement, but his uncom- promising attacks on slavery captured the attention of the nation. More than any other individual, Garrison led both Northerners and Southerners to confront the morality of slavery. OVPWH Slavery INT 3/1/04 2:58 PM Page 9 Chapter 4: Slavery Divides a Nation Chapter Preface 180 1. Popular Sovereignty over Slavery Divides the Nation by Abraham Lincoln 182 The idea that each state should decide for itself whether to legalize or abolish slavery is tearing the nation apart. The United States cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. 2. Popular Sovereignty Should Decide Slavery by Stephen A. Douglas 189 Congress has no right to impose either slavery or aboli- tion on any state. Instead, the principle of popular sover- eignty must prevail and the people of each state must de- cide for themselves whether slavery is a good or an evil. 3. Freeing the Slaves Should Be the Primary War Aim by Horace Greeley 196 President Lincoln has been too deferential to the slave states that have not seceded from the Union. The presi- dent is wrong to think that the Union can be saved with- out the abolition of slavery, since slavery is the funda- mental cause of the war between the states.