The question that I wish to ask you today is something that I have thought about greatly and feel some elaboration would help me come to a consensus. Did Southerns like slavery or did they continue it because it was necessary for their economy to thrive?
I remember in the textbook it mentioned how slavery was going to die out in the 1700s because compared to the North it wasn't as economically stable but when the cotton gin(1793) was invented, Southerners probably shifted their view on slavery as one with more necessity because at that time cotton did become king and helped the South economically as well.
ReplyDeleteI think that at first, the South viewed slavery as a necessary evil, but as the North began to accuse them, they justified their actions, and eventually their arguments became convoluted and they saw slavery as a good thing, and something that was an integral part of their society, economy, and culture.
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ReplyDeleteI think Southerners came to be comfortable with exercising their authority over a race they saw to be inferior. The book talked about how even the white farmers without slaves liked the peculiar institution because it ensured their status over another group in the social structure.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Annie. While yes, slavery began because it was necessary, it became a way of life. Southerners came to think of black slaves as inferior. They were raised as children to believe blacks were less intelligent than them, and that belief came to define the Southerner's way of life. So when it came to fighting for slavery, the Southerners were not just fighting for the preservation of their wealth, but also their way of life. They had honestly come to believe that they were above blacks, and that to associate with them as equals was unthinkable.
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