Summary Of Slavery By Henry Sewall

In the last part of his answer to Objection 4 Sewall tried to take the high road concerning the treatment of the enslaved African Americans. He argued that “These Ethipoians, as black as they are; seeing they are…the Offspring of GOD; They ought to be treated with a Respect agreeable.” (Sewall 224) This statement is the icing on top of the cake because of how Pharisaical he was being. On one hand he was alluding that the skin color of slaves is a deterrent of the respect they deserve as human beings. But then he tries to cover his butt by adding each of these ‘Ethiopians’ are to be treated with respect. To increase this ridiculousness Sewall adds Matthew 5:43-44 and John 13:34 to his paradoxical argument. Matthew 5:43-44 states “You have heard that it was said ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy’. But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” Then John 13:34 proclaims “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” …show more content…
Sewall shouldn’t be ostracized for his opinion, as his writing and point of view was an effect of his culture. Now this isn’t to excuse his selfishness or morally questionable statements, but society now cannot hold past authors accountable because it’s illogical to do so. First, the men are long dead and cannot stand up for themselves. Second, this present society would not have learned that there were men who were against slavery, no matter their intentions, during a time slavery was acceptable. Documents such as these are important for the preservation of national history and a hope that atrocities such as slavery may never occur again. To conclude readers should look underneath the underneath. This means readers must analyze whatever texts they come across before they make a statement condoning or refuting Sewall and his