The Roots of Slavery - Essay Example

Slavery: A Comparative Analysis For the longest time now, slavery has been a topic of heavy discussion and debates. There have been countless voices raised against this practice – some belonging to powerful personalities, and others belonging to an entire race or section of the society. In this context, this paper will discuss the concept of slavery as perceived by two authors. On the basis of this comparative analysis, there will be a discussion regarding the various facets and issues of slavery. The first author is Stanley Elkins, who is one of the earliest authors to describe the concept of slavery. Apart from this, he is also the Sydenham Clark Parsons Professor Emeritus of History at Smith College. His literary work in the book Slavery: A Problem in American Institutional and Intellectual Life, has important observations and findings that adhere to the mentality of slaves and their descendants. Besides being an advisor to President Nixon, Elkins also supported affirmative action in a bid to eradicate the far reaching effects of slavery on the American psyche in general. (www.wikipedia.com) In this role, Elkins came in close contact with elements and people that made up the atmosphere for bias. This prompted him to base his work on studying such phenomena. The second author is James M. McPherson, who has authored the book Ordeal by Fire: The Civil War and Reconstruction. Having occupied the position of George Henry Davis ’86 Professor of American History at the Princeton College, McPherson has authored numerous books on the subject of civil war, slavery and the basic American sentiment regarding freedom and secularity. (www.wikipedia.com) It may be seen that reared in the time of the civil war, McPherson did not actually study war – he simply focused on the various forms of abolition that arose as a side effect of conflict ridden places and people. To begin with, Elkin’s book on slavery is based on the psyche of the slave more than anything else. This book defines the concept of slavery as seen from the eyes of the slave and his descendants. His primary theories show institutional barriers in the civil functioning of life as far as slavery was concerned. It also carried down this concept to generations of this family or race, who have since entered other professions or walks of life. The concept of slavery as described by Elkin, trace the psychological effect of the same on the life and the families as well as the mentalities of the slaves and their families. In this regard, Elkin defines the institutional life as a matter of defining the various sections of society in accordance with one’s line of work or profession. Here, Elkins demonstrates the fact that the institutions like the church heavily regulated the way the society was run. With use of examples from significant scholars and historians like Gilberto Freyre and Frank Tannennbaum, he brings to the fore the fact that the church had separate norms for dealing with the slaves. This book also shows that these people were seldom allowed to enter the Methodist church or any other institution. Further, there are notes on how American slavery was crueler as compared to slavery in Britain or Latin America. In this context, it may be seen that the church had an important and significant role to play in the characterization of the nature of slavery in America. The salves were usually Southerners, who were not offered any other kind of work. Further, the church played down their plight by focusing on the industrial and societal conflicts at that time, until recently. (Elkins, 1976) McPherson, on the other has a more chronological approach to the matter. He discusses slavery in context of the civil war and the reconstruction that took place later. He demonstrates the fact that the reconstruction brought about a renewed importance for the Southerners, who by and by, began to associate themselves with industrial work and the building of entire industrial cities. McPherson’s book has quantifiable evidence in the form of timelines and the use of other sociological theories. (McPherson, 1992) Instead of formal institutions like that of the Church, McPherson draws on concepts like capitalism. In this context, the concept of slavery as etched out by Elkin’s depends on evidence that comes from anecdotes. This is due to the fact that he depends on the psychological portrayal of facts. This is evident in all his chapters where he relies on the anecdotes that he has collected from the work of the Latin American historians whom he has used as sources. In this regard, Elkin’s visualization of slavery includes the mental trauma and long winding descriptions of the same. He also makes use of various anecdotes to demonstrate the fact that the master in America had an extremely strong hold over the slave. He does so with the use of various sociological theories. The slave in America had no autonomy as far as his or his family’s personal life was concerned. McPherson, in his book, adheres to the same line of thought and belief. McPherson uses this as evidence to show the factors that contributed to the build up towards the eruption of the civil war. In his book, McPherson shows how the use of bureaucracy and the Laissez Faire form of governance contributed to the fact that the slaves had little or no say in their won lives and actions. The slow development of democracy and its complementary ideals until the civil war, show that the slaves had little scope to exercise any right to freedom. (McPherson, 1992) In Elkin’s book, he has managed to bring out the mentally strenuous character of such existence through a focus on the complete neglect of the needs of slaves as far as civic and other amenities were concerned. Elkin has portrayed slaves as mere objects that were victims of acute oppression. On the other hand, McPherson has given them a strong character and acknowledged the fact that they had needs and were willing to fight for it. His well chronicled version of slavery shows the factors that led to the civil war and rise of democracy. His work is more logical and has the backing of strong evidence that uses the support of sociological and socio cultural theories. On the other hand, Elkin seems to be merely venting about the plight of the slaves. In his book, there is a strong focus on the African American slaves and how they were used as bonded labor. On the basis of concepts like bondage, he has used America and its government as a canvas where he has drawn pictures of harsh and ugly tormentors. Elkins, thus, lays emphasis on the rise of a formal definition for federalism. On the other hand, McPherson tried to explain how things work within the system of capitalism among other social phenomena. In this regard, McPherson has tried to present both sides of the story. He tries to portray the fact that the world, and America, in general, was not yet fully equipped at that point in history to have a wider perspective as far as democracy and class boundaries were concerned. On the other hand, he also shows that the African American slaves were dependant on slavery as a means of survival as the education system did not include or adhere to people of lower classes or other races. Further, his book has a note of optimism throughout as he portrays slavery as a journey charted by the African Americans as well as that of the concept of democracy. He shows how America, as a nation, rose from the depths of exercising cruel means of slavery, towards becoming a nation that prophesized and taught the rest of the world about democracy. In conclusion, Elkin simply fixates on the plight of the slaves without explaining that they chose to be slaves to start with. He simply talks about the grand African culture that brought the giants known as Africans down to their knees as slaves once they touched American shores. On the other hand, McPherson depicts how these people fashioned themselves and poised themselves to take on the ladder of success by starting at the bottom rung. They were not ashamed to start out as slaves in order to make an identity of their own and leave a mark on the world as far as fighting for rights were concerned. In this regard, his work is less dramatic as compared to Elkins’. (McPherson, 1992) It may be seen that both authors have a diffent persepctives on slavery, yet the basic tone of both works is an analytical one that is founded on various sociological and psychological theories. References: 1 McPherson, James M. Ordeal by Fire: The Civil War and Reconstruction. McGraw Hill Companies (1992) 2 Elkins, Stanley. Slavery: A Problem in American Institutional and Intellectual Life. University of Chicago Press (1976) 3 Wikipedia, The World’s Free Encyclopedia. URL: www.wikipedia.com (Accessed during July 2007) Read More