Worker psychology

Again, sorry this is late!  I want to expand on our comments today about the psychology of the workplace.  Is there value to the argument that a slave perpetually in fear will work harder than the free worker who loves his/her job?  How do tonight's articles (as well as our articles from the past) elaborate on this?

Pro-Slavery Arguments in the South

First off--apologies that this blog is delinquent (ask Abdoulaye about my cat attack, and you'll understand why...)

Anyway, here are tonight's questions:

Consider both the strengths and weaknesses of all the defenses of slavery.  Were any of the documents particularly convincing/not convincing to you?  Why?

Specific examples are always helpful here :)

Also, at the end of your post, tell us what you plan to follow as your political hotbed topic.  If there are overlaps, I'll try to divvy them up so that we don't have too much repetition but that you still have a topic that interests you.  Prepare to share some recent news about your topic next time we have an hour period (Tuesday).

Resistance movements

After reading about the exposure of slavery and cohabitation in the cabins, discuss some of the different forms of resistance they exemplify.  Connect specific examples from the articles to at least two of the themes we have already discussed.

The article "This Cargo of Human Flesh" reiterates many of the themes we discussed in class today.  Choose two of the themes/questions below and elaborate about how "This Cargo of Human Flesh" exemplifies them:

• Henry Clay's statement at the beginning of the article: "There is no such thing as a kind slaveowner."  -- to what extent is this true?  Does Reverend Lovejoy disprove this?

• The term "Soul-Driver" implies that slaves are owned in more than just a corporeal sense.  Do slave owners possess a portion of their slaves' souls as well as their bodies?

• What does the article reveal about kinship networks (family ties)?  What does William Wells Brown's relationship with his biological family tell us about this?

• Is there such a thing as true freedom if slavery exists?  Are slaves only free in death?  Consider examples of slaves choosing death in the article.

Conditions of Enslavement and Resistance Movements

After reading both "A Slave Tells of His Sale at Auction" and "A Slave Girl Tells of her Life," briefly comment on how the theme assigned to you is exemplified in the readings.  You will have more time to discuss your theme at length in class.

Corporeality (of the flesh) of slavery/Value of the human being vs. value of the flesh -- Andy, Abdoulaye, Emma, Hannah

Mind-control of slavery/importance of withholding information from slaves -- Mikey, Mitch, Ashley, Sophie, Robert

Master/Mistress-slave relationship/Sexuality of slavery -- Jack, Alice, Nicki, David, Trent

Links to Wordles

Hello all,

In case you wanted to see them again, here are the links to today's wordles:

Freedom: http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/5668372/Freedom
Slavery http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/5668361/

Thanks for another great discussion,

Ms. Sutton

Cotton economy and slavery, conditions of enslavement, resistance movements

Post your brief (roughly one paragraph) comments here about how your topic could be considered both a preventer and an agitator of war.

Group A: Cotton Gin -- Robert, Nikki, Abdoulaye
Group B: Haitian Revolution -- David, Alice, Mikey, Emma
Group C: William Lloyd Garrison/The Liberator -- Sophie, Mitch, Andy, Hannah
Group D: Frederick Douglass/The North Star -- Trent, Ashley, Jack