Slavery Without Submission
“Slavery Without Submission, Emancipation Without Freedom”
An argumentative review of chapter 9
Neal Ethan Nichols
History 2010
Professor Harry Hays
4 April 8, 2013
In chapter 9 of Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of The United States, Zinn analyzes, in details about the tough and troublesome living arrangements the slaves had to endure during the early 1800’s, the slave revolts that were started because of these living conditions, and how Abraham Lincoln was elected President, which led to the Civil War because the Southern States thought Lincoln was siding with the northern states about the slavery issue. In this Chapter, Howard Zinn is comparing what happens with the smaller slave rebellions that happened earlier on to what Abraham Lincoln eventually did, except Lincoln having done it on a much, much larger scale. The slave system was such an in depth system that made an abundance of money for the country. Southern states relied heavily on cotton, which was picked by the slaves. Since the southern states did depend on slave labor so much, Abraham Lincoln knew that these would be key reasons as to why abolishing slavery would be incredibly hard. Zinn talks about how the majority of slaves would either run away from their masters or physically revolt against their masters. Eventually, slave masters started to worry about slave revolts since they had started to become more popular in America. Zinn wrote… “Religion was used for control. A book consulted by many planters was the Cotton Plantation Record and Account Book, which gave these instructions to overseers: "You will find that an hour devoted every Sabbath morning to their moral and religious instruction would prove a great aid to you in bringing about a better state of things amongst the Negroes." I agree with this sentiment wholeheartedly. In my opinion, The Bible’s words have been twisted ever since it has been written and in the
An argumentative review of chapter 9
Neal Ethan Nichols
History 2010
Professor Harry Hays
4 April 8, 2013
In chapter 9 of Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of The United States, Zinn analyzes, in details about the tough and troublesome living arrangements the slaves had to endure during the early 1800’s, the slave revolts that were started because of these living conditions, and how Abraham Lincoln was elected President, which led to the Civil War because the Southern States thought Lincoln was siding with the northern states about the slavery issue. In this Chapter, Howard Zinn is comparing what happens with the smaller slave rebellions that happened earlier on to what Abraham Lincoln eventually did, except Lincoln having done it on a much, much larger scale. The slave system was such an in depth system that made an abundance of money for the country. Southern states relied heavily on cotton, which was picked by the slaves. Since the southern states did depend on slave labor so much, Abraham Lincoln knew that these would be key reasons as to why abolishing slavery would be incredibly hard. Zinn talks about how the majority of slaves would either run away from their masters or physically revolt against their masters. Eventually, slave masters started to worry about slave revolts since they had started to become more popular in America. Zinn wrote… “Religion was used for control. A book consulted by many planters was the Cotton Plantation Record and Account Book, which gave these instructions to overseers: "You will find that an hour devoted every Sabbath morning to their moral and religious instruction would prove a great aid to you in bringing about a better state of things amongst the Negroes." I agree with this sentiment wholeheartedly. In my opinion, The Bible’s words have been twisted ever since it has been written and in the
Cited: Zinn, Howard. "Slavery Without Submission, Emancipation Without Freedom." Slavery Without Submission, Emancipation Without Freedom. History Is A Weapon, n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2013. Blake, John. "How the Bible Was Used to Justify Slavery, Abolitionism." CNN Belief Blog RSS. N.p., 12 Apr. 2011. Web. 08 Apr. 2013. Fourth Debate with Stephen A. Douglas at Charleston, Illinois, September 18, 1858 (The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume III, pp. 145-146.)