Summary Of The Universal Law Of Slavery By George Fitzhugh

To start from a Pro-Slavery point of view, George Fitzhugh was a Virginia lawyer and the author of two books and various articles that advocated slavery. Fitzhugh's famous words "…the negro race is inferior to the white race, and living in their midst, they would be far outstripped or outwitted in the chaos of free competition." This was one of his arguments presented in "The Universal Law of Slavery." In this document, Fitzhugh also argued that slave owners were perhaps doing their enslaved people a favor, allowing the women to do little hard work, and on average, in good weather, never work more than nine hours a day. The slaves were given a roof over their head, rent free, and were provided clothing, food and water. Fitzgerald believed that …show more content…
Cartwright, stating that it is a mental illness in which African American slaves will attempt to run away at night if they don't become submissive to their masters. He stated that the malady was a consequence of masters who "made themselves too familiar with slaves, treating them as equals." Cartwright states "If treated kindly, well fed and clothed, with fuel enough to keep a small fire burning all night--separated into families, each family having its own house--not permitted to run about at night to visit their neighbors, to receive visits or use intoxicating liquors, and not overworked or exposed too much to the weather, they are very easily governed--more so than any other people in the world. If any one or more of them, at any time, are inclined to raise their heads to a level with their master or overseer, humanity and their own good requires that they should be punished until they fall into that submissive state which was intended for them to occupy. They have only to be kept in that state and treated like children to prevent and cure them from running away." Dr. Cartwright believed this disease was the natural offspring of the negro liberty-the liberty to be idle, to wallow in filth, and to indulge in improper food and drinks. Other side effects of this debunked disease were that slaves would abuse animals, damager their own …show more content…
Hammond believed that the lower-class duties and menial work must be performed by non-whites, which enabled civilization to move forward. Many saw the abolition of slavery as a threat to the powerful new Southern market and revolved almost entirely around the plantation system, which was operated by slaves, and owned by