This letter is in regards to Mr.
White's letter of 10/28/71, dealing
specifically with his rationale for
not placing moral blame on
Southern slave owners. His
statement centers around the
assertion that slavery was not
considered immoral during
mid-nineteenth century in southern
America because the "best
information available in their day"
justified it. His position is blatantly
untenable in regard to historical
fact.
In American history slavery was
condemned as early as the late
seventeenth century in Puritan
journals. In the early 1800's the
importation of slaves became
illegal. The law was not enforced
thus Southern slave owners chose
to ignore it. At this same time it
became British national policy to
prevent slave ships from leaving the
African coast, no matter what
country's ships were carrying them.
British ships intercepted and
destroyed slave ships during this
time, returning the slaves to
Freetown in Sierra Leone and
prosecuting the slave merchants.
American and French vessels joined
periodically in this effort. In this
country and in Europe emancipated
slaves wrote journals that
powerfully articulated the
inhumanity of slavery. I refer Mr.
White to Africa Remembered
edited by Philip J. Curtin.
The simple facts of history in
short do not support Mr. White's
rationale. Southern slave holders
simply chose to ignore the moral
issues inherent in slavery for reason
other than a lack of antislavery
information. Humanitarian
literature, legal documents, and the
national policies of several nations
bear this point out. Slavery in the
South was not an "honest
mistake." For these reasons I attach
all the moral blame for slavery in
the South to Southern slave
holders.
Winthrop Gardner
College 3
