Apush Dbq Abolition

1294 Words3 Pages

A major point of contention between the states in the United States during the early 1800s was the topic of abolition. An issue since the first days of America’s founding, the problem grew with both proponents and opponents of abolition developing arguments for and against the abolition of slavery. The abolitionists cited the Declaration of Independence, the nature of man, and Christianity as reasons for the abolition of slavery at the state level and the end of the slave trade at the federal level. The proponents of slavery argued that the condition the African slaves were kept in was better than the living conditions of northern factory workers, that Africans are an inferior race, and they used Christianity as support for their maintenance …show more content…

These practices included poor food distribution systems where children went hungry and the “[suppression] of the brutality and licentiousness practiced by the principal men” (King 2.B 1). In these two failures of the plantation system the people who run the plantation prove that they are ruled by base instinct because they treat their fellow man without …show more content…

This stratification of classes has happened in all great societies. Anti-abolitionists believe that if it weren’t for the slave’s utter lack of intelligence, they would be capable to run the farms without white supervision, and slavery would be unnecessary (Fitzhugh 389-390). The slaves now fill that role which must always be filled. In the North it is filled by factory workers and beggars (Hammond 448). If the slaves were to be set free, the freed slaves would compete for jobs at the lowest level. This means increased competition for factory and other menial jobs in the North. In this argument, they point out that there are always poorer classes, and they weaken the base of the abolitionists support by distancing the factory workers from the abolitionist

Open Document