Southern Defense of Slavery: A Historical Examination

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Southern Justification of Slavery The South had always been dependent on slaves to do most of the work. Whether it was planting crops, maintaining farms, or even taking care of their children, the slaves were there. There was a time when all of these slaves were unable to rebel and could not do anything. But, tides soon turned as the small portion of free blacks began to protest. The South tried to justify slavery by saving that it was actually a “positive good” for the slaves and that it was necessarily evil. The blacks, however, could not bear anymore. They revolted The first resistance began in the 1830s when Nat Turner, who was an enslaved preacher and mystic led a small revolt in Virginia (Jones 283-284). Nat Turner and his group of bandits went on a killing spree when they realized that no matter what they tried, revolution was the only path to freedom. Nat Turner and his followers killed any white man they saw (about 60). However, Turner was captured after months of evading and executed. But, as the fire was now ignited, only the fuel was missing. …show more content…

They passed the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850 which stated that any run away slave would be returned to his/her master. Even free states, such as those in the North, had to comply with such an unjust law. Living in constant fear, many American Americans hiding in the Northern states fled to Canada often with the help of the Underground Railroad (Jones 336). The South’s main motivation to keep the slaves was cotton. By the 1860s, cotton was one of the main exports of the United States. To be exact, it had become 65% of all trade and began to be referred as King Cotton (Jackson). Due to this, the Southerner’s changed their view from Necessary Evil to Positive Good. This meant that the Southerner’s believed that even though slavery was an evil, it was necessary and that slaves were actually happy, content and well cared for by their masters

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