How did southern slaveholders defend the institution of slavery
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Question
How did southern slaveholders defend the institution of slavery?
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Introduction
After the American Civil war, the Radical Republicans passed various progressive laws and amendments to abolish slavery. The southern slavery holders vigorously fought for slavery and against the Northerners.
Explanation
The Southern Slaveholders gave the following reasons to defend the institution of slavery:-
- The southern economy subsisted on slave labor, the end of slavery would cause economic collapse. The cotton, rice, and tobacco industries depended on slavery, and an end to it marked the end of a thriving economy and trade for the Southerners.
- A sudden end to slavery would cause widespread unemployment and chaos. The slaveholders used the example of mobs' "rule of terror" during the French Revolution. The status quo provided stability to the slaveholding class, and its continuance would prevent their society's social collapse.
- The slaveholders argued that the African-Americans were a biologically inferior class compared to their masters, and hence they should continue to serve.
- They used examples from History to defend the institution of slavery. The Greeks, the Romans, and the English all had slaves. In the bible, too, Abraham had slaves.
- In the controversial case, Scott versus Sanford(1856), the Supreme Court declared the Americans of African descent as non-citizens of America, who had no right to sue in the federal courts. The fifth amendment constitutionally protected slaveholders' rights by categorizing slaves as property.
- The institution of slavery was called "divine" as it led to the upliftment of slaves, made them civilized, and helped them grow intellectually, morally, and physically.
- The southern slaves were better than the poor in Europe and the workers in the northern United States. The southern slaveholders took care of their slaves, did not fire them, and provided them with essential resources.
- The violent acts of individual slaves had sent shock waves across the slaveholding class, who profusely defended the institution of slavery by using the unrest caused by Slave revolts.
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