Learning
Module 2 – Activity One
History
101[1]
Justifying
Slavery; Justifying Freedom.
Overview: The institution of slavery became part of the
Yet,
in the 1830s, slaveholders shifted their position on justifying slavery.
Instead of shrugging their shoulders and saying that “slavery is a necessary
evil,” they sharpened their tongues and pens to argue that slavery was a
“positive good.” In sum, they claimed that enslaving African Americans was part
of the natural order of things – it was part of God’s law, part of history,
part of the
The
essential reason that slaveholders and other advocates of slavery in the South
changed their rationale for slavery was that they were under attack from white
and free black abolitionists in the northern states. These abolitionists argued that slavery was
immoral and contrary to the basic principles of American democracy.
Thus,
by the 1830s and 1840s, we find that there were two groups debating the
existence of slavery in the
In
this activity, you will be asked to evaluate the arguments of both sides of
this debate. To make a fair evaluation
of each argument, you will be asked to identify the central idea and support
for each to the two points of view.
Then, after sharing this with your classmates, you can make judgment
about the logic of the two points of view.
It
is anticipated that in this though process you will gain an increased
appreciation that there can be several points of view about a topic. Equally important, the subject matter and
discussion will be used as a basis for one of the exam essays for this learning
module.
General Information
Timing: September
29
Assessment: 20 points.
Process
Questions: Write the answers for each of the two
documents. Be sure to be specific.
Documents:
1. Proslavery Argument: George Fitzhugh, "The Universal Law of
Slavery"
2. Black Abolitionists: Frederick Douglass, The Meaning of the Fourth of July for the Negro