Defending Slavery
Critical Analysis on Defending Slavery, Finkelman Paul
Defending slavery demonstrate the opinions and knowledge that the Southerners held concerning blacks and slavery. Paul Finkelman talks about slave legitimacy in colonial America. He argues that the first defense of slavery became visible after the end of American Revolution; it attempted to justify continuous forced labor with the Declaration of Independence. This essay aims at critically analyzing ideologies and racial theories that Southerners promoted to defend slavery, which included racial, political, legal, economic, and religious ideologies. Most specifically, this essay will discuss the legitimacy of slavery, in the earlier days, and justify this idea by using the religion and racial defenses of slavery.
Slavery Legitimacy
In the earlier days, masters in other areas rather than the South saw no reason to defend their acts of slavery. In a lot of cultures, the ruling classes treated other individuals in the society as inferiors, and or oppressed and enslaved them and this did not result in any dilemmas in their morality. For example, Romans felt no need to defend slavery as they did not think of slavery as a strange practice. For the Romans, nakedness of exploitation and expression facilitated ideological openness, and false consciousness became unnecessary.
In the traditional world, the Islamic world, a lot of the Pre-Columbian America, Europe and much of Africa, agreed that slave legitimacy lied on the idea of warfare. The accepted laws of war stipulated that enemies captured in any war could be killed. As such, the lives of those spared became legally or socially dead and thus treated as slaves. In addition, civilians captured in towns especially those towns, which had refused to admit defeat, became slaves of the conquering army. Therefore, regardless of one’s social class, individuals became slaves if they lost in a battle.
Another basis of slavery had to do with a legitimate punishment for
Defending slavery demonstrate the opinions and knowledge that the Southerners held concerning blacks and slavery. Paul Finkelman talks about slave legitimacy in colonial America. He argues that the first defense of slavery became visible after the end of American Revolution; it attempted to justify continuous forced labor with the Declaration of Independence. This essay aims at critically analyzing ideologies and racial theories that Southerners promoted to defend slavery, which included racial, political, legal, economic, and religious ideologies. Most specifically, this essay will discuss the legitimacy of slavery, in the earlier days, and justify this idea by using the religion and racial defenses of slavery.
Slavery Legitimacy
In the earlier days, masters in other areas rather than the South saw no reason to defend their acts of slavery. In a lot of cultures, the ruling classes treated other individuals in the society as inferiors, and or oppressed and enslaved them and this did not result in any dilemmas in their morality. For example, Romans felt no need to defend slavery as they did not think of slavery as a strange practice. For the Romans, nakedness of exploitation and expression facilitated ideological openness, and false consciousness became unnecessary.
In the traditional world, the Islamic world, a lot of the Pre-Columbian America, Europe and much of Africa, agreed that slave legitimacy lied on the idea of warfare. The accepted laws of war stipulated that enemies captured in any war could be killed. As such, the lives of those spared became legally or socially dead and thus treated as slaves. In addition, civilians captured in towns especially those towns, which had refused to admit defeat, became slaves of the conquering army. Therefore, regardless of one’s social class, individuals became slaves if they lost in a battle.
Another basis of slavery had to do with a legitimate punishment for