"The Negro slaves of the South are the happiest, and, in some sense, the freest people in the world. The children and the aged and infirm work not at all, and yet have all the comforts and necessaries of life provided for them. They enjoy liberty, because they are oppressed neither by care nor labor. The free laborer must work or starve. He is more of a slave than the Negro, because he works longer and harder for less allowance than the slave, and has no holiday, because the cares of life with him begin when its labors end."
— George Fitzhugh, Cannibals All!, or Slaves Without Masters, 1857
Which of the following arguments from the sectional debates of the 1850s is most directly supported by the excerpt?
- Slavery was a positive good that provided security and social stability, unlike the competitive Northern free labor system.Answer
- BThe primary conflict between the North and South was driven by federal tariff policies rather than differing labor ideologies.
- CNorthern industrial wage laborers occupied a temporary legal status similar to colonial indentured servants.
- DPopular sovereignty should be applied to let the federal government directly regulate labor in the territories.
Answer
Slavery was a positive good that provided security and social stability, unlike the competitive Northern free labor system.
The correct answer is correct because George Fitzhugh's argument represents the 'positive good' defense of slavery. In response to growing abolitionist criticism, Southern writers argued that slavery was a paternalistic institution that cared for workers from cradle to grave, contrasting it favorably with the harsh realities of Northern industrial wage labor.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
The ideological and legal arguments used by Southern defenders of slavery, particularly the 'positive good' argument.
Estimated Time:1m 30s