Slave Narratives and Moral Degradation

Slavery and the Moral Depravation of a Nation Slavery is a well-known disgrace of the past. It is important to realize that this is true, not only for the injustices done unto the slaves, but for the negative effects on the slaveholders. When basic rights of freedom are denied in a society, no ethical principles will be upheld. The fact that this sinful treatment of other human beings was permitted had a morally crippling effect …

…continued forever. Frederick Douglass was right to call it a "horrible reptile…coiled up in your nation's bosom"(Douglass 389). This reptile was certainly poisoning America slowly. The power of the institution is underestimated. Social establishments imbed themselves in our private spheres. We become what we uphold. The forced servitude of blacks was a mistake that brought us all down, and thankfully, literary talent has helped us to both become aware of, and understand, just this.