Paternalism And The Moralism Of Slaveowners And Frederick Douglass

Once southerners had committed to keeping slavery, they had to find a way to make slavery morally acceptable and rebellion more controllable. The idea of paternalism was to do just that. Evidence shows paternalism did not work as planned. Slave and slaveowner violated many basic principles of paternalism. Paternalism comes from the latin word “pater”, meaning father. The very word “father” conjures up feelings of warmth and comfort. That’s how White southerners expected paternalism to be like in the plantations, warm and comforting. Plantations were imagined as a large community with the slaveowner as the “fatherly patriarch”. Slaveowners would be responsible for the health of their slaves. It was understood that everyone there owed the slaveowner …show more content…
Anything other than punishments was frowned upon, such as slave-trading. Paternalism not only failed but there was proof of it not ever being present. Many people have told of their experiences as slaves. These people told about the absence of paternalism through their very stories. Frederick Douglass was one of these people. He told of many owners and many violations. One owner he spoke of was Master Thomas Auld. When living with Master Thomas, Frederick speaks of a cruel man that would not feed them. There was a time when Master Thomas had attended a Methodist camp-meeting and converted. His slaves had hoped this would make him “kind and humane”. Sadly, they got back an even crueler Master Thomas. He now found religious justification to continue on with his cruel ways. For example, there was a disabled woman living on the plantation. She had burned her hands beyond use when she was younger. Thomas tied her up, whipped her, and then quoted a passage of scripture. He said, “He that knoweth his master 's will, and doeth it not, shall be beaten with …show more content…
He speaks of many incidents just as Frederick Douglass had. Once Solomon had been talking to a friend and mentioned wanting to switch owners and try another job. When his master at the time, Epps, overheard this he was furious. He commanded Solomon down on his knees and whipped him. Another story he told was about a man everyone called Uncle Abram. Paternalism assumes that Epps would be the fatherly figure. On this plantation, Uncle Abram was the father. One evening, Epps had come home drunk while Uncle Abram was spreading cotton. He found fault in almost everything Uncle Abram did. Epps was commanding so much that it was impossible for Uncle Abram to do everything. He became confused and Epps stabbed him. Solomon had found him laying bloody on the cabin floor when he had come home from an errand. Solomon also speaks of the shocking, unforgettable whipping of Patsey. It was a Sunday. The custom was to go to Bayou Bank and wash their clothes. That’s where everyone was, except Patsey. When Epps noticed, he began to call for her but there was never a reply. Several hours later, she appeared coming from the direction of a neighbor’s home. That neighbor just so happened to be one that Epps did not like at all. Epps was enraged. Patsey tried to explain that she was only getting soap from said neighbor’s wife, but Epps refused to believe her. Epps ordered for her to be tied down and stripped. He then grabbed a