Analysis Of Slavery In Ordeal By Fire

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Slavery is an issue that continues to be discussed today, and for most Americans, the main reason that sparked the Civil War. Both authors agree that slavery was morally wrong, and it almost brought the Union to its knees while trying to rid the nation of it. However, both authors have very distinct thoughts and reasons for it. While Stanley Elkins’ Slavery has a more personal and opinionated version, James McPherson’s interpretation in Ordeal by Fire is based on facts. McPherson employs the use of graphics and charts to illustrate and quantify the findings about slavery in his book. His writings are based on the economic factors that made slavery the main force for prosperity in the South. Cotton production had become the main source …show more content…

It always maintained that taking someone’s God given right of freedom was against the church preaching’s and beliefs. In addition, some of the first emigrants to the newly discovered land (North America) were slaves themselves and they were white. One of the main reasons they immigrated to North America was to escape religious persecution. The political situation did not help either; too much support to antislavery and the church could lose the much needed support of wealthy churchgoers. The institution stopped short of actively going against the problem of slavery, instead they focused their efforts in making slavery more “tolerable” for slaves. After all, most of the church goers in the south were white slave owners and/or in some way or another supported slavery and the economic factors in benefitted. In the North, the Presbyterian Church had deplored the issue of black and religion; they were never unable or unwilling to tackle the problem from its source. In the North the free blacks had more religious freedom and were allowed to participate in churches or form their own congregations. There was another phenomenon that affected the lives of slaves in the plantations. Most owners controlled all aspects of their slaves to include religion. The owners used the Gospel as a social control method to tell the slaves why they had to obey their masters (according to God) and inculcate and foster the belief of having to serve and be faithful to their

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