Student: Voican Elena- Larisa

Faculty of Foreign Languages, Philology

Russian- English, group 14

Fitzhugh and South vision of slavery.

To secure true progress, we must
unfetter genius and chain down
mediocrity. Liberty for the fewSlavery in
every form for the mass.

George Fitzhugh was an American social theorist who published racial and slavery-based
sociological theories in the antebellum era.
George Fitzhughs classic defense of ante-bellum Negro slavery, was too logical, too
uncompromising, and too honest. Interesting at his style of writing is that, thus he promote
slavery and inferiority of negroes he was carefully avoiding personal insult(for example instead
of stupid or naive he would say that negroes are viewed just like some immature children). In
order to understand Fitzhugh concept of slavery, we have to understand the antebellum

South not simply as a place where slavery was legal, but as a slave society.
Fitzhugh becomes a leading figure in the debate over slavery. There are two messages
that Fitzhugh stands for. One of them is the idea of supporting the slavery (because he considers
that by defending the slavery, The Southern people gave slaves a change to live secure, unlike
the North, which are hiding under some fake abolitionists egalitarian polemics when they
actually were secretly supporting slavery, from Fitzhugh point of view). The second idea is that
before taking in consideration that all of us should be equal in rights, we should first think how
this event will change the functioning of the economical and educational plan especially( after
combing the ,,inferior race with the ,,superior one). Slavery was not a simple concept that
didn`t allowed African Americans to live as free men, but it was a system of production, with
whole sections of the world dependent on its cotton, Fitzhugh labeled it "the most necessary of
all human institutions." Also it would be necessary for whites to make the payment of wages.
Therefore the economical plan will suffer the most if slavery will be abolished.
He argues that by comparison with the poor workers in the Northern states, that slaves were
better cared for, that their owners would protect and assist them when they were sick and aged,
unlike those who, once fired from their work, were left to fend helplessly for themselves. But he
didn`t take in consideration that, if negroes will have the same freedom, work conditions and
money from the labor that they produce, they will no longer need to be in somebody care.

Fitzhugh is standing out how he believes that the future theories of government and
society of South America should be change, and that is by not changing anything at all ,,but
merely try to justify old ones. What Fitzhugh tries to do in his theory is to support the slavery system,
and fight against abolitionists and the ideas of ,,equal people and ,, free society.
He insist on sociological theories in the antebellum era. He believes that whites and negroes
have a different level of intelligence and different moral capacities, and for this the remedy is remain
separated and to keep the relation master-slave in order to avoid a ,,chaos. The argument which supports
his theory is that since always African Americans were used with the hard labor and this is the occupation
that fit them perfectly. And if negroes wouldn`t do the hard work, then whites were suppose to take them
place.

A highly moral and intellectual people, like the free citizens of ancient Athens, are best governed
by a democracy. For a less moral and intellectual one, a limited and constitutional monarchy will answer.
For a people either very ignorant or very wicked, nothing short of military despotism will suffice. So
among individuals, the most moral and well-informed members of society require no other government
than law.

Now, it is true that, from this point of view, negroes didn`t had the same intellectual
capacity in comparison with the whites, but also negroes didn`t had the same possibilities of
learning and being educated (actually this possibility didn`t exist at all). How could they be
consider intelligent when all they do was working for whites, the masters whom controlled them
lives and decide whether they deserve to live or not.
In the text are shown the clear differences between North and South. South regarded
slavery as essential to its economy, was largely responsible for the region`s relative financial and
industrial backwardness. North was resenting the large profits from cotton crop. In the North,
sentiment for outright abolition grew increasingly powerful.
While we`ll continue reading we will find out that Fitzhugh contours three main ideas
where he argues why negro shouldn`t be free:
Firstly. In Fitzhugh point of view the African Americans are compared with children, so they
cannot be capable of self-control. The children must be constantly controlled by parents or guardians,
whose will and orders shall stand in the place of law for them. So, "the negro is a grown up child" who
needs the economic and social protections of slavery.
Secondly. The negro is improvident [..] they will not accumulate in youth for the exigencies of
age. Fitzhugh believes that this fact will certainly lead to rejection from the whites, therefore to a
deplorable situation for African Americans. In order to avoid this ,,catastrophe society has the right to
prevent this, and can only do so by subjecting him to domestic slavery.
In the last place, Fitzhugh is sure that, if negro receive freedom they won`t know what to do with
it, thus from the moment they split from their ,,parents it will automatically begin a free competition,

between whites and negro. Fitzhugh mentions even the result of the competition: Gradual but certain
extermination would be their(negro) fate. The reason is also mentioned: they will simply won`t have the
capacity of making money, because the competition of the world will be too much for the children. As a

conclusion the negro race is inferior to the white race, because a negro is only fit to be a slave.
They have a natural and inalienable right to be slaves, born wicked and destined to be enslaved
by the mother nature. What is alarming is that Fitzhugh doesn`t even take in consideration that
African Americans could live by themselves, so they are treated like animals, therefore
Southerners applied to them domestic treatment- in order to domesticate the savages.
He argues that by comparison with the poor workers in the Northern states, that slaves were better cared
for, that their owners would protect and assist them when they were sick and aged, unlike those who, once
fired from their work, were left to fend helplessly for themselves.
In Africa or the West Indies, he would become idolatrous, savage and cannibal, or be devoured by
savages and cannibals. At the North he would freeze or starve.
Fitzhugh gives as example the soldiers life from Europe:... they not slaves who have not only sold their
liberties, but their lives also? And they are worse treated than domestic slaves. No domestic affection and
self-interest extend their aegis over them. Even the master have less liberty then a slave.
The further argue that he mentions is the relation slave-master. Fitzhugh confess
that it is immoral to live a child by his one, without a parent, until at least they
arrive at years of discretion, which very few ever did or will attain. What is the

difference between the authority of a parent and of a master? Neither pay wages, and each is
entitled to the services of those subject to him. The father may not sell his child forever, but may
hire him out till he is twenty-one.
Another remark is that the slaves are too uncivilized so that they could be placed with
withes. For this, we have an example from the history. When slaves were in contact with Egypt`s
civilization, Fitzhugh argues that they had a change to live in a free world but they weren`t
capable of take advantage of her.
We need never have white slave in the South, because we have black ones. Our citizens,
like those of Rome and Athens, are privileged class.