What would be your view on slavery if you were a white nonslave owning man?

Answer 1

This is what I remember from class so don't quote it directly!

If you lived in the South, the social classes were incredibly separated: rich slave owner, incredibly poor white (probably immigrant), or slave. The [incredibly poor] slaveless white were known to show animosity toward the slaves -- they took all labor jobs, lowered working wages, and widened the social gap while they themselves were dreaming of owning slaves and more than happy that someone else was at the bottom of the food chain.

If you lived in the North, feelings were mixed. Most believed slavery was wrong (especially after Uncle Tom's Cabin), but racism remained.

This isn't much detail, but it's enough to point in the right direction for more research.

Answer 2

It is hard to say since what made slavery feasible was the culture. If everyone around you thinks a certain way, it is difficult to go against the status quo.

If I was in such a culture, I would likely believe in a god. And, I would believe that non-whites were inferior to me. So, it is likely that a white who didn't own slaves would be for slavery. Depending on where he lived and all sorts of other factors that were not stated in the question.

Answer 3

Well if you were a white nonslave owning man in the time of slavery chances are you would live in the North and therefore would be against slavery.
I personally can't put myself into the first person to even think about a question like that.

Answer 4

In the USA in the 19th century? It would depend on where I lived. If I had lived in the north, I'd be against it, though I would be more concerned with how it threatened my job; I wouldn't want to compete with unpaid labor. I'd be less interested in the right of African-Americans than with my own self-interest [See Eric Foner, FREE LABOR, FREE SOIL, FREE MEN; George Fredrickson, THE BLACK IMAGE IN THE WHITE MIND.]

In the South, I still would have been in favor of slavery because I would have been frightened of free African-Americans and because I would still view myself as racially superior to blacks. [See lots of books, particularly William Cooper LIBERTY AND SLAVERY and Jim Oakes, THE RULING RACE]

These are not my views, by the way. They are common views held by white slaveowners in the years before emancipation.

Answer 5

Not being from that time period its hard to say what i would do, I would hope I would be a good human being and not approve of owning another human being.

Answer 6

I would started out accepting it because that's what society taught me, but I sooner or later I would have realized it's wrong and become one of those "radicals" that think all people should have equal rights.

Answer 7

I would be against it. The idea that any human animal is property is repugnant.

Answer 8

against