Created equal ... joint heirs
the slave’s only incentive to work was out of fear for his master
Slaves could not skimp on the cotton they placed in their baskets or they would face a fierce flogging. She contrasted this with St. Clare’s household where the slaves were generally left alone. St. Clare admitted that his slaves were like spoiled children, but commented that “whipping and abuse are like laudanum; you have to double the dose as the sensibilities decline” which ultimately led to a dehumanizing of slave and master.
Consequently, the slaveholder must keep the African debased and in fear in order to continue to enslave him.
The institution of slavery put unlimited power into the hands of the slave-holder. There were no laws protecting the slave. A master could treat his ‘property’ with as much cruelty or benevolence as he saw fit. As a result, the institution corrupted the white slave-owner’s moral values.
my will, and not his, all the days of his mortal life,
master lives in fear also, of the day the power over another becomes too burdensome, of being rejected, going too far. losing their control. inherently immoral.
Uncle Tom's cabin
Slavery subverted the natural rights of blacks by subjugating and brutalizing them: taking men and turning them, against God's will and nature, into beasts ~ Frederick Douglas
To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker. ~Frederick Douglas
The thing worse than rebellion is the thing that causes rebellion.
The white man's happiness cannot be purchased by the black man's misery.
No comments:
Post a Comment