The Southern Colonial America Rhetorical Analysis

All throughout History, we have continuously asked ourselves why African Americans lived a much more restricted life from that of the White. Most of us know that African Americans were enslaved workers and slave owners. Being a property meant that they had to follow every rule and do as told. Around the eighteenth century, the slavery of African Natives became a notable source of labor for the Southern plantation system. The development of plantations made the use of slaves more necessary. Due to the development of plantations, the idea of slavery was not only influenced among the people but it was also a profitable investment. Social factors including political and religious views also had a great impact on the growth of slavery in the colonies. …show more content…
As to the essays, which were mainly focused on plantation owners and their ideologies and relationships. This meant whether it be with slaves, families, or in any other political sense. In both essays, I realized the words “patriarch” and “paternal” were used to describe the strands that held together the plantation community. Both of these writers have a different idea of what the words hold for meaning. For instance, the word patriarchy was seen as an image of power or dominion over the planters’ organization. In a political sense, I believe it was a top priority to have a good patriarchal image. Having a good patriarchal image showed the other politically wealthy people and those that served you, that you had control of your situation. Having the image of control shows that you demand respect and a position. In the other hand, the word paternalism refers to an attitude or a policy reminiscent of the hierarchic pattern of a …show more content…
For example, in the first essay, “The Anxious World of a Slave Owning Patriarch,” Brown mentions how one could not have patriarchy and not have paternalism. In the second essay “The Effects of Paternalism among Whites and Blacks,” Morgan mentions that plantation owners developed from one idea to the other which was from patriarchy to paternalism. I happen to come to an agreement more with Morgan in the sense that, paternalism may have played a larger role in the planter world but not to take the place of patriarchy. The only difference is the plantation owners were finding more effective ways to get employees to be productive. The material conditions of a slave were predetermined by the status of the slave. These slaves were treated according to their status. For instance, many African Natives were slave owners because of their low social class. As slaves, they did not have any rights and privileges as other people who were not slaves. They were restricted from voting and owning their own land. The only thing slaves were needed for was for working as slave