Last chance for participation credit -- question for all
To this day, southerners often claim that the secession of the South and the ensuing Civil War was not about defending slavery or white supremacy, but instead about defending their "way of life"? Is that true? (In other words, was there a southern way of life independent of slavery and white supremacy, or was slavery primarily an especially crude and brutal form of capitalist exploitation?) If the answer is "yes," was it a good enough excuse?
posted by Jeff Pasley at 11:10 AM
6 Comments:
I think that slavery in the South was their way of life, but I think that it was a way to dehumanize people and make money without regard to morality. Therefore, the Southerners' way of life was unjust and immoral. Trying to keep slavery alive was defending their way of life, however.
Slavery was the way of life for southeners and to put them in two different catagories is out of the question. Slavery was helpful for the souths economy for they obviously didnt pay for the slaves to do laborious activities. So in the long run the farm owners were making money off of the slaves. The slaves also put a new standard on the social life. The south basis their life on slavery and I do not think that they wanted it anyother way.
Southerners were not only defending their way of life. THey were defending what they thought was their right to use slaves to earn money. It was wrong. Southerners also claim to be strong christians, however, this is hypocritical. Christians would never want slavery. Ever. Slavery was never a way of life, it was farm equipment to the southerners.
I believe that the southern way of life did consist of slavery only because it was built around it somewhat. The north progressed towards industrialization while the south kept plantations. Slave ownership became a way to show how wealthy you are, it was a sign of power. Slavery also was a cheap solution to extremely high profits
I thin that the South believed it was defending their "way of life". The South had based their entire culture and economy around slave labor and to take that away was a major threat to them.
Also, slavery was a inadaqute form of capitalism. Because slaves had no real motivation to work, they oftern would find ways to undermine the production of the plantation. So to say that slavery was only continued as a form of capitalism is impratical.
I believe that southerners were defending their way of life. They became used to slavery, and many were not against it because they were so accustomed to it. The Southerners weren't ready for the change that the Northerners wanted. This problem is one of the factors that led to the Civil War.
Post a Comment
<< Home