Slavery
Slavery | Chapter 1 Preface
When the founding fathers assembled at the Constitutional Convention in 1787, slavery was firmly established in the five southernmost states. But as Stanford University historian Don E. Fehrenbacher notes,
Slavery was an institution under severe scrutiny, both as a matter of conscience and as a matter of public interest. Many Americans were finding it difficult to square slaveholding with the principles of Christianity, and many were troubled by the contrast between the celebration of human freedom in the Declaration of Independence and the presence of human servitude...
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- Introduction
-
Chapter 1
- Chapter 1 Preface
- Slavery Is a Positive Good
- Slavery Is Evil
- Slavery Was Oppressive and Dehumanizing
- The Harshness of Slave Life Has Been Exaggerated
- The U.S. Government Should Pay Reparations to Blacks for the Harms Caused by Slavery
- The U.S. Government Should Not Pay Reparations to Blacks for the Harms Caused by Slavery
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Chapter 2
- Chapter 2 Preface
- Resistance to Slavery Is Justified
- Resistance to Slavery Is Not Justified
- The Underground Railroad Aided Many Runaway Slaves
- The Underground Railroad Was Largely a Myth
- Black Resistance to American Slavery Was Widespread
- Open Rebellion Against American Slavery Was Relatively Limited
- Chapter 3
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Chapter 4
- Chapter 4 Preface
- Popular Sovereignty over Slavery Divides the Nation
- Popular Sovereignty Should Decide Slavery
- Freeing the Slaves Should Be the Primary War Aim
- Preserving the Union Should Be the Primary War Aim
- Slavery Would Have Been Abolished Without the Civil War
- Slavery Would Have Continued Indefinitely Without the Civil War
- Organizations to Contact
- Bibliography
- Copyright
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