Defending Slavery free essay sample

Defending Slavery The purpose of this paper is to discuss the issue of African slavery in America in the antebellum by late eighteenth century and before the antebellum crisis as discussed in Paul Finkelman’s book: Defending Slavery. This paper will summarize the first part of book taking as a main topic racial aspects of the slavery. After the introductory summary , this paper will focus in two specific sections found in the second part of the book: â€Å"Religion and Slavery† and â€Å"Racial Theory and Slavery†.Lastly, this paper will analyze these two themes used as a justification of African Slavery in early history of America In his book â€Å"Defending Slavery†, Finkelman presents a collection of historical documents written by politicians, lawyers, clergymen and an anonymous author supporting proslavery. In the first part of the book, Finkelman, gives a briefly introduction to the arguments supporting pro slavery in America during the Antebellum. The thoughts defending slavery have in common that slavery in America was justified based on racial aspects.The sociological term â€Å"mudsill theory† was first used by James Henry Hammond, a South Carolina Senator. This term was placed as a strong racial argument in favor of slavery. The basic premise of this theory was that all great societies must have someone to do the menial labor, in order to create a distinction between social classes. In addition, according to this theory this low class labor must be assigned to blacks who were considered an inferior race. Under this context slavery did contribute to create an ample social gap between the â€Å"white† and â€Å"black† races.Religion and Slavery: In this section of the book, Finkelman gathered four documents written by three representatives of the Baptist and Protestant religion and by an anonymous person and edited by De Bow’s Review, a well circulated magazine in the South part of America wi thin 19th century. The first document of this section is â€Å"The Duties of Christian Masters† written by Reverend A. T. Holmes in 1851. This document won a price offered by the Alabama Baptist State Coveention for the best essay.Holmes called the slaveowners as â€Å"Christian masters† and avowed that â€Å"the masters† had the responsibility to hold slaves of an inferior race and should guide and protect the servants. In addition, Holmes noted that white race masters were of â€Å"a superior intellect† and that blacks were â€Å"ignorant†. The essay â€Å"Slavery and the Bible† written by an anonymous author and edited by De Bow’s Review. The author states that the teachings of the Bible are taken as moral truth and because the Bible describes clearly the presence of slavery, therefore it must also be regarded as moral truth.The report â€Å"Duty of Clergymen in Relation to the Marriage of Slaves† from the Protestant Episcopal Convention of South Caroline asserts that slaves could get married by the clergy but if the slave owner considered a necessary separation of the couple, he had the authority to separate them to comply with the â€Å"divine right† from God to master their slaves’ lives. Thornton Stringfellow wrote â€Å"The Bible Argument: Or Slavery in the Light of Divine Revelation†.This report is a synopsis of the theological argument defending slavery as stated in the Old and New Testaments. Religion used to justify slavery had as a core support the Bible teachings but its interpretation was certainly influenced but their solid conviction that God not only allowed slavery but al so ordained. Since racial defenders of slavery relate religious arguments based on Bible citations it is necessary to analyze the documents grouped in the â€Å"Racial Theory and Slavery† section. Racial Theory and Slavery:The section entitled â€Å"Racial and Theory and Slavery† in the second part of the book contains four documents written by Samuel A Cartwright, a South Caroline physician; William Grayson, a South Caroline lawyer and politician; George Fitzhugh, a self educated lawyer and sociologist; and Josiah C. Nott, another well known physician from Alabama who sustained that blacks and whites came from different species. All of these documents were intended to support the theory that black race was not only different that white race but their origins came from different roots. Cartwright and Nott had similar approach.Their explanation from the biological standpoint was in some point linked to a religious interpretation of then bible. Thus, Cartwright depicts the origin of the three most predominant racial groups on Earth: Asian, Europeans and Blacks. He cites the Book of Genesis with the story of Noah and his three sons nd their settlements in three different geographical areas: North of Europe, Asia and Africa. According to Cartwright’s biblical interpretation, this last continent was occupied by Cannan and his descendents were not only black race but also were designated by God;s will to be servant. Josiah Nott extensively wrote papers about race. His argument were based on a theory known as polygenesis. Nott claimed that there had been multiple creations producing superior and inferior races and black race was destined to permanent inferiority. George Fitzhugh’s sociological opinion about slavery were irrational; he stated that slavery was the most perfect institution ever created In his eyes it is the most perfect institution ever created. Southern slavery is perfect, because like the family dog, slaves are happy to be indolent and cared for.G Although Notts writings on race were often irrational in content, extreme in language, and lacked a scientific grounding, they were generally accepted by most of the leading racial theorists of the day in the United States and Europe. Critical Analysis In Paul Finkelman’s book, particularly the fragments dedicated at the defense of slavery based on racial and religious justification state that black people where crea ted by God and placed in Africa with the unique purpose to be servant of white people. This statement was scientifically dismantled by the Charles Darwin’s Theory of Universal Common Descent published in 1889. This theory is based on reliable scientific observations, asserts that â€Å"all living organisms currently present on Earth share a common genetic ancestor with each being the descendant from a single original species. † During more than one hundred and fifty years after Darwin presented this theory, numerous researchers have proven that Darwin’s assertions were correct.In 1851, Samuel Cartwright, a well known New Orleans physician for dedicated his medical practice treating slaves and specialized on what they called â€Å"negro diseases† wrote a report to the Medical Association of Louisiana called: â€Å"The diseases and physical peculiarities of Negro race† . Cartwright’s report described about anthropology and origin of the races providing a biblical interpretation. This paper was clearly based on mere physical obs ervations made on his medical practice rather than scientific evidence.The information about anatomy and physiological reactions of black people was biased by his proslavery opinion. Nowadays, the lack of supporting research of his â€Å"scientific report† made it weak to be used as a legitimate defense of slavery. Although, some of the facts presented in the document were correct in terms of anatomical and physiological differences between black and white people; these facts were loaded of his personal beliefs pro slavery.Furthermore, these facts were presented in a way that a common lay reader will see black and white people as two different and individual human species without any genetic link and without any similarities as a human being descending from the same genetic tree and common ancestry as Darwin’s theory. Another important aspect that contradicts his defense is the introduction of events narrated in the Bible, specifically in the Book of Genesis regarding Noah and his three sons.According to the Genesis, they were settled in three different continents: Europe, Asia and Aftica. Cannan and his descendants occupied the current Ethiopia an d under God’ will were assigned to be servants of the other two brothers. If in fact the Cannan and his Ethiopian descendents were black, how we can explain that they were distinct to the rest of races when it is well known and proven by years of anthropology research that the oldest human remains were found in Ethiopia. These important discoveries in the study of human evolution include Ardi, a hominid who lived 4. 4 million years ago in what is now Ethiopia and â€Å"Lucy† another hominid, who is estimated to have lived 3. 2 million years ago. Based on the study of her bone structural remains showed that human ancestors were up and walking more than 3 millions years ago. Moreover, Charles Darwin’s theory states that similar species such as humans, apes, and monkeys probably evolved, over a period of many thousands of years, from a common, ape-like ancestor.If both very important humans remains were discovered in Ethiopia and the application of common descendant theory, therefore we can conclude that we all current humans descend from an African ancestor. This logical conclusion makes the racial argument of slavery weak because there is not such as inferior or superior race since we all human beings come from the same ancestor. There are phenotypic traits that distinguished a race or ethnic group of another but it doesn’t make them physically and intellectually superior. Charles Darwin did not think that humans evolved from monkeys.Rather, he believed, based on many years of research in the fields of biology and comparative anatomy, that anatomically similar species such as humans, apes, and monkeys probably evolved, over a period of many thousands of years, from a common, ape-like ancestor, now extinct. Recent studies in biology and genetics, using techniques not available in Darwins time, have confirmed and further clarified his theory. In order to gain a further understanding of Darwins thinking, you might want to look up Charles Darwin and Evolution in a variety of encyclopedias, such as Wikipedia (en. ikipedia. org/wiki/Charles_Darwin). High School and College textbooks of biology may also cover this topic with more or less completeness. Many fine books have also been written on this subject, including Darwins The Origin of Species and the Descent of Man and the fine biographical novel, The Origin, by Irving Stone. Read more: http://wiki. answers. com/Q/What_made_Darwin_think_humans_evolved_from_monkeys#ixzz27qEiO7FG a century this theory has been proven by modern research The Theory of Universal Common Descent was [pic]ShareThisCharles Darwin‘s theory of evolution may have been shaped by his abhorrence of slavery as much as by his keen observations of Galapagos finches, a new book argues. Darwin’s Sacred Cause, by Adrian Desmond and James Moore, notes that slavery propaganda of the time often claimed that different races belonged to different species, a notion that Darwin’s work obliterated. The book suggests that Darwin’s unique approach to evolution – relating all races a nd species by â€Å"common descent† – could have been fostered by his anti-slavery beliefs [BBC News]. Published to coincide with Darwin’s 200th birthday and the 150th anniversary of his publication of On the Origin of Species this year, the book is likely to stir up a new debate over Darwin’s motives. Many members of Darwin’s extended family were deeply devoted to the abolitionist cause, including his grandfather, Josiah Wedgwood, who founded a chinaware company and produced cameos distributed by anti-slavery campaigners; the medallions bore the legend â€Å"Am I Not a Man and a Brother? † Darwin’s mother and wife were Wedgwoods and anti-slavery was what Darwin called a â€Å"sacred cause†. He was taught to see the oppressed black as a â€Å"brother†.This explains why, when he went to Edinburgh University at 16, he could apprentice himself to a freed Guyanese slave to learn the art of bird preservation without thinking it [beneath his dignity] [Times Online]. Darwin later described that former slave as one of his intimate friends. Duri ng the voyage of the Beagle, Darwin saw scenes of slavery in South America that horrified him. He saw the aftermath of slave revolts and the instruments of torture, and heard of a planter who threatened to sell the children of recalcitrant slaves. â€Å"It makes one’s blood boil, yet heart tremble,† he wrote [Times Online].