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Difficulty: MediumIdeological and Legal Debates over Slavery

"In all social systems there must be a class to do the menial duties, to perform the drudgery of life. That is, a class requiring but a low order of intellect and but little skill. Its requisites are vigor, docility, fidelity. Such a class you must have, or you would not have that other class which leads progress, civilization, and refinement. It constitutes the very mud-sill of society and of political government... Fortunately for the South, she found a race adapted to that purpose to her hand... We use them for our purpose, and call them slaves."

—Senator James Henry Hammond, speech to the U.S. Senate, March 4, 1858

Based on the excerpt, which of the following arguments most directly reflects the perspective of pro-slavery advocates in the 1850s?

  1. Slavery was a positive good that established a stable social order and supported high civilization.Answer
  2. B
    Sectional conflict was driven primarily by tariff disputes rather than ideological divisions over labor.
  3. C
    Enslaved labor in the South was a contractual arrangement that functioned similarly to colonial indentured servitude.
  4. D
    The federal government should directly determine the status of slavery in the territories through popular sovereignty.

Answer

Slavery was a positive good that established a stable social order and supported high civilization.
The correct answer is the statement that slavery was a positive good that established a stable social order and supported high civilization. Senator Hammond's 'Mudsill Theory' speech is a classic example of the 'positive good' argument, which claimed that slavery was beneficial to both the enslaved (who pro-slavery advocates claimed were cared for) and society as a whole, because it freed a ruling class to pursue intellectual and cultural progress.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus text to identify the author's viewpoint and key argument.
The author (Senator James Henry Hammond) argues that a lower class to do 'menial duties' is essential for 'progress, civilization, and refinement,' and identifies enslaved African Americans as this necessary foundation ('mud-sill') for Southern society.
Understanding the core argument of the source is necessary to connect it to broader historical debates.
2
Evaluate the options to find which ideological argument from the 1850s matches Hammond's reasoning.
The argument that slavery is a positive good that enables a stable and refined society matches the text's assertion that the 'mud-sill' class supports civilization and progress.
Connecting the source's specific language to the broader AP US History concept of the 'positive good' defense of slavery.
3
Eliminate the distractors by checking for historical accuracy and alignment with the source.
Discussions of tariffs, indentured servitude, or popular sovereignty do not align with Hammond's defense of Southern chattel slavery as a stable social system.
Ensuring the selected answer is the unique and historically accurate response.

Key Concept

The positive good defense of slavery in the antebellum era.
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Topics

Ideological and Legal Debates over Slavery

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