Idealism and Social Change in The Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin (1853):
"The Men Better than their Laws"
"In some slave States it seems as if there was very little that the benevolent owner could do which should permanently benefit his slave, unless he should seek to alter the laws. Here it is that the highest obligation of the Southern Christian lies. Nor will the world or God hold them guiltless who, with the elective franchise in their hands, and the full power to speak, write, and discuss, suffer this monstrous system of legalised cruelty to go on from age to age."
Potential overlaps: Group 1 - Social criticism, satire, and stereotypes; Group 6 - Christianity vs. the evils of slavery
Topic/Claim: Religious hypocrisy was fueled (justified, caused?) by greed. Or possibly greed was validated through religion
ReplyDelete"All horses, cattle, hogs, or sheep that, one month after the passing of this Act, shall belong to any slave, or be of any slave's mark, in this State, shall be seized and sold by the county wardens, and by them applied, the one half to the support of the poor of the county, and the other half to the informer. [Stroud's Sketch, 47.]"
"but yet the Southern members do maintain the right to buy and sell, lease, hire, and mortgage, multitudes of men and women, whom, with the same breath, they declared to be members of their churches and true Christians. The Bible declares of all such that they are the temples of the Holy Ghost; that they are the members of Christ's body, of his flesh and bones. Is not the doctrine that men may lawfully sell the members of Christ, his body, his flesh and bones, for purposes of gain, as really a heresy as the denial of the divinity of Christ; and is it not a dishonour to Him who is over all, God blessed for ever, to tolerate this dreadful opinion, with its more dreadful consequences, while the smallest heresies concerning the imputation of Adam's sin are pursued with eager vehemence?"
Also some more on this subject: page 408 has claims from one of the churches in England that slavery is anti-christian and that they basically officially disown any branch of the church that engages in slavery other than to free slaves and the church in America's reaction:
Delete"These resolutions were passed by a very large majority. An address was received from the Wesleyan Methodist Conference in England, affectionately remonstrating on the subject of slavery. The Conference refused to publish it. In the pastoral address to the churches are these passages:—
It cannot be unknown to you that the question of slavery in the United States, by the constitutional compact which binds us together as a nation, is left to be regulated by the several State Legislatures themselves; and thereby is put beyond the control of the general government, as well as that of all ecclesiastical bodies, it being manifest that in the slaveholding States themselves the entire responsibility of its existence, or non-existence, rests with those State Legislatures."
(just more brainstorming that might be helpful to gain direction when formulating a thesis =))
New Claim: Slavery corrupts human beings and corrupts societies
DeleteThree sub points from the text:
Point 1: Northerners claiming to be 'Good Christians' but failing to follow through
- Ophelia openly admitting she cannot stand having Topsy touch her.
She's self righteous in that she condemns slavery but cannot bring herself to actively and whole heartedly make a difference. (Close reading #2) Ophelia's forced to see her own hypocrisy and is confused by Eva's actions when she pulls Topsy into a separate room and touch her heart, causing her to willingly change her behavior to become a better person.
-Ophelia's major flaw is hypocrisy, displayed in her revulsion of Eva's affection towards the slaves, although she is a devout Christian. When compared to Eva, she cannot be considered a true Christian.
Point 2: Racial Double Standards
-Black Americans and slaves do not have emotions like White Americans do
-Black Americans and slaves are considered to be 'beneath' the whites. Laws where slaves are not allowed to own land, trade, or profit for themselves. (external source "The Men Better than their Laws" useful passage posted above)
-St. Clare does not expect slaves to be honest b.c of their circumstances.
Point 3: Simon Legree's Cruelty or possibly Henrique his father taking pleasure in hurting slaves
-He dehumanizes the slaves the most yet is he arguably the least humane and the most evil and corrupt character in the novel.
-Immune to punishment via seriously flawed laws in the South.
I feel that this quote could also be another potential section of the novel to look at closely:
"What are you going to do? O, George, don't do anything wicked; if you only trust in God, and try to do right, he'll deliver you."
"I an't a Christian like you, Eliza; my heart's full of bitterness; I can't trust in God. Why does he let things be so?"
"O, George, we must have faith. Mistress says that when all things go wrong to us, we must believe that God is doing the very best."
"That's easy to say for people that are sitting on their sofas and riding in their carriages; but let 'em be where I am, I guess it would come some harder. I wish I could be good; but my heart burns, and can't be reconciled, anyhow. You couldn't in my place, – you can't now, if I tell you all I've got to say. You don't know the whole yet."