Slavery Justified Analysis

While slavery is sadly still practiced today, it has become globally, socially, and morally unacceptable in the eyes of most people. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, written by Douglass himself, depicts the horrors of slavery from a slave 's perspective. This narrative, written in 1845, opened the eyes of many Americans and gained support for the anti-slavery cause. It also helped create the societal view on slavery today, that it is wrong. Despite the gain in popularity of the anti-slavery cause and the openness of the harsh reality of slavery, a large faction of people supported and tried to justify the continuation of slavery. This attempt for justification is seen directly in George Fitzhugh 's “Slavery Justified”, released

He argues that slaves are “never the rival of their master”(4) and that “the relation of master and slave is one of mutual good will”(4). Fitzhugh uses the term “mutual goodwill” to reason that both the slave and the master have a kind attitude for each other. In saying this, he ignores the common practices of whippings, beatings, and other tortures or claims that these such things are out of kindness. Douglass proves that the master-slave relationship is horrid through his interaction with Mr. Covey. Douglass writes, “Mr. Covey succeeded in breaking me. I was broken in body, soul, and spirit. My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark that lingered about my eye died; the dark night of slavery closed in upon me; and behold a man transformed into a brute!” (58). He states this to show that after holding his humanity for so long he had lost it. He was no longer as strong as he needed to be or as aware of himself. Mr. Covey succeeds in dehumanizing Douglass. This dehumanization is not out of kindness but out of anger and fear.The relationship between Douglass and Covey proves that no mutual kindness