The negro American; Anti-Slavery and South's Reaction

The president among that has gone through Negro history it has been this theme of freedom a big priority of America standing up and living up to the bright promises of the Declaration of Independence. This to me is the essential American theme. There was no theme in MeeGo life that is not a theme in American life because the Negro is a market too. He is completely Fessor Benjamin the world's distinguished historian of Negro history that is not the students of the schools in a series of talks 8:07 underneath America I want to be abolitionists some of them. Great speakers like Wendell Phillips Frederick Douglass a whole score of Negro abolitionists and great speakers great to speak of all of course was Wendell Phillips and Harvard trained dancer Mayflowers over the Great Bend of Philips the orator the tongue of the abolition movement and then there were some great writers and the greatest writer of all was John Sweeney who wrote over 90 anti-slavery poems many of them very moving volumes and many of them

first class poetry most of the abolitionists who wrote poetry did not write like the abolitionists had great writers and of course the greatest fiction and probably the greatest propaganda piece in our history is Uncle Tom's Cabin which of course was published in 1852 and immediately became a bestseller. And there was Tom Scholz of what the drama translated in any number of bangs which undoubtedly this had an influence on the whole matter of the Civil War so that those of us who read Uncle Tom's media for handkerchief. Thing you need more Hank. It's really quite touching but this was tremendous in the abolitionists crusade creating a mindset against the South. I may say in passing Wow indeed this great propaganda piece you see making the supposed of said to the star when he met a so your the little woman who brought on the Great War. We can't prove this is a wonderful story though. But she did have great influence the the Uncle Tom's Cabin I simply may mention passing that

in 1959 J.C. Furnas brought out a book called goodbye to my uncle tom and in this book he pointed out that Mrs. Stowe all oh she had a great tract against slavery. She herself would be unconscious race prejudice because the more submissive negroes the Uncle Tom type deeply religious subservient type that we think of an Uncle Tom Uncle Tom type the topsy type who wasn't born by Jesse rose. The top seed in the Uncle Tom type were generally dark skin. Whereas the militant types the ones who escaped on the ice These were my type and therefore strangeness Misto although she didn't know it. Her prejudice was showing and he has done a job our good times cat. Nevertheless whatever job is done. Uncle Tom's Cabin and we noticed that it had such a tremendous impact on the mindset of them our ideas come before action and the

abolitionists are creating this mindset in the north that will lead to the civil war in the abolitionist crusade hooted who are greatly attenuated and attacked in the north and south. Gradually as the Civil War approaches these abolitionists become the higher profits and by 1852 there is a great audience for Uncle Tom's Cabin. It had its devastating effect on the institution of slavery. There are any number of reasons that people who are against slavery the reason the anti-slavery crusade crowd around so a number of people were against slavery who were not anti that they were against this as slave in such a way anti-South the law says the civil war was between two great power aggregates representing industry and banking and finance in the south representing agriculture. Now people were against slavery and they were

they were against the South. But they didn't they wanted to control who controls the National Guard and the government doesn't control itself somebody controls it. Now therefore one of the things that maybe didn't really wear the forefront of these movements and people just borrowed the mongrel gloss from the abolition. But people didn't want slavery in the territories. This was great they just didn't want me they were against slavery. But they were not abolitionists. All people were anti slavery white abolitionists and abolitionists as a man who was against slavery for a specific set of reasons and those are moral ethical religious. But there were a great number of people who were against slavery for you could nomic reasons for political control in Washington. But there are going to as we would say coalesce against the South. So you're quite right not everybody had a disinterested motive. This is expecting too much of human nature. Just like the take

of us five minutes. To notice the South's reaction to the abolitionists who say the South as we could expect. It's a militant South Franklin has a book the Middle star would not it's not historic for the South to have it taken the abolitionists attack. And we can be sure that the star did not. So they struck back in many ways by literature from the mail. They prevented abolitionist speakers and some of them were in the south. The star struck back are in a negative fashion in a physical fashion in barring abolitionists and abolitionists. Little bit you are but the star struck by mainly because the abolitionists where women are so struck back maimed in the area large campaign and there they develop in contradistinction from the abolitionist idea which were based on the Declaration of Independence and

Christian principles and Marlen African prints principles. She went to meet the abolitionists there against slavery because they said they're not against slavery for economic reasons to control the country. They are delicious in the sense that they say slavery is a sin and evil it does something that something slave. Never saw strikes back. By our reckoning a philosophy of it's wrong. Every great institution has behind it a three year we have history to justify. And we must die if we don't understand yet about the sound of the song. What is the appeal of history and they develop the pro-slavery idea. They develop as it had never been developed before the best man is what about George. Bitch you John see our long name the rust. The South's best man.

So the sum of all the best to be a reaction slave. And we needs must now decide because it's going to last long after the Civil War go and vestiges of it are still with us in the 20th century to date. Now the pro-slavery argument basically was that the negro was better off and slave. They always point out who seemed to. That. And he had a better car than those free Negroes so that they said he's better off. Now they're also based on the theory of natural and he was biologically. Genetic. And this was the way of life it was meant for. So that you were running counter to the natural order of things to have him other than a slave in their best minds eminent minds we have a great who would devote very mature very impressive a hundred years

ago are very impressive in their day to prove that this was his natural state. Now they said go to history. Everybody goes to the Bible the Old Testament slavery flourished the patriarchs had slaves the Bible says one different from other glory all the bibles that Paul Santa's sleigh backing is so obvious also look at the Bible and they were deep in the Bible sanctioned slavery. Look at history. All great civilizations have been based. And one name change Senator James Havel of South Carolina developed the model still being that in every society. There must be the thinkers as Plato would say. And there must be the only people who erect out of all ways of thinking. But this is a wonderful theory that there is

a large set in the south. We are lucky because we have a real class. The slave. Therefore if civilization is going to advance we need a class to do the work. And therefore this theory seems to fit in beautifully with the pattern of life Star Wreck the rapid pro-slavery argument which one would have to read to see the young if you want to believe this is very important. Who will believe the South had the will to believe that all of us have a will to believe certain things and we're going to find those things convinced some of the pro-slavery our most convincing and the last reason for the pro-slavery. There's a reason that you will be for all of us advancing the famous modern historian famous essay called The central theme in southern Afghanistan with an essay called The

central theme in this essay. He said that what gives the south of us the only thing the South ever had and differs a great deal. Rafik Texas it differs in a social difference and respect but there's one thing also. It says for us to stand within and suddenly all Sabahans rich poor Virginia taxes wherever there are plenty of war and should remain a white man's country. Now draw isn't sure because the negroes but more than. Because of his inferiority if he is not a slave. If we try to free him because he comes from a low order our society he will cause our society to deteriorate. He cannot make it in freedom and therefore slavery becomes not

only an economic institution right wrong. We say slavery would have died out because slavery was a pattern of racial justice. Such a struggle is going to be. Because you believe that this man is a dangerous customer. You can keep him in control by the institution of slavery to the average traveler and this explains why I have 75 percent of the Southerners had no slaves at all are they would go along with the concept of the negroes position because it fit in with their attitude of where the negro stole. And this explains Sometimes in support of the South. Those what landed us in the Civil War Are they didn't change in position for me and therefore there are some developments. Now this was a system of reasoning and we noticed that simply because it explains the psychology It explains much of what we would meet

in the Civil War and Reconstruction and in the twentieth century because the war does not kill these ideas. The idea that a certain place is a fixed place for X because he fit into this place naturally and for other reasons struck back. They did not take the abolitionist crusade of the abolitionist idea at all are they counted them and pointed out that slavery instead of being a medieval whorls and John seek out the words a possible good they came to that stand and therefore the stance of a positive knowledge of the past the only way to bar the events of the 1850s to mount up and lead us into these events I've listed very briefly but you know so well a fugitive slave law which made it easier to come to the Norco aroused great sentiment in the now.

The opening of territory in Kansas Nebraska which has been closed to slavery in the Dred Scott decision which said that you could take a slave anywhere in the territory whether the territory wanted not much anger the not great the inmate abolitionists overnight the John Brown raid which frighten the south even greater than that Turner in which these men were put to death. Five of these John Powers Of course we Negroes John Brown next year next year two years after this so gets him out of John Brown's Body. But the South was great and then in 1860 the action of Lincoln came in because the Democratic Party was South Carolina like before Lincoln takes office. Seven southern states of the Union and the rift is big. But basically by the time the abolitionists and approached things would reach the point where in the sixties these were the matches which set out the only great war in the 19th century and the greatest war of its time. Greatest

wop to end the civil war. We have been listening to Professor Benjamin Quarles speaking on the Negro American. The series of broadcast was produced for station WTT II by the Department of Education or broadcasting for the Detroit Public Schools executive producer Frederick E. Schiller technical direction Clifford where. This program was distributed by the national educational radio network.