...The issue of slavery was one that divided the nation like nothing else had in the brief history of the United States. It was one that many of the founding fathers disagreed with, but the reasons as to why they did not think a system of slavery should continue, were extremely varied. Another confounding aspect was that many of the founding fathers owned slaves, even though they did not think such an oppressive way of life was just. Two of these founding fathers were Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Rush, both slave owners who spoke for the equality of slaves, but had different understandings of equality and freedom. Rush looks at slavery as a blatant disregard of the moral human code. He argues for a moratorium on the importation of slaves’ form Africa,...
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...Aristotle believes that some people are by nature slaves. What is his argument for that claim? Do you agree with Aristotle that a slave-holding society can be democratic? According to Aristotle, a slave is the property of its master, and that any piece of property can be regarded "as a tool enabling a man to live". The slave, therefore, is a living tool of the master, whose purpose is to allow the master to live well. A slave belongs to a master, but a master doesn't belong to a slave. The rule of a master over a slave, then, is exercised with a view to the master's and the slave's goals or interests. He represents slaves as a tool in his definition of slavery. Aristotle continues his definition of slave by explaining that those people who are “slaves” are naturally born as slaves and they are naturally the property of some one else. “Those who are as different [from other men] as the soul from the body or man from beast – and they are in this state if their work is the use of the body, and if this is the best that can come from them – are slaves by nature….For he is a slave by nature who is capable of belonging to another – which is also why he belongs to another – and who participates in reason only to the extent of perceiving it, but does not have it.” Slaves are tools but they are alive and they belong to their masters. But when he widens his explanations about slavery, he states that all slavery instituted by human convention is not compatible with justice by saying...
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...Back in the eighteenth century when slavery uprising happened in America, slavery was a debatable issue. Hence, the opinions toward it were a concern at that time. On July 4th, 1776, The Declaration of Independence was written to declare that the America was a separate country that had its own sovereignty rights. It was also stated that the two most important things that were “all men are created equal”, and they would have certain rights “among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. Slavery was a norm at that time, so the question arisen is how the Founding Fathers - leaders of America thought and took action about slavery. According to the Declaration, slavery is unacceptable. Among the Founding Fathers, George Washington...
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...command of another man. “Slavery reduces the status of a person from a condition of freedom” (Lovejoy, 2011, pg.3), and where no freedom exists, man cannot be said to have liberty, as man is oppressed and restricted. Whether Locke was against slavery is contestable, however an anti-slavery view would have been surprising and controversial during the period which Locke wrote, as the African slave trade was still dominant. Craig writes that “historians have formulated arguments that Locke’s theory did not justify the trade nor the slavery of Africans” (2015). An argument against slavery in the 1600’s shows a huge focus on...
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...The institution of slavery is, in modern times, almost universally condemned and abhorred. Much of the ancient world, however, regarded slavery as an indisputable fact of life. While it had its critics, the institution of slavery was never seriously challenged in the ancient world. Even cynical and stoic philosophers, who ostensibly believed in the brotherhood of mankind, were more or less mute in their opinion. Aristotle, in Politics, qualifies and defends certain forms of the institution of slavery, identifying two distinct forms of slavery, one illegitimate, one legitimate. According to Aristotle, superiority and inferiority are inherent in all systems and relationships, and human slavery is a case parallel to many in nature. The soul rules the body like a master rules a slave, and reason governs the appetites like a king governing a city. It is natural and advantageous for the soul to rule the body, just as it is better for animals to be ruled by man, and the relationship of male to female is a relationship of superior to inferior. The relation of master and slave is simply a manifestation of the law of subordination. A so-called "natural" slave is, according to Aristotle, one who does not possess the full use of reason. The natural slave participates in reason to the extent that he perceives of it, but he does not himself have use of it. He therefore lacks in his capacity to perform civic duty and lead an ordered life. He compensates, however, by being possessed of a body...
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...I never knew a ton of things about slavery. Before reading the excerpt, I only knew how cruel slavery was, what happened to the slaves, and how it was stopped. Now, I know what slaves like Douglass thought about slavery. After reading the excerpt from the Narrative of Frederick Douglass, I understand how Douglass learned about the cruel nature of slavery and why he thinks of his enslavers as criminals. I also understand why he wanted to be an animal and why he began to think of reading as a curse instead of a blessing. Douglass learned about slavery by reading a book called “The Columbian Orator”. In this book, he reads some of Sheridan’s speeches over and over again with great interest. After reading, he learns about the nature of slavery and human rights. This is what Douglass says in the excerpt: “What I got from slavery was a bold denunciation of slavery, and a powerful vindication of human rights.” However, later in the excerpt, Douglass begins to regret reading these speeches as they begin to make him think about his enslavers and freedom....
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...Professor: Course: Date: The Link between an Evangelical Spirit as Found In the Second Great Awakenings and the Reforming Impulse Historians and sociologists have consistently observed the relationship between the abolitionist movement and revivalism. Evangelical movements and works contributed to the end of the slave trade and slavery which was rampant in Europe and the United States for the period between the 18th and the 19th century. The industrial and scientific revolution marked this period. To this end, slaves were in high demand on industries and plantations like the ones in South America. Most production was labor intensive, and this nature perhaps explains the intensification of the slave trade during this period. However, missionaries, philosophers and economists like Adam Smith started anti-slavery campaigns. Like Adam Smith, he was very certain that free people are more productive than slaves. Inhumane acts marked the lives of slaves. Masters could whip their Slaves even in public, and they were tied to immobilize them from running away. Thanks, to the antislavery campaigns through evangelism that led to the end of slave trade and slavery. An analysis of the second great awakenings reveals that there is a link between the evangelical spirit and the "reforming Impulse." This link animated the many movements of social reform in the years leading up to the American Civil War. The American evangelicals depicted Americans as the most religious people in the world. It...
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...Of the State of Nature, Locke begins to explain that all men live in a state of perfect power, equality and freedom. Men are all born naturally equal in the same state, where no one has power or privilege over another. Their actions and behaviors cannot be bound by other men. Locke states that the only time a man should obey authority and obedience, is in the presence of God; God is allowed to bequeath some dominance in power of man. He then goes to quote Richard Hooker— an influential Anglican Theologian—who writes that men crave things that satisfy them, such as affection. If they crave these things...
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...Deontology & Slavery PHI208: Ethics and Moral Reasoning Deontological ethics is a moral theory that is somewhat agreeable and sympathetic to human rights. Deontology focuses not on the consequences of actions but on the duties we have; and one man’s rights are another man’s duties. Deontology is based on the idea that good consequences do not override our duties. Doing the right thing is more important than increasing the good in society. The idea is that if you do the right thing versus what is good for society ultimately it will become what is good for society. Deontology does not accept slavery. Humans should be treated as objects of intrinsic moral value; that is, as ends in themselves and never as a mere means to some other end. We are not to enslave torture or murder one person even if that would increase total welfare. Respecting people’s right to be free is not simply good to do because you will be condemned if you don’t. It’s also more than the proper thing to do. It’s not just something that is strongly logical or something that you should do. Deontology is based on duties. A duty is specific and is something you must do. In all of my research I find that deontological ethics is widely against slavery in every way. Whether is against slavery because of the action or the consequence you will find that no form of deontology supports slavery. Based on Immanuel Kant’s ideal justice would always be safeguarded for individuals who are always “ends in themselves”...
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...unalienable Rights . . . Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” – extremely powerful words coming from the same man who owned over 180 slaves; the same man who also wrote that Blacks “are inferior to the whites in the endowments of body and mind” (Jefferson 270); the same man who did almost nothing to abolish slavery during his 40 years in the political arena of Virginia and the new republic (Magnis 492). It is clear through Jefferson’s contradictions between his inspirational words declared in the Declaration of Independence and his actions, writings and political behaviors that in his mind “all men” did not include Black men. Surprisingly, Jefferson was not concerned with originality when he wrote the Declaration of Independence and even borrowed language from previous writings. George Mason drafted a form of a declaration of rights for Virginia, in which he declared “all men are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent natural rights . . . among which are the enjoyment of life and liberty” (McCullough 121). Jefferson also added language from a pamphlet published in Gibson 2 1774 by Pennsylvania delegate James Wilson who declared, “all men are, by nature equal and free: no one has a right to any...
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...Through the course of American history a ubiquitous theme of seceding oppression and holding true to one’s rights and beliefs is accentuated, however this sweet tea of American values has been brewed by an otherwise tart source, the tea leaves of tension. In the debate over slavery which consumed nineteenth century America, proponents and opponents of free labor clashed ceaselessly. The ensuing Civil War was caused by a self-preservation instinct that each side used to substantiate their discord. Foremost, beginning with the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, the South began to resort to outcrying against the government, as they saw their future potentially dwindle away. Thereafter, through the repercussions of the growing sectionalism and...
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...Black Americans of the post Reconstruction era, though technically freed from the depths of true slavery, now faced new unclear and ambiguous roles in society. Forced to understand the racial “rules” of southern life, black Americans underwent as author of Trouble in Mind: Black Southerners in the Age of Jim Crow Leon Litwack called “baptisms”, or awakenings of racial awareness. Litwack expresses the fundamentals to living as a black American in southern society and skillfully exemplifies these revelations with primary sources explaining their epiphany or “baptism” on their racial perception. Among these baptisms experienced by the people of this era, one of them was definitely the acceptance of the submissive relationship with southern society....
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...settlers had trouble with Native Americans. Settlers tried to have them removed by the government but not everyone was in agreement on how to do this. Some wanted to use force, others wanted to deal peacefully with Native Americans but this did not happen fast enough for some settlers. In order to remove Native Americans many crimes and atrocities were committed against them, many tribes were forced to leave their land or be killed. This resulted in hostility from Native Americans toward settlers, which in turn wanted the government to defend them against the “savages”. These problems were the reasons that Americans had such a bad understanding of who Native Americans really were as people. Slavery was also a big political and social issue in the west ward expansion, many people opposed slavery and wanted it to be abolished; others such as land owners and cash crop exporters wanted slaves to be seen as property and nothing more, so that they could continue to exploit them for free labor. Plantation owners wanted to expand their holdings and the amount of crops that they could export. For land owners, going west had great possibilities. As The United States territories expanded both west and southward, it had to be decided if the new territories would be free or slave territories. Whether a territory was free or slave was of big importance because, if that territory later applied for statehood it would make either side more powerful in representatives in congress. Neither side wanted...
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...In his critical essay about Octavia E. Butler’s novel Kindred, Robert Crossley comments on the inaccurate nature of first-person American slave narratives. Dana, argues Crossley, “scorns the image of the plantation derived from Gone with the Wind, but she also learns the inadequacy of even the best books as preparation for her firsthand experience of slavery” (Crossley 276). According to Crossley, Dana learns quickly that the romanticized, rose-colored stories of the antebellum South are far from accurate. However, she also learns that regardless of the factual accuracy of the books, she is incapable of fully understanding the emotions of slaves. Crossley makes the claim that modern media is entirely insufficient at portraying the emotional...
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...were dominant in America. The most afflicted people were the Africans and the African Americans. However, not everyone supported the idea of slavery in such a first-class nation. Some were against it, and they struggled to ensure that the inhuman act was stopped. Thomas Jefferson was against the institution of slavery in America. His personal views can be well traced from notes and letters he sent to various leaders. For one, Jefferson was against slavery because he believed that all men were created equal. No man is superior than the other, and hence slavery was an inhuman act that set the victims to pain and torture. He thought that white man was just as equal to black man and there should be no difference in the manner that the two are treated. In his reply letter to Mr. Benjamin Banneker on August 30, 1791, he expressed how a black man has equal talent as a white man (Letter to Benjamin Banneker). None of these individuals should live in degraded conditions. Color does not justify slavery of the Africans and African Americans. To Jefferson, the institutions of slavery were a source of division. The white men intended to retain and enslave black men in American so that they would save the...
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