The Pros And Cons Of Abolishing Slavery

336 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Frederick douglass view of slavery

Douglass moves to attack the Christian beliefs of the American people, showing the great discrepancies between the ideals held in the Christian faith and the ideals held by slaveowners. Christians avoidance of abolishing slavery, yet worshipping a loving and peaceful God, may be the worse crime of them all. Douglass explains the hypocrisy of the American people by choosing to continue slavery while claiming the benevolent principles embedded in the Bible. At the moment he gives this speech, “they are thanking God for the enjoyment of civil and religious liberty, yet they are utterly silent in respect to a law which robs religion of its chief significance” (Douglass 12). The American people acknowledge and thank God for their freedoms, yet purposefully

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Frederick Douglass And Henry David Thoreau

    1040 Words  | 3 Pages

    When you look at today’s government, it is viewed that everyone will be treated equally and decisions will be made in the best interest of the people. But when thinking about the government of the past, one must ask if these same views were expressed by the people of that time? Did everyone fill that they were apart of a just system? According to Frederick Douglass and Henry David Thoreau the answer to that question is no. The government was unjust because so many followed the wrong doings of the law rather than doing what was right, subjected African Americans to harsher punishments

    Read More

  • The Use Of Slavery In Harriet Jacobs Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl?

    1184 Words  | 3 Pages

    When the slaveholders transfer this fear by corrupting something they revere, religion, slavery’s perversive power is shown in horrifying clarity. The slaveholders will stop at nothing, they will leave nothing untouched and unsoiled if it means the preservation of slavery. Slavery isn’t just a physical and mental burden upon the slaves it imprisons; it is a moral burden on the entire society in which it exists. Jacobs’ depiction of religion in the South throughout the Incidents reveals it to be much more than merely a place to gather and express beliefs; it is yet another tool owned and used by slaveholders to strengthen the system of slavery.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Frederick Douglass And Frederick Douglass

    1071 Words  | 3 Pages

    History has revealed that it is through the struggles and difficulties, that the good men and women come to light for doing what is right. These revolutionary men and women risk their lives going against what is morally wrong and fight for what they believe is right. One of these revolutionaries was Frederick Douglass. He was revered for escaping for doing what many slaves never thought would be possible. Through the different stages in his life as a slave, a free man, and an abolitionist, he proved himself worthy of admiration and respect.

    Read More

  • Vipul C. Douglas's Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass

    726 Words  | 2 Pages

    Douglass’ explains his view of religion as “When I think that these precious souls are to-day shut up in the prison-house of slavery, my feelings overcome me, and I am almost ready to ask, “Does a righteous God govern the universe? And for what does he hold the thunders in his right hand, if not to smite the oppressor, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the spoiler? (p.48).” He wonders how a righteous God can rule the universe, and yet still allow cruel things like slavery to exist. One of the ways Douglass shows himself to be a Christian, is by quoting the Bible, “Dark and terrible as is this picture, I hold it to be s...

    Read More

  • Fredrick Douglass

    662 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Life of Fredrick Douglass shows how slavery could of not only affected the slaves but the owners as well. Thomas Auld was overall a cowardly owner and quite tough compared to other slaveholders. Douglass believed that since Auld obtained slave owning from marriage, it made him more of an unpleasant master because he wasn’t used to being around slavery and having so much power. Fredrick Douglass also was convinced that religious slaveholders were false Christians because they became more self-righteous and thought that God gave them the power to hold slaves. By telling stories to the reader, Douglass hoped to bring awareness to the harsh subject of slavery and show how the slaves kept hope during these miserable times.

    Read More

  • Paternalism In Slavery

    683 Words  | 2 Pages

    The slaves went along with the demands of the slave owner’s ideals of paternalism and in return were able to manipulate the system to create their own culture within the plantation, therefore using accommodation as a tool of resistance and revolt. Many slave owners often saw religion as a form of “social control” and feared those without religion. While the masters believed they were in control, the slaves used Christianity as a sense of hope, community and equality. The slaves combined Christianity and African traditions, and emphasized the ideal of “the irrepressible affirmation of life” meaning they never let the world around them affect their joy in life.

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass Loss Of Faith Essay

    1264 Words  | 3 Pages

    Douglass is telling us that until we go out and get our own understanding, we will always be blind to what’s right in front of us. He is saying we can do all the praying we want for change, but until you help ourselves God won’t help you. I don’t think he found a new faith, but I do know he did find knowledge. What the slave masters were telling the slaves wasn’t a lie, but it was written for different time, the bible was always meant to be transcribed and interpreted.

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass: Separation Among Christianity

    1207 Words  | 3 Pages

    Douglass seems to weave religious controversy into his autobiography, defining the difference of actions amongst the slaves and slaveholders. Douglass was an American slave who believed in Christianity but struggled with the idea that slaveholders could beat, rape and kill their slaves, announcing, “I speak advisedly when I say that in Talbot County, Maryland, killing a slave, or any colored person, was not treated as a crime” (The Life and Time 41). Although the slaveholders were known as the ideal church-going Christians, Douglass declared otherwise, stating,

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass’ Fourth of July Speech

    1397 Words  | 3 Pages

    In his speech, Frederick Douglass made it clear that he believed that the continued toleration and support of slavery from both a religious and legal standpoint was utterly absurd when considering the ideals and principles advocated by America’s forefathers. He began by praising the American framers of the Constitution, an...

    Read More

  • The White Mans Religion: a Savage Hypocrisy

    881 Words  | 2 Pages

    In his work, Frederick Douglass speaks of two kinds of Christianity: the "Christianity of the land" and the "Christianity of Christ" (2093). The `Christianity of the land' is the religion that the southern slave holders practice. They use the peace-teaching Christian religion to justify their right of ownership and their inhumane treatment of slaves. One example of justification can be found early in the Narrative. Douglass states that one way the slave owners justify their actions is with the misconception that the blacks are the descendants of Ham who have been cursed by God. If God has cursed these peoples then he would wholly approve of their being held in bondage by "better" men. This reason will soon be obsolete, states Douglass, because of the number of slave children who "owe their existence to white fathers" (2041). With the mulatto population on the rise, slaveholders are no longer oppressing those cursed by God, but those of their own kind who, by the white man's standards, are the chosen peoples of God.

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass And Frederick Douglass Analysis

    1247 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this final research analysis, I will be doing a comparison between the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” and the “Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson” to show how both Douglass and Rowlandson use a great deal of person strength and faith in God to endure their life and ultimately gain their freedom.

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass Narrative Essay

    1040 Words  | 3 Pages

    2, pg. 14). He uses his former experience with former master Colonel Lloyd to emotionally appeal, the use of pathos, to the reader that slavery is not something that should be supported whatsoever because it would horrify the very fabric of their existence, both of which, if taken into perspective, would counter any supporting statements for slavery. Douglass shows that the Southern argument for slavery is incredibly invalid by expertly showing how that supporters for slavery have not lived in the fragile bodies of the slaves who worked tirelessly and, sometimes, towards their unfortunate deaths, stating that their supporting stances would turn right around if they experienced a mere day in the hellhole that he experienced, if the person had a soul at all. Stating that the idea of slavery was a “system of fraud and inhumanity of slavery” (Ch. 10, pg. 77) that dressed in “robes already crimsoned with the blood of millions, and even now feasting itself greedily upon our own flesh” (Ch. 10, pg. 85), Douglass described the mere concept of slavery as a dreadful and malignant demon that seeks to destroy

    Read More

  • The Institution Of Slavery’s Corruption Of The White Slaveholder

    954 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, one of the major themes is how the institution of slavery has an effect on the moral health of the slaveholder. The power slaveholders have over their slaves is great, as well as corrupting. Douglass uses this theme to point out that the institution of slavery is bad for everyone involved, not just the slaves. Throughout the narrative, Douglass uses several of his former slaveholders as examples. Sophia Auld, once such a kind and caring woman, is transformed into a cruel and oppressive slave owner over the course of the narrative. Thomas Auld, also. Douglass ties this theme back to the main concern of authorial control. Although this is a personal account, it is also a tool of propaganda, and is used as such. Douglass’s intent is to convince readers that the system of slavery is horrible and damaging to all included, and thus should be abolished completely. Douglass makes it very clear in his examples how exactly the transformation occurs and how kind and moral people can become those who beat their slaves and pervert Christianity in an attempt to justify it.

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass: The Psychological Approaches Used to Maintain the Institution of Slavery

    1326 Words  | 3 Pages

    Slave-owners forced a perverse form of Christianity, one that condoned slavery, upon slaves. According to this false Christianity the enslavement of “black Africans is justified because they are the descendants of Ham, one of Noah's sons; in one Biblical story, Noah cursed Ham's descendants to be slaves” (Tolson 272). Slavery was further validated by the numerous examples of it within the bible. It was reasoned that these examples were confirmation that God condoned slavery. Douglass’s master...

    Read More

  • Summary Of What To The Slave Is The Fourth Of July

    1195 Words  | 3 Pages

    His main argument in the speech is that it 's unjust and hypocritical for a country to celebrate its freedom while it still has slaves. Now that in itself is a morally viable argument, and it has never been more relevant than today in our racially hate fueled world where every situation is turned into a hate crime. However, back in those days majority of slaves were sold into slavery by their own people. Most slaves were sold by rival tribes as prisoners of war, or trouble makers of the tribe, thus giving us the “bottom of the barrel” of the groups. Another counter to Douglass was that even though slaves were people, they were still considered property. A hard working farmer could have used his last penny in order to purchase that slave because he was unable to tend his farm and provide for his family. One common misconception was that all slaves were beaten and treated lower than swine, while to the contrary some were treated well being given a bed and meals every day in exchange for their hard work. While Douglass may have had a bad time under the ownership of Auld, most northern states did not treat their slaves in this manner. This is one of the main reasons Douglass learned how to read, yet no credit is given to his former owner. Most slaves developed a relationship with their owners, in which their owners taught them useful skills such as reading, writing, simple math and farming skills. Another argument brought into Douglass’ speech was that most churches were segregated, and in turn perpetuated the racism that helped keep slavery alive in well. He proposed that a God that wouldn’t allow such evil and disservice in this world would contradict everything the bible proposes and teaches. He praises the writers of the constitution, considering them his equal and thanking the signers of the Declaration of Independence, calling

    Read More

More about The Pros And Cons Of Abolishing Slavery

Open Document