Major Historical Themes

Slavery's Moral Divide: Contrasting Perspectives of Fitzhugh and Jacobs Student’s Name Institution Course Code: Course Name Professor’s Name Submission Date Word Count: 638 In analyzing the opposing viewpoints on slavery come from George Fitzhugh in Sociology for the South (1854) and Harriet Jacobs in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1860), one can get deep insights into aspects of racial oppression, themes of liberty, and human rights are delved into. Fitzhugh's argument is an attempt to legitimize slavery in terms of a paternalistic system that is beneficial both to the enslaver and the enslaved, as it provides stability and protection to those he considers incapable of sustaining themselves. Jacobs, on the other hand, gives a horrific personal account of the cruelty and abuse that is entailed in the institution of slavery and, more importantly, focuses on the sexual exploitation that enslaved women have to face. Slavery exposed this deep moral and ethical chasm within the institution through contrasting views such as those of George Fitzhugh and Harriet Jacobs, offering, respectively, the paternalistic view of slavery as benevolent and the cruelty it bestowed singularly on enslaved women. The contrasting views of George Fitzhugh and Harriet Jacobs reveal the moral divide over slavery, with Fitzhugh defending it as benevolent and Jacobs exposing its inherent cruelty and abuse. In Fitzhugh's defense of slavery, he argues that "liberty and equality have not conduced to enhance the comfort or happiness of the pe...