Slaver and Politics essays

Slaver and Politics essays The extent to which the debate over slavery was not really about black people but about whites can be seen politically, socially, religiously and economically. Slavery affecting politics is demonstrated politically in the Lincoln-Douglas debates. The real arguments were over which side, the north or the south, would gain more power from slavery by making it either a slave state or a free state. Douglas argued that slaves were not equal to whites in any fashion and they should not be free, which would give them a chance to be equal. Douglas states, I believe this government was made on the white basis. He further states, I believe it was made by white men, for the benefit of white men and their prosperity for ever, and I am in favor for continuing citizenship to white men, men out of European birth and decent, instead of conferring it upon Negros, Indians and other inferior races. He attempts to degrade the blacks by deciphering the constitution in his own opinion. He feels the signers of the declaration of independents never dreamed of the Negro when they were writing that document. (1). He goes on to say, Do you believe that ever yone who signed the declaration of independents declared the Negro his equal and then was hypocrite enough to hold him as a slave, in violation of what he believed to be the divine law? Lincoln agreed that blacks were inferior yet insisted that this in no way should stand in the way of their natural rights (2). He does not feel that they are worthy of being coworkers with whites but feels they should not be slaves. Lincoln states, I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of Negros, nor of qualifying them to hold office, not to intermarry with white people, and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forbid the two races living together on...