Read the section labeled Varying Viewpoints on pages 394-395 of your textbook. Use the information provided to support your response to the following question: What was the true nature of slavery? Be sure to post your response and a response to your classmate by Sunday, December 13.
31 Comments
Ashley Coveney
12/7/2009 10:22:16 pm
I think the true nature of slavery was ownership. Slave owners saw slaves like property but as a better example they owned them as they would their children but without the connection of parent and offspring it was easier to beat and torture a slave. in the reading it states "... slavery embraced a strange form of paternalism...". Some slave owners saw their slaves as human beings others did not. Unbeknownst to me they felt maybe as if they did not have feelings, they owed the white race for something, or maybe they just could care less.
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Sarah Hopkins
12/8/2009 09:05:05 am
The true nature of slavery was that slaveholders viewed their slaves as valuable investments. The extent of that being, slaveholders would treat their slaves as well as it was necessary to keep them healthy and profitable. Otherwise, their slaves were not necessarily worthy of good treatment, because the African American race was 'inferior.' In Varying Viewpoints, Elkins accepts Phillips's idea of slave personality being a childish "Sambo." However, Elkins states that it was a consequence of slavery rather than an attribute of African Americans. In the times of slavery, I would have to agree with that statement because slavery was very limiting for the black race.
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Molly G
12/10/2009 08:46:23 am
The True nature of slavery was dominance. White supremacy was a common theme during these times and slowly this idea led to the terrible conditions of slavery. Many slave owners that believed they were superior to blacks let this idea get to their heads and led slavery into an even worse situation. Even though some slave holders “treated their property more humanely” in some areas, it does not necessarily mean that it was good and “kind” as the reading says. Slaves were still treated and viewed as property, this is cruel not kind. So this idea of dominance and white supremacy was the true nature of slavery that led to the terrible way we view slavery today.
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Molly G
12/10/2009 08:54:58 am
Ashley has a good point in saying that the true nature of slavery was ownership. Many whites may have felt that to have more “property” gave them a better reputation in society. As Ashley said, we can’t really tell what they were thinking but, this idea of treating salves cruelly may have given them the idea that they would have been seen with a better reputation.
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brian w.#91
12/12/2009 07:15:04 am
The True nature of slavery was about ownership i thought. slaves were saw as property instead of human beings. slaves had horrible life's, all they did was work and get beaten 24/7. sometimes other slaves would even beat slaves to keep the master off their backs.
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Zain B
12/12/2009 11:54:54 pm
The true nature of slavery in early American history as Racism. Having only Africans as slaves specifically put Africans under society and gave them very little chance of escape from the system or a chance to live outside of it. In other countries mixed slavery was common having people of European and native decent as well as Africans. This mixture of slavery gave everyone a stronger chance at freedom and a better lively hood guaranteeing not one group will be the only one recognized as a slave. If Europeans would have also been eligible for slavery at the time the institution would have been short lived because everyone would be capable of experiencing its hardships and would probably agree to rid the country of it. Mixed slavery in other cultures was more of a class in society, while in America slaves were an object.
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Zain B
12/12/2009 11:59:00 pm
I agree with Molly. Dominance was a large part of the nature of slavery, white people seeing themselves as better led slavery to continue for awhile and leave a dark mark on our countries history.
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Zain B
12/13/2009 12:02:59 am
in my first post that's supposed to be "was racism" not as.
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Amberleigh
12/13/2009 06:28:13 am
(Beside economic gain) … The true nature of slavery was power. The whites loved the fact that they could overpower an entire race of people, and make money from it. The controlling whites were addicted to being able to do anything they wanted, for the most part, with no consequences. They could beat, rape, and kill their slaves… they were able to produce vast amounts of goods and materials for a very low price… a life. FYI: < if you didn’t catch that, that was sarcasm.
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Taylor D.
12/13/2009 08:09:03 am
The true nature of slavery was economic gain for the whites. They also saw it as a form of power and control over a group of people that were different then them. Skin color was their justification for this economic gain. Whites were able to buy more land and utilize slaves to gain more of a profit from crops.
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Taylor D.
12/13/2009 08:11:25 am
I agree with Amber, another "benefit" of slavery was power for the whites. They used force and physical abuse has a way to degrade blacks and to show how inferior they really were all because of a different skin color. Like Amber said, not all were horrible to their slaves, yet they still participated in this horrible act towards other human beings.
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Paige L.
12/13/2009 09:39:27 am
I also believe the true nature of slavery is about the power. As stated in the article, " Economic historians have demonstrated that slavery was a viable, profitable, expanding economic system and that slaves constituted a worthwhile investment for their owners." More slaves means more money being produced with leads to the owners gaining more power on their area. I also agreed with Eugene Genovese in saying that owners moved on to the need to coax work out of their reluctant and often recalcitrant "investments." When owners are becoming more demanding with their slaves this is also a way that they are becoming more powerful.
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Ryan H.
12/13/2009 10:23:46 am
The true nature of slavery was definitely economic gain. Think about it, if white slave holders did not gain anything from their "investment," then they would have no need for them.
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Ryan H.
12/13/2009 10:29:32 am
I disagree with Zain. Slaves were only for huge profits. Slave owners did not by slaves just becuase they had different skin color. They bought them for profit only. Slaves were black. But that was only becuase that whites considered themselves to be dominant over blacks. Whites would have never bought slaves if they didn't gain money from them. Therefore, slavery was not based on racism.
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Paige L.
12/13/2009 11:05:50 am
I agree with Amber in her saying that whites liked that they could overpower slaves and make money off of it. this is another example of how power is the true meaning of slavery. slaves owners didn't care if they were hurting their slaves with the abuse they demonstrated. All they seemed to care about was the power they were creating for themselves and the amount of money the slaves were making them.
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Craig J.
12/13/2009 11:45:48 am
Among others, I think the true nature of slavery was economic gain. Slaveowners wouldnt have wanted slaves out of pure racism, they wanted them to help their crops and land flourish. They needed somebody to do the backbreaking labor for them, and just like nowadays its tractors and machinery, then it was African Americans.
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Craig J.
12/13/2009 11:49:31 am
I agree with Amber about how whites loved the fact that they could overpower an entire race of people, and make money from it, which they did.
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Ashley C.
12/13/2009 08:17:31 pm
I agree with Molly that agreat deal of slavery had to do with dominance. They (whites) just wanted to feel superior to someone to make themselves feel better. This got out of hand and soon enough there was a theme of slavery everywhere.
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Natalie
12/14/2009 12:47:54 pm
The true nature of slavery was for the white man and his growing need for power. white men wanted everything; more land, money, dominance,and social status. and having slaves tide all that in together. but for them slavery was apart of their history and their culture. having a slave was like having animals on a farm its just what you did. and having slaves was the best possible answer at the time for their growing economy, and in order for there plantations to grow and flourish they need lots of work done aka slaves. like everyone said it was mainly for economic gain because they new they could overthrow a whole race to make them do what ever they wanted.
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Natalie
12/14/2009 12:49:26 pm
i agree with brian because they were viewed as property and not as human beings
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Morgan P.
12/14/2009 11:49:59 pm
I think during this white people were looking for an easy way to make money and when they found out that they could overpower another race they took advantage of it.That way they wouldn't have to take care of their crops and they would get more money and more crops. They didn't see African Americans as another race they see them as property.
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Ted S.
12/14/2009 11:51:32 pm
I believe that slavery is considered ownership of property. They didn't think they were people.
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Morgan P.
12/14/2009 11:51:33 pm
I agree with craig because he said mostly the same things as I did.
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Ted S.
12/14/2009 11:52:45 pm
I agree with Ashley because her and I had the same views and she is right and I am too.
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Gaston
1/12/2010 07:06:48 am
The true nature of slavery was to earn money. The Slave holders didn't have to pay taxes of their slaves and didn't have to pay the slaves at all. Not to mention they only needed to provide enough food and shelter to keep them alive. In the long run slavery brought it tons of money by selling crops at a faster speed and the farmers getting to keep the money and not split it between their workers, (Slaves).
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Gaston
1/12/2010 07:08:08 am
I disagree with Ashley, just because I don't think the ownership part of it was the biggest thing. They wanted money and got more for the unpaid labor the slaves did.
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Bobby C.
2/14/2010 01:35:49 am
The true nature of slavery was to increase profits. The slaves had to work longer hours than the average person without getting paid. The racism that we associate with slavery came later as a way to defend the peculiar institution against the North's abolitionist views.
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Bobby C.
2/14/2010 01:38:59 am
I agree with Sarah that the slaves were only treated well as long as they were profitable. The Southerners saw no need to be kind to them because they were people, but they were kind enough to get the most amount of work out of them.
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