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Newspaper Analysis: Abolition and Slavery

Essay Instructions:
This assignment involves an examination of attitudes about slavery and abolitionism as they are reflected in newspapers of the 1840s and 1850s. To complete this assignment you will use the Valley of the Shadow web site listed in the Web Links. The newspapers you will use for this exercise are the following: Staunton Spectator Chambersburg Valley Spirit Staunton Vindicator Franklin Repository and Transcript The link in the Web Links connects to a search engine for these newspapers. Select one of the newspapers listed above and write a two-page essay analyzing the way the newspaper reported on the issue of slavery and the activities of the abolitionists in the immediate pre-Civil War period. As you develop your essay, please look to answer the following questions within your essay: What specific points do articles in your specific newspaper make about the institution of slavery? What first-hand reports, if any, does it publish about the actual living and working conditions of the slaves? What arguments does the newspaper put forth to support or attack slavery? Who is the editor of the newspaper? Is he from the North or South? What groups of people do you think constitute his readers? How does the newspaper report the activities of abolitionists? Pro-slavery factions? Please make sure you concentrate your essay on the pre-Civil War period, prior to April, 1861.
Essay Sample Content Preview:
Abolition and Slavery Student Name Course Lecturer Date The modern day Virginia and Pennsylvania dates back in history where they were involved in civil wars in the 19th Century. Present day Pennsylvania was Franklin County while Augusta County was the name of what is now Virginia. The two were 200 miles apart and shared most of the times never shared the same views on many issues. One of the issues in question was that of slavery and abolition and this is evidenced by the views of the members of these two communities as expressed in their newspapers. Most of the editors of the newspapers were advocating for slavery and hence they wrote articles that were pro slavery and shunned the progress toward abolitionism. On 24th October 1859, the newspaper Franklin Repository published an article named “High Treason” in which the author was criticising the proponents of abolitionism. The writer criticised the efforts as political gimmick for Fredrick Douglass and his supporters. In another article named by the same newspaper on 10th October 1859, the author who is a republican accuses the opponents of plotting to have two slave states so that they are voted into power again and hence this clearly shows that the electorate used to support leaders who were pro- slavery (Ayers, 2007). In another article dubbed “The Other Douglas” in the Franlkin Repository dated 24th October 1959, the author starts by giving credit to the mannerisms and oratory skills of a black orator named who is against slavery. However, he is quick to give his view that though he gave an impeccable speech, the end of slavery would spell doom and rage war since people from two different racial backgrounds cannot coexist in the same place. His article majorly targets the anti-slavery proponents, majority who are owners of the large agricultural plantations. According to Ayers, these people would lose if anti slavery measures are effected since they depend on slaves for labour i...
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