The is Anti Slavery

John C. Calhoun was a pro-slavery senator and vice president. He believed that if they ever freed the slaves there would be too much conflict between the blacks and whites. The conflicts would then lead to the failure of the United States.

Calhoun also believed that because of the slaves, the South had a better and more stable economy than the North. Not only Calhoun believed this, but many of the pro-slavery Southerners believed this as well. He believed that freeing the slaves would lead to the tearing apart of the United States. However, he was wrong. it was slavery that lead to the Civil War and cost so many Americans their lives. Calhoun’s views but the blame on the slaves for the entire slave argument, when in reality, it was his ignorance in continuing to own and dehumanize the slaves.

George Fitzhugh was a pro-slavery Southerner who defended his views with the idea of Paternalism. The basic idea of Paternalism is that as long as the slave works and does manual labor in exchange for their owner, then they are provided a place to sleep and food to eat. Fitzhugh argued that if they freed the slaves, they would not have food, shelter, or clothes since they haven’t been working for money. He tried to sympathize his beliefs in making others think that slaves were cared for in such a way that they are better off slaves than free beings, when in reality, the slaves were still being called property instead of humans. They were whipped, beaten, and forced to live in terrible conditions. The reality of slavery was much more than just Fitzhugh’s idea of paternalism and that soon was brought to light by other anti-slavery advocates.

Theodore D. Weld was an anti-slavery Southerner and explained how the South was brutally treating the slaves. Weld’s statement told the truth about what was going on in the South and thoroughly brought to light all the problems. This statement opened the minds of the people and helped the cause of freeing the slaves. However, the entirety of the South did not agree with him of course. His word went against everything they believed and were preaching they were doing correctly to benefit the blacks. Instead it went over all the flaws that came with slavery. The mistreatment of the slaves and their malnourishment and inhumane living conditions. Weld’s argument against paternalism reasonably exploited all the lies and defenses put up by the Southern slave owners as well as helping the fight for freedom of slaves. No violence or drastic measures were taken on his part. Instead he simply used his beliefs and words to take a stand.

James G. Birney used his religious beliefs to support his anti-slavery stance. Birney briefly stated that is sinful to enslave another human being and put it on the same scale as homicide and incest. Saying that what the slave owners were doing was against God’s word was a marvelous plan to try and get the pro-slavers to stop, making them realize that they were going against what God intended them to do. Since Birney only used God and not threats or violence. He was a reasonable man who used the fear of God to try to change pro-slavery followers for the better.

The Declaration of the American Anti-Slavery Association used overemphasized, understandable reasonings to spread their beliefs. They wanted to abolish slavery once and for all, and to do this they were doing everything they could possibly do. They made their arguments more convincing by repeating, using significant language, and having a strong, steady tone in their writing. Having reasonably stated their beliefs, success also prevailed in their situation. Their argument appealed to both sides and was difficult to disregard.

Henry David Thoreau stated that it was challenging to pursue a government that treats different parts of the population in a different manner than the rest is treated. He declared that if a law needs to be broken for the greater good, it was okay to break it. Morally, this would be considered reasonable. However, to the law, this was radical. He urged for northerners and anti-slavery southerners to ignore runaway slave laws. Since slaves were considered property to their owners, if they ran away, they were to be returned to their masters. He believed that these slaves seeking refuge should be helped and not returned to the life they escaped.

I personally believe in Thoreau’s ideology. If I were to ever come across a suffering person, I will do anything to help them. It is in my nature to help people when help is needed. I would help them find refuge and would assure myself that where I leave them is a safe place that can provide, nutrition and shelter.

William Lloyd Garrison also followed the anti-slavery side. He wanted every slave owner to fear him and was rather militant. He threatened with force to make others see his side, and not only targeted slave owners, but any person who was not anti-slavery. This included people who did not have a side. Garrison would do anything in his power to help slaves gain their freedom and be treated like people.

David Walker was the last anti-slavery advocate.Walker used religion to support his stance just as Birney had. However, Walker had a more radical approach. He stated that slavery is the cause of the United States’ problems. He stated that the South was the reason that the United States was hurting. Bringing in God worked for Birney, who was reasonable and timid. Walker, on the other hand, used his beliefs too extremely, which may have caused more tension between the North and the South. The South, who didn’t take criticism against slavery lightly, could have created more problems and led to more extreme measure to be taken.

Although our young country has experienced these problems, we have always found a way to learn and flourish from the outcome. We have been through challenges with other countries and resolved the issues, but nothing will compare to the tragedy we experienced when our own soil was bled on by men who were wounded by other Americans. Still, we continue to learn from our history and hope for changes that will improve our future. With battles only we can fight to improve our future, we rely on our knowledge of the past to guide us in the right direction.

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