What Is J. C Penneston's Motivation For Slavery
“All men are created equal”, written by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence (in which the American colonies declared their independence from England) is perhaps one of the most captivating phrases ever written. However, it’s kind of ironic how the colonists were chasing after freedom from England, claiming that the British didn’t properly protect their rights and liberties, when they did’t even give it amongst themselves with their harsh treatment of slaves. Slaves were seen as property without any sort of rights, whom can be sold and bought at any given time. Reliance on slave labor developed in America, especially in the south, as a result of the overwhelming need for labor on large plantations in order to help grow crops
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Pennington explained how it angered him when people used the excuse of “kind masters” or “well fed and well-clothed slaves” as justification for slavery. These terms are misleading as even the “mildest form of slavery” still included starvation, an occasional whip, nakedness, etc... “Good” owners were not masters of the slave system; the slave system was a master of them. (p.374) They claimed to love their slaves, yet they were always willing to sell them for a certain price. One doesn’t put a price tag on …show more content…
This had a profound effect on slaves even once slavery had ended in 1865 (when the 13th amendment was passed at the end of the Civil War, abolishing slavery once and for all), as it was too late for slaves to go back to their families and communities they were forced to leave behind. A Narrative of the Events of the Life of J.H. Banks, an Escaped Slave, from the Cotton State, Alabama, in America was written by J.W.C Pennington in 1861, in the beginning of the Civil War. In it, Pennington talks about his experience as a slave in what was called “the Trader’s Gaol”, a jail-like place for slaves as they awaited being auctioned and bought. Pennington describes some of the horrible conditions slaves had to live with in this gaol. It was gloomy, the food didn’t taste very good, and there was no beds for them to sleep in. Instead, slaves had to sleep on
Pennington explained how it angered him when people used the excuse of “kind masters” or “well fed and well-clothed slaves” as justification for slavery. These terms are misleading as even the “mildest form of slavery” still included starvation, an occasional whip, nakedness, etc... “Good” owners were not masters of the slave system; the slave system was a master of them. (p.374) They claimed to love their slaves, yet they were always willing to sell them for a certain price. One doesn’t put a price tag on …show more content…
This had a profound effect on slaves even once slavery had ended in 1865 (when the 13th amendment was passed at the end of the Civil War, abolishing slavery once and for all), as it was too late for slaves to go back to their families and communities they were forced to leave behind. A Narrative of the Events of the Life of J.H. Banks, an Escaped Slave, from the Cotton State, Alabama, in America was written by J.W.C Pennington in 1861, in the beginning of the Civil War. In it, Pennington talks about his experience as a slave in what was called “the Trader’s Gaol”, a jail-like place for slaves as they awaited being auctioned and bought. Pennington describes some of the horrible conditions slaves had to live with in this gaol. It was gloomy, the food didn’t taste very good, and there was no beds for them to sleep in. Instead, slaves had to sleep on