Slavery Dbq

Robyn Lerebours ​​​​​​​​​Slavery DBQ

APUSH ​​​​​​​​​​11/27/15

In the years 1830-1860, many northern Americans came to see slavery as an evil, while many southerners defended the institution as a positive good. Why did the North and South come to such different views of slavery in the years prior to the Civil War?

During the mid 1800’s tensions rose between the regions of the United States over the issue of slavery. The North viewed slavery as an evil and morally wrong thing to do. They believed that not only would slavery give America a bad image in relation to the world, with the advancements brought to them from industrialization, the North believed slavery in itself had become unnecessary. On the other hand, the South argued these accusations were simple attacks coming from selfish Northerners. Fueled by their strong religious views, Southerners believed slavery was not morally wrong as it helped they make their way of life. The South believed that it would not be able to keep up economically without forced labor. Both sides argued to what many believed led up to more critical events in US History.

​The South viewed slavery as a means of economic survival and often compared it to labor workers in the North. In Governor George McDuffle’s address to the South legislature, McDuffle expresses his concern rather for the harsh living and labor conditions Irish immigrants have to face up North compared to slaves working in the South (Doc A). Several Irish immigrants came to America due to the potato famine they faced in the 1800s. Since the Irish worked on farms they were very limited to what jobs they can have, this forced most of them to work in factories that required little or no specific skills. These factories up North were known for their harsh conditions therefore, McDuffle tried to find a “morally wrong doing” of the north seemingly to validate slavery. In a letter written by Stephen F. Hale, commissioner from Alabama to Governor Beriah Magofinn of Kentucky, Governor Hale urges in his letter for Governor Magofinn to have Kentucky secede from the US. In his letter Governor Hale takes slavery into a political perspective and believes that the value of slavery and to have slaves is so great they would lose much revenue. Hale continues to express his worry of the election of future Abraham Lincoln as his term in the office would be “nothing less than...all the horrors of Santo Domingo servile insurrection”, basically cities would be in a supposed chaos if slaves were granted their freedom (Doc I). It seems as though Hale is intending to scare Magofinn into believing that the northerners are really just selfish and only want what benefits them. This was the belief of several southerners back then. This belief further separated the two, the north and south.

Economically the South believed that the end of slavery would be the end of the cultivation of cotton. William Harper in his memoir expresses his concerns that without forced labor, America would not be able to keep up with the fast growing popularity in cotton and the need to cultivate it (Doc B). In the 19th century, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin which many thought was a step to ending slavery but actually increased the need for slaves in the south. With the cotton gin, there was a higher demand for cotton which meant a higher demand for slaves. Cotton was the most lucrative crop down south. It was the basis of their economy. Not only were southerners fueled by the “need” for slaves to keep their economy on a stable level, many were Fueled by strong cultural and religious beliefs. Southerners who were strong in faith believed that slavery was not morally wrong. An excerpt taken from A Catechism for Slaves (1854), the questions and answers written in a conversation between a master and a slave are shown to have slaves be very obedient and know the role they must play. Using lines like ‘God says I must obey my master’, these answers were taught to Southern masters and slaves as the norm. (Doc G). It’s obvious that these “catechisms” were given to slaves and were listed the way they were because they were published in South Carolina which was a main state that was pro-slavery.

Another reason as why the South viewed slavery differently was the way slavery was depicted artistically. “Harvesting Cotton”, a Currier and Ives print (Doc E) shows a positive image of how slavery was in the South. Green pastures are shown with happy masters and slaves living peacefully together. Although this was not the case, the positive way slavery was shown in the print only strengthened the idea in the South that slavery was the right thing to do. The Mudsill Theory was created by James Henry Hammond greatly expresses his beliefs in the continuation of slavery as sociological theory that there must be a lower class for the upper class to rest upon. Hammond’s theory proved to be popular as many pro-slavery Southerners based their beliefs of slavery from this theory. This print is just one example of the upper class “resting upon” the lower class.

​On the contrary, the North viewed slavery as evil and expressed their desire to have it abolished immediately. Unlike the South who expressed slavery in a positive way through art, the North used art to expose the harsh life of slavery. In a clipping of a cartoon is shows an African American women having her papers listed that she is free ripped up by a Southerner. This art showed that was the Southerners tale of slaves living a happy life was the complete opposite (Doc C). During this time period, it was said that if a colored person had proof that they were free they should be let go as a free colored person but this was often never the case in the south. Henry Highland Garnet’s address