60 likes | 140 Views
Alexander Stephens Vice-president of the Confederacy. Alexander Stephens Slavery and the Confederacy (1861)
E N D
Alexander Stephens Vice-president of the Confederacy
Alexander Stephens • Slavery and the Confederacy (1861) • With the Independence of the Confederate States of America, the South will no longer suffer from the oppressive tariffs of the United States’ federal government. (p. 62.) • The foundations of the Confederacy rest “upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery, subordination to the superior race is his natural and moral condition.” (pp. 62-63.) • “The negro by nature, or by the curse against Canaan, is fitted for that condition which he occupies in our system [(i.e. slavery)].” (p. 63.) • The truth of the Negro’s inferiority “has been slow in the process of its development, like all other truths in the various departments of science.” (p. 63.) • Whites teach Blacks how to work, as well as how to feed and clothe themselves. (p. 63.) • “Our object is Peace, not only with the North, but with the world… The ideal of coercing us, or subjugating us, is utterly preposterous.” (p. 65.)
Reverend Benjamin Morgan Palmer • Slavery a Divine Trust: Duty of the South to Preserve and Perpetuate it • The South’s providential trust “is to conserve and to perpetuate the institution of slavery as now existing….” • The South needs slavery to support its material interests. • White slave owners act as guardians of their black slaves. Blacks are like helpless children who the slave owner protects. • “Freedom would be their doom.” • Slaves “form parts of our households, even as our children….” • The world should FEAR abolition. The world is more dependent on slavery for its wealth than ever, and if slavery ends, the world economy will totter. • The South defends the cause of God and religion, since the “Abolition spirit is undeniably atheistic….”
Rabbi Morris J. Raphall POINT 1: The Bible does not condemn slavery. However, it does condemn coveting another’s property, including another’s slaves. POINT 2: Abolitionists, such as Reverend Henry Ward Beecher, are inventing new sins when they claim that slavery is evil. By doing this they are insulting and exasperating “thousands of God-fearing, law-abiding citizens” and have pushed the country toward civil war.
Reverend Henry Ward Beecher POINT 1: “…The whole nation is guilty [regarding slavery]….” POINT 2: “Our civilization has not begotten humanity and respect for others’ rights, nor a spirit of protection to the weak….”