Celia, A slave: A trip to Slavery and Injustice
The book Celia, A slave, by Melton A. McLaurin is an interpretation of one incident that depicted common slave fear prior to the Civil War in the United States. The author uses the account of the young female slave that was constantly struggling with rape and injustice 's hardship, that can be extremely violent in today 's naïve society. The story of Celia offers important insights on how the gender and racial oppression left the female slaves powerless to sexual exploitation of their owners. The topic of slavery was so narrowly avoided by everyone because it was too delicate of a situation to be handled. Not handling the growing issue of slavery, caused the United States to crumble and divide …show more content…
The judge did not want to take any rash decisions that could create a debacle and fuel the fight against slavery more furious. This led to the judge for denying every request from the defense to change the jury 's decision. The judge wanted to have a quick and a silent case as much as possible due to the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Luckily, there was still some hope for Celia, as she was entitled to Sec. 29 of the second article of the Missouri statutes stating that, "to take any women unlawfully against her will and by force, menace or duress, compel her to be defiled" (McLaurin, 107). The law describes itself as it was unethical during the 1800 's and even today in the 21st century for women to be violated against their will. The arguments posed by the defense in Celia 's case, posed an immediate threat, one of enormous magnitude to the slaveholders of the antebellum south. Each side presented their argument, and when both had rested, the jury was given their instructions, and not surprising as they returned a guilty verdict, and Celia was sentenced to death by execution on November 16, 1855. Jameson and the rest of Celia’s legal team felt the judge had not acted impartially as he was required to do by law and so they applied for an appeal. Judge Hall denied the appeal, and Celia’s team decided to …show more content…
It is not only socially unacceptable, but morally sickening. It degrades humanity at it 's worst level. All people were created equal in dignity and rights. They are humans just as their masters who owned them. In America, many cases of slavery were constantly a subject of debacle around the country. The topic was so delicate, that it literally divided the country and caused an all-out war amongst the north and the south. The case of Celia presents the life of a slave and it 's aftermath. The case provides all the owners of slave, at some point, a personal moral dilemma. This debacle caused a fear among the southerners who owned slaves. It would have challenged their authority and the premises of patriarchal slaveholding society. The effects of the political aspects of slavery reached into the courtroom and denied her the justice that the court system is there to provide, a fair trial. The story of Celia shows the immoral aspects of slavery and how it led those involved in the institution, and even some not involved to decisions that where even more wrong than the slavery
The book Celia, A slave, by Melton A. McLaurin is an interpretation of one incident that depicted common slave fear prior to the Civil War in the United States. The author uses the account of the young female slave that was constantly struggling with rape and injustice 's hardship, that can be extremely violent in today 's naïve society. The story of Celia offers important insights on how the gender and racial oppression left the female slaves powerless to sexual exploitation of their owners. The topic of slavery was so narrowly avoided by everyone because it was too delicate of a situation to be handled. Not handling the growing issue of slavery, caused the United States to crumble and divide …show more content…
The judge did not want to take any rash decisions that could create a debacle and fuel the fight against slavery more furious. This led to the judge for denying every request from the defense to change the jury 's decision. The judge wanted to have a quick and a silent case as much as possible due to the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Luckily, there was still some hope for Celia, as she was entitled to Sec. 29 of the second article of the Missouri statutes stating that, "to take any women unlawfully against her will and by force, menace or duress, compel her to be defiled" (McLaurin, 107). The law describes itself as it was unethical during the 1800 's and even today in the 21st century for women to be violated against their will. The arguments posed by the defense in Celia 's case, posed an immediate threat, one of enormous magnitude to the slaveholders of the antebellum south. Each side presented their argument, and when both had rested, the jury was given their instructions, and not surprising as they returned a guilty verdict, and Celia was sentenced to death by execution on November 16, 1855. Jameson and the rest of Celia’s legal team felt the judge had not acted impartially as he was required to do by law and so they applied for an appeal. Judge Hall denied the appeal, and Celia’s team decided to …show more content…
It is not only socially unacceptable, but morally sickening. It degrades humanity at it 's worst level. All people were created equal in dignity and rights. They are humans just as their masters who owned them. In America, many cases of slavery were constantly a subject of debacle around the country. The topic was so delicate, that it literally divided the country and caused an all-out war amongst the north and the south. The case of Celia presents the life of a slave and it 's aftermath. The case provides all the owners of slave, at some point, a personal moral dilemma. This debacle caused a fear among the southerners who owned slaves. It would have challenged their authority and the premises of patriarchal slaveholding society. The effects of the political aspects of slavery reached into the courtroom and denied her the justice that the court system is there to provide, a fair trial. The story of Celia shows the immoral aspects of slavery and how it led those involved in the institution, and even some not involved to decisions that where even more wrong than the slavery