Comparing Historical Essays About Slavery: comparing writings of John C. Calhoun, George Fitzhugh, Frederick Douglass, and William Craft

Throughout the years before the Civil War, people from the North and South argued about the institution of slavery. Blacks wanted to be recognized as humans and wanted to have the rights that were given to the whites. Others saw slavery as a way of life and thought that slaves were content under the conditions forced upon them. John C. Calhoun and George Fitzhugh make strong, intellectual arguments defending slavery, but Fredrick Douglass and William …

…clear, logical argument against the pro-slavery propaganda. The well-known pro-slavery advocates, John C. Calhoun and George Fitzhugh, make important arguments for the institution of slavery. Fredrick Douglass and William Craft, who both have first-hand experience of enslavement, describe the horrible life they endured and their fears of escaping. These anti-slavery narratives contradict the two pro-slavery documents and provide a vision of how ignorant white people were during this time, and how cruel blacks were treated.