Assignment task: Slavery was a significant aspect of 19th-centuryth century America. The primary sources in chapter eleven offer first-hand accounts of slave life and arguments for and against the institution. Your essay will evaluate three primary sources from the era and discuss the arguments made concerning slavery.
Step 1:
Read Brinkley, Chapter 11: Cotton, Slavery, and the Old South
Read George Fitzhugh's "The Blessings of Slavery" (1857) located in Canvas
Read TWO or more documents carefully in Johnson, Reading the American Past, chapter 13, The Slave South, 1820-1860 (you will also use these for your discussion question).
Step 2: After a close reading of the sources, write an essay in which you discuss the following:
At the beginning of your essay, cite the specific primary sources you chose to evaluate. In your essay, describe some of Fitzhugh's arguments. Note specifically Fitzhugh's background and how that informed his perspective. Then describe the perspective on slavery found in the other sources you read. Discuss which evidence describing the real experience of slavery you find the most convincing and why. REFERENCE the documents in your essay.