Philosophies Of Slavery Essay

Humanity, the quality of being humane, has played a major role in our world’s society. Humanity itself, though at times to some people is a grey area, plays a vital function in our society today just as it did in the time of slavery in the 1800s. Although a large number of people knew slavery to be abominable, an overwhelmingly larger number of citizens deemed slavery to be humane and necessary, while at the same time others were oblivious and did not know what was going on around them. Whether it is a slave, slave owner, or a slave trader, it boils down to their personal history that in the end will shape their philosophy on slavery and how they act upon it.
Though the slave traders themselves had just as much guilt as the slave owners, their mentality and …show more content…
Skeggs and Simon Legree, such as mentioned above, have distinct philosophies, they as well as other salve owners and slave traders poses similar characteristics. Within both Mr. Skeggs and Legree’s philosophies, both of these characters, and other people in their positions as well, saw nothing wrong with what they were doing and even viewed it as a humane action. Especially Marie who felt St. Claire to be treating his slaves too nicely when she says, “I’m sure, if nobody does more for servants than we do, I’d like to know who; and it don’t do ‘em a bit good”. People like Marie and Mr.Skeggs are unable to see that the actions they make completely break families apart and cause distress to the slaves they separate. Regardless if the slave owner was “kind” or not, a slave owner still owns slaves and continues to commit an immoral action. Yet, however immoral anyone may claim for their actions to be, it does not take away from the common fact that both the slave owners and slave traders possessed. The principle that every single slave owner and trader thought slavery to be necessary and therefore saw nothing wrong with the matter, when in fact that belief is completely the opposite to what is