George Fitzhugh, The Blessings of Slavery

How does Fitzhugh compare the slavery of his day to the slavery of ancient Rome and
Greece?

Let's talk about how Fitzhugh compares slavery in his time to ancient Rome and Greece. He's
looking at how things were in the old days and saying, "See, they had slaves back then, so it's
normal for us to have slaves now." It's as if he's trying to make a point that because these big, fa-
mous places like Rome and Greece had slavery, it must be an okay thing to do. But here's the
deal: Fitzhugh's missing some big story parts. Slavery in ancient times wasn't the same as what
was happening in America during his time. Back then, slavery wasn't always about what race
you were, and sometimes, slaves could work their way up or even get out of being slaves. It
wasn't great, but it wasn't always as bad as the slavery Fitzhugh is talking about. Fitzhugh is
cherry-picking the history that makes his point look good. He's ignoring the parts where ancient
societies were different from his time. He's using history to say, "Slavery's been around forever,
so it's a normal part of life," but he's not being honest about how things were back then. What
he's doing is trying to make people think that because slavery was common in the past, it should
be accepted in his time too. He's using this old history to back up the slavery happening in Amer-
ica, trying to make it seem as if it's just the way things are supposed to be. But he's not giving the
full picture of how slavery worked back in ancient times, and he's definitely not talking about
how wrong slavery is, no matter when it happens. It's as if he's trying to make excuses for slav-
ery by saying, "Everyone else was doing it, so it's fine if we do it too."

Does Fitzhugh see race as an important factor in terms of slavery? Explain

So, the short answer? Yeah, Fitzhugh definitely sees race as a big deal when it comes to slavery.
He's got this idea that black people are somehow naturally cut out for being slaves. It's a pretty
messed-up way of thinking and super racist. Fitzhugh thinks that black folks don't have the same
get-up-and-go or smarts as white people. He says they're better off being slaves because they
can't handle being free. That's wrong, and it shows how people back then used racism to make
sense of slavery. It's as if, if they could convince themselves that black people were different and
somehow lesser, then they could feel okay about enslaving them. He even goes as far as to say
that black slaves are living better lives as slaves than they would if they were free. He thinks
they're happier and more looked after as slaves. That's a way to twist things to make slavery
sound not so bad. But it's all based on these racist ideas about black people being different from
white people. So Yes, Fitzhugh certainly believed race was crucial to the justification of slavery.
He's using these racist beliefs to argue why it's okay to enslave black people but not white peo-
ple. It's his way of trying to make slavery seem alright when more and more people were starting
to say it wasn't. He's basically saying, "Because they're black, they're meant to be slaves," which
is just plain wrong. This kind of thinking was a big part of how people back then defended slav-
ery, using race as a reason to keep it going.

According to the excerpt, which group is persecuting free white laborers?

Fitzhugh believed this made life difficult for free white workers. In the excerpt, Fitzhugh doesn’t
beat around the bush – he straight up blames capitalism for the hard times these workers are fac-
ing. He's saying the big problem isn't slavery or anything like that; it's the way the economy is
set up, where a few rich folks hold all the cards. In Fitzhugh's view, these free, white workers
might not be slaves, but they’re not exactly living the dream either. They're out there busting
their backs, working hard day in and day out, and still struggling to make ends meet. Meanwhile,
the rich guys – the capitalists – are sitting pretty, making money off the sweat of these workers.
Fitzhugh paints a pretty bleak picture of their lives, saying they're barely scraping by while the
rich get richer. He uses this argument to make a wild claim: that slaves, who get their basic needs
like food and shelter taken care of by their masters, are better off than these free workers. He’s
basically saying, “Look, these workers are free, but they’re living a tough life because of the rich
people controlling everything.” Fitzhugh is trying to shift the focus away from the problems of
slavery by pointing fingers at capitalism. He argues that the real bad guy here is the capitalist
system, which he thinks is unfair and makes life rough for the average Joe. It's a way of distract-
ing from how bad slavery is by saying, "Hey, at least slaves get taken care of. These free workers
are the ones really suffering under these rich folks." So, in short, Fitzhugh thinks the group that’s
really making life hard for free white laborers isn't slave owners or anything like that; it’s the
rich capitalists and the economic system they control.