In their minds, slavery had been divinely sanctioned. The most profitable commodity bought and sold in the upper tier of southern states was. Calhouns idea of the concurrent majority found full expression in his 1850 essay Disquisition on Government. In this treatise, he wrote about government as a necessary means to ensure the preservation of society, since society existed to preserve and protect our race. If government grew hostile to society, then a concurrent majority had to take action, including forming a new government. I got my start in education as a teacher, working with students in grades K-12. Palmer then poses the question, "If the South is such a people, what, at this juncture, is their providential trust?" convince themselves that slavery was morally justifiable. What Did The Confederate Constitution Say About Slavery? Therefore, secession remained a reserved right of the states. Gale Library of Daily Life: American Civil War. James Russell Lowell, whose emotional balance was cited by a biographer as proof that abolitionists need not have been unstable, urged, in contrast to Garrison, that the world must be healed by degrees. Also of importance was the work of free Blacks such as David Walker and Robert Forten and formerly enslaved persons such as Frederick Douglass, who had the clearest of all reasons to work for the cause but who shared some broader humanitarian motives with their white coworkers. was the plantation system financially stable? The defrocking ceremony was meant to humiliate a disgraced member of the clergy while discouraging laypeople from viewing him as a martyr. . were plantation owners directly involved with the slaves? You may unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the provided link on any marketing message. New York: Neale Publishing Company, 1911. False The Confederate Constitution stated that each state was independent AND GUARANTEED slavery in Confederate territory. In Europe, the first significant efforts to ban human trafficking and abolish forced labor emerged in the 18th century. Slaveholders were told that they must protect the system of slavery, and doing so would protect their financial interests. children who required constant supervision. Such other denominations as the Lutherans, Episcopalians, and Roman Catholics were affected by the slavery issue, although they did not have any formal separations until after the secession began (Hudson 1987, p. 193). JSTOR Daily readers can access the original research behind our articles for free on JSTOR. And the states never delegated to the federal government any power to suppress secession. This was because slavery was defined as akin to a marriage: the power of slave owners over slaves paralleled the power of husbands over wives and of parents over children., The father/master was supposed to be a benevolent and paternalistic overseer of all family (and property) members. I'm Cary Hardy, an education expert and consultant. Reacting to abolitionist attacks that branded its peculiar institution as brutal and immoral, the South intensified its system of slave control, particularly after the Nat Turner revolt of 1831. Southern apologists claimed the master-slave relationship was more humane than employer-worker relationships because. when did white southern abolitionism begin to fade? On the more extreme side were figures like John Brown, who believed an armed rebellion of enslaved people in the South was the quickest route to end human bondage in the United States. . The secession of the Southern states following Lincolns election led to the American Civil War (186165). what did white southern apologists believe? . The Confederate version used the word slaves, unlike the U.S. Constitution. The moral component of the argument fell into the hands of the clergyand a surprisingly large number of Southern ministers offered a rational moral justification for slavery. Biblical Reasons. 72, No. he published Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World in 1829, she fought for black emancipation and women's rights in New York, he advocated the idea of mass recolonization of Africa, he escaped slavery in 1838 and gave a speech at an 1841 Massachusetts antislavery meeting; he gave lectures and published his autobiography in 1845, a political party founded in 1840 with support from political abolitionists. In the last place, the negro race is inferior to the white race, and living in their midst, they would be far outstripped or outwitted in the chase of free competition. was cotton an important factor of the economy? This belief illustrated the importance of the states rights argument to the southern states. 1996 - 2023 National Geographic Society. what was the main goal of early abolitionist societies? Sig= gave blacks a sense of purpose and greater self esteem. . They argued that inequality in society was inevitable. . . Boles, John B. They argued that slaves lived in better conditions than factory workers. It also showed enslavers willingness to unite against the federal government when they believed it acted unjustly against their interests. . The Confederate Constitution made alterations of individual rights easier than under the U.S. Constitution. At one end of its spectrum was William Lloyd Garrison, an immediatist, the founder of the American Anti-Slavery Society (183370), who denounced not only slavery but also the Constitution of the United States for tolerating the evil. This he did, convinced that the response he got was "sufficient proof that I have spoken to the heart of this community" (Palmer 1860, p. 2). This belief arose primarily from the widespread conviction that slaves could not take care of themselves if left to their own devices. Richmond, VA: Presbyterian Committee of Publication, 1911. They often accompanied their parents and were cared for by older children. what was expected to happen if war broke out between the north and the south and did it? National Geographic Headquarters 1145 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20036. How did the Confederate Constitution handle the issue of slavery quizlet? The second option, later known as the Anaconda Plan, recommended isolating the states in secession with a naval blockade. In what way was the South a paternalistic society during the days of slavery? What did the young children of plantation slaves do while their parents worked? In the 1830s, southern apologists in the South argued that slavery was a "positive good" because it allowed an elegant lifestyle for white elites and provided protection for inferior Africans. Myth of the Lost Cause-America's Most Successful Propaganda - History The Constitution itself had four clauses that indirectly addressed slavery and the slave trade though it did not actually use those terms. Abolitionists were a divided group. In the 1840s and 50s, Northerners and Southerners took increasingly adamant stands on the question of permitting or outlawing slavery in new Western territories, a matter with the potential to alter the regional balance of power in the country. We of the South will not, cannot, surrender our institutions. Therefore, its best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publications requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html. . By the beginning of the Civil War, many Southerners saw themselves as morally superior to Northerners; after all, they had never tried to force their way of life onto the North. Watch this video from Heimlers History channel to learn more about some of the main pro-slavery arguments, including the social hierarchy argument, the civilization argument, the economic argument, the racial argument, and the biblical argument. If that were impossible, it was thought, then the North and South should part ways. Palmer also argues that the slaves are better off with slavery, in part because of their own nature: "We know better than others that every attribute of their character fits them for dependence and servitude. Sarah Appleton, National Geographic Society. Hi there! concurrent majority:a majority of a separate region (that would otherwise be in the minority of the nation) with the power to veto or disallow legislation put forward by a hostile majority, polygenism:the idea that Black people and White people come from different origins. Southerners referred to the founding doctrine of the U.S., the Declaration of Independence. Leader of the army that wiped out the Texans who were defending the Alamo. Under the pressure of worldwide public opinion, slavery was completely abolished in its last remaining Latin American strongholds, Cuba and Brazil, in 188086 and 188388 respectively, and thus the enslavement of persons of African descent by legal regimes ceased to exist as a Western phenomenon. Southern states seceded from the union in order to protect their states rights, the institution of slavery, and disagreements over tariffs. The master occupies towards him the place of parent or guardian. no, by 1860, the majority of southern slaves had become Americanized. Encyclopedia.com. Unable to find cheap labor from other sources, white settlers increasingly turned to slaves imported from Africa. The Myth of the Lost Cause and Civil War History. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. . Rather, they note that the master-slave relationship has existed since the beginning of humanityand, that as long as masters understand their obligation to slaves (including the provision of spiritual sustenance), the system is overall an acceptable one. Planters who owned large plantation houses with at least fifty slaves made up ______ percent of the white population in the South in 1860. What were financial incentives for slavery in the South (products, share of global market) White Southerners believed Northern abolitionists encouraged slave revolts, while Southern efforts to silence the abolitionists aroused Northern fears about freedom of speech. (Palmer 1860, p. 8). In it, the idea is presented that a country could change governments when the one in power was no longer right for the people. How did abolitionists in the North respond to Southern apologists? A He had been John Adger's successor in the Second Presbyterian Church of Charleston for several years.