Honor And Paternalism Analysis

Although many people may believe that the Antebellum South’s views on slavery were just “slaves,” there is a lot that happened behind the scenes when it came to slavery. Honor and paternalism were very large parts of how slave-owners examined their slaves, bought their slaves, and treated their slaves. Correspondingly, honor and paternalism played a huge part in how slaves reacted towards their master and how good their work quality was, either on the plantation or in the house. In Genovese’s article, On Paternalism, he defined paternalism, according to a slaveholder, as “an attempt to overcome the fundamental contradiction in slavery” and also claimed that, “paternalism defined the involuntary labor of the slaves as a legitimate return to …show more content…
Many believe that “slavery was built out of racism.” Others believe that slavery was first an economic system that exploited racialization. This brings about another valid point, at what point, or color/race, were the slaves considered free or enslaved. This argument made the role of paternalism, in the Antebellum South, on auction blocks vital. A common thought may by that the slaves were strictly chosen by size and strength. This, however, is false. Slaves were examined thoroughly and thoughtfully. Even inexperienced buyers were so serious about the first examination and inspection that they would invite friends, current slaveholders, and even physicians to the auction block to help eye out potential slaves. All these potential buyers were looking for someone who was considered “likely.” In the Antebellum South, “likely” was used as a prediction for the slaves and how they were going to act and work once back at the plantation. Countless things were examined on a slave before a potential buyer made his final purchase. A few of the things included: their breasts, teeth, arms, general form, appearance, and primarily race. With race, the darker you were, the healthier and stronger you seemed to be. With teeth, the less decay the better, and if the inside of the slave’s mouth was white, then they were thought to have a disease or illness. Age was also looked at very closely when purchasing a slave …show more content…
As slavery continued, new laws came into the court systems. Laws that stated whiteness equaled freedom. There were many “fraudulent whites” around this time. These people used the courts to their advantages by either physically passing as “white,” or socially passing as “white.” Physically passing as “white,” often meant that you were the product of a slaveholder/slave relationship; this included strictly appearance. Socially passing as “white,” often meant that you attended your slaveholders’ social gatherings, were intelligent, or talked like a white person. Another major change in the court system was slaves stopped being acquitted for murdering their masters; points of self-defense were brought up. Masters would even defend their slaves if the slave killed or assaulted other whites. These acts by the court show how much paternalism meant to the Antebellum