TheSonofNewOrleans

MynameisAdamOBrian.Im27yearsold,IliveinNewYorkCityandImfromNew
Orleans.MyfatherisaprosperousNewOrleansmerchantandpropertyowner.Hesentmeto
CambridgeandHarvardCollegeforaneducation.Myfatherandmotherhaddifferentideasof
whatmycareershouldbe.Mymotheralwayswishedtohaveaministerasason,itwaspartof
herbeliefs.Iamreligious,butIneverdesiredtobedeeplyinvolvedinthechurch.Ontheother
side,myfatherwantedmetobefamiliarwiththeeconomyandbeinvolvedinhisbusiness.
Amongmyfathersmanybusinesses,hemakesareallygoodlivingthroughthebuyingand
sellingofslaves.Indeedhisslavepenishismostreliableandsteadyformofincome.Iwouldn't
mindworkingwithmyfather,butIcouldnotlivepeacefullyknowingallthecrueltyslavesgo
through.
EventhoughI'mfreetodecideanycareerIwant,myfatherhasalwayspushedmeinto
economy.RightafterIleftHarvard,myfathersentmetoNewYorkCitytoworkasaSecretary
ofaleadingfurnishingmerchant.Hewantsmetobecomedeeplyfamiliarwiththeeconomyand
tolearntheropesofcommercefromtheviewpointofNewYorkCityandnotonlyNewOrleans.
ButI'mtoointellectuallyinclinedtobefullysatisfiedwiththementalityofabusinessman.I
oftenreadEmersonorthepropagandaofthesocialreformers.
I'mreallyintriguedbythisdebatethat'sbeengoingonaboutthequestionsarisingfromthe
institutionofslavery.Ihaveworkedinslavepens,myknowledgeofAmericanslaveryis
unequalledtoanyonenowlivinginNewYork.I'vesoldchildrenawayfromtheirparents.I've
seenpainineyesofthechildrenandmotherswhoweresoldatmyfather'sauction.Ioftenrecall

thecriesofslavewomenandmenastheyaresoldandforeverseparatedfromtheirchildrenand
theirspousesthosecriespiercetheheartofanyman.Ofcourse,myfatherbroughtmeupto
accepttheviabilityoftheslavesystem.MyfamilybelieveswhatMr.Calhounhasproclaimed,
thatslaveryisapositivegood.Ifslaveryisapositivegood,whydoesitproducebrokenhearts,
woundedbodies,crippledmenandmotherlesschildren?Iknowtoomuchtoeverdenythetruth:
slaveryiscruelandcausesincalculablehumansuffering.
IrecentlyreadtheNarrativebythefugitivecalledDouglas,butI'mpersonallymoremovedby
theGrimkesisterswritings.Theytravelaroundthenorthlecturingtheirexperienceswithslavery
andthey'realsoactivistsinwomenrightsmovement.IoftenquestiontheirideasbecauseI've
neverknownawomantobesoarticulateandpersuasiveaboutamatterthatissofarremoved
fromtheprivatefemalesphereofthefamilyandhome.I'mdrawntotheforceoforiginalby
whichtheGrimkesexpresstheirviews,I'vereadandrereadtheirpamphletsseveraltimes.They
seemtohavesuperiorminds!Havingthiskindofwomeninthegovernmentwouldchangethe
ideainourcivilizationof"PositiveGood".
Ioftencometothisthoughtthatprogresswillbemadeifalcoholisbanned.Manymeninthe
governmentareoftenundertheinfluenceofalcoholanditleadsthemtomakewrongdecisions
orjustifythehorribleactstheycommitagainstslaves.Ourcivilizationbelievesthatalcoholis
healthfulanditmaypreventyoufromdiseases.Ibelievethatourcivilizationabusesthe
resourcesGodgivesustojustifyoursins.

Document2:NotesontheStateofVIrginiabyThomasJefferson,1787
ThisdocumentfocusesonJeffersonsthoughtsonslavery,blacksinVirginiaandracial
differences.Heemphasizesthemostonstatementsonslaveryandrace.Jeffersonalsoexpresses
hisbeliefsincitizensrightstoexpressthemselvesfreelywithoutfearofthegovernmentor
religion.Hebelievedslaverywasdemoralizingtobothwhiteandblacksociety.Jeffersonleaves
uptousweatherwereinfavororagainstslavery.Manysupportersofabolitionmayconsiderhis
thoughtsonslavesandblacksanobstacletoachieveequalrightsforfreeblacksintheUnited
States.
Theideaofblacksbeinglessinbodyandmindisbytheeffectmerelyoftheirconditionoflife.
Theirraceisntinferiortoours.Theonlydifferenceisfixedinnatureanditsimpossibleto
changeit.Idon'taccepttheclaimofThomasJeffersonthatthecoloredpeoplespainsaresoon
forgotten.Ioftenrecallconversationswithslavesinmyfathersslavepenwhowerestill
heartbrokenoverlosingtheirownmothers,decadesbefore,andwhonowfacedbeingsoldaway
fromtheirownchildren.Ourcivilizationabusesthesmalldifferenceofskincoloroftheblacks
forourownbenefit.Butisitreallyworthtakingawayotherslife,libertyandpursuitof
happinessforthebenefitofourcountry?Perhapsinseveralyearswellnoticetheunfixable
psychologicalandphysicaldamageslaveholdersmade.Allcausedbytheunfortunatedifference
ofcolorasanobstacletotheemancipationofthesepeople.

IagreeandalsodisagreeincertainideaswithJefferson.Hehumanizestheslaves,buthealso
thinkstheyreunequaltohim.Hesstilldiscriminatingtheirrace.Jeffersondoeshavesome
positiveideas,butitdoesnttakeawaythefacthebelieveshesstillsuperiortoblacks.

Document8:JohnC.Calhoun,SlaveryasaPositiveGood"
Inthisspeech,CalhounrespondstoantislaverypetitionssenttotheSenatebyabolitionist.
Calhounthoughtwhitesouthernersneededtostopapologizingforslavery.Instead,hestarted
arguingthatslaverywasindispen
sabletothepeaceandhappinessofbothwhitesandblacks.He
alsoclaimsthatinsteadofanevil,slaveryisagoodapositivegood.Calhounbeganthisspeech
readingtwoantislaverypetitionsandhethenbeganspeakingagainstthem.
MyfatherhasalwaystaughtmeMr.Calhoun'sBeliefs.Hebelievedthatourcountryreliedtoo
muchoncompromise.Insteadofreinforcingthelawordebatinguponchangeeveryonewantsto
compromiseandsatisfytheneedsofallpeople.Insteadoftakingthetimetomakelogical
changesandcarryingoutthosechangesefficiently,thepeoplewantedchangeimmediately.Ifthe
nationcontinuedtomakecompromiseaftercompromise,nolaworauthoritativepositionwould
betakenseriouslyandtherewouldbechaos.Calhounwantedabolitioniststotakeadeeperlook
atslavery,toquestionthepossibilityofpositiveaspectswithinslavery.Iftheystillinsistupon
abolishingtheinstitutionofslaverythentheyshouldputtogetheracommitteewheretheycan
proposeandcompareideas.Oncethetopicofabolitionisthoroughlydiscussedtheycan
hopefullycometoacivilizedandintelligentresponsetotheabolitionofslavery.

IdonotagreewithCalhoun'sideasatall.Butmyfatherdoes,itbenefitshisbusiness.Myfather
hascommandedmetojoinintheproslaveryside.SoIdonthaveanyotheroptionthandenythe
truthandbeloyaltomyfamilybusiness.TheverythoughtofputtingforwardideasIdisagree
withmakemeill.Iwanttoliveatruthfullifeandtheresnotruthtotheslaveholdersmotives.

Document1:TheDeclarationofIndependence,1776
Thepurposeofthedocumentwastodeclarethecausesthatcompelthecoloniststoseparate
themselvesfromtheBritishCrown.Itwasalsocreatedtoshowthephilosophyuponwhichthe
declarationisbased,statingthat"Allmenarecreatedequal,thattheyareendowedbytheir
CreatorwithcertainunalienableRights,".Thatmeninstitutegovernmentsinordertosecure
theserights,andthatwhengovernmentattemptstoremovetheserights,thegovernedhavethe
righttorebel.
ThisdocumentcontradictsslaveryinAmericabytheclaimthatAllmenarecreatedequal.If
allmenarecreatedequal,whydoesourcountrytreatblacksdifferently?TheDeclarationdidnot
extendLife,Liberty,andthepursuitofHappinesstoAfricanAmericans.Godgivesthosethree
equalhumanrightstoeveryone,butourcivilizationmadethedecisiontotakethoserightsaway
fromtheblacks.Thisdocumentwasntmadeforallmen,itwasmadetobenefitthewantsand
needsofthewealthywhitecitizens.
IcompletelydisagreewiththefactthatourgovernmentchoosetonotgiveAfricanAmericans
therightsoflife,libertyandthepursuitofhappiness.Itdoesntmakeanysensetocreatea
document,forthebenefitsofeveryone,andnotevenfollowitsterms.

Document4:TheFugitiveSlaveActof1793
TheFugitiveSlaveActswereapairoffederallawsthatallowedforthecaptureandreturnof
runawayslaveswithintheterritoryoftheUnitedStates.TheActauthorizedlocalgovernmentsto
seizeandreturnescapedslavestotheirownersandimposedpenaltiesonanyonewhoaidedin
theirflight.
Manyoftheslaveholdersthinkthatthislawisntstrongenough,thatslavesdeserveamore
severepunishment.Theresnoworstpunishmentthatgoingbacktothehellyouwererunning
awayfrom.Ibelievethatthislawwon'tpreventslavesfromrunningaway.Theonlychancefora
slavetosurvive,isrunningaway.Ithinkmanyslavesarewillingtotakethatrisk.

Bibliography
ReadingWikipediacharacternarrative
ReadingDocument4:TheFugitiveSlaveActof1793
ReadingDocument1:TheDeclarationofIndependence,1776
ReadingDocument8:JohnC.Calhoun,SlaveryasaPositiveGood"
ReadingDocument2:NotesontheStateofVIrginiabyThomasJefferson,1787
WebsiteHistoryofNewOrleans
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_New_Orleans
WebsiteThepeopleandcultureofNewOrleans
http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/history/people.html?utm_expid=8374182823.e4
hoQ7HzTKKvtkBefBru1A.0&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F