Existing comment:
Intolerance in a "Free" Society
While America the nation proudly championed the values established in its Declaration of Independence, America's citizens often failed to practice, promote or protect those values.
Slavery was not the only nineteenth century issue that divided America. The questions below posed dilemmas for all gamuts of antebellum American society.
Political:
Does one part of the population have a right to force its beliefs on another part? Who determines whether new states shall be slave or free? How does a minority section ensure equity with the majority? Shall slavery be allowed to expand into new territories of the United States?
Economic:
Is industrial wage slavery the same as chattel, or property, slavery? Does the North's aggressive industrialism subjugate the South's agrarian economy? Does American tariff policy make the South an inferior partner in the Union? Is the Civil War caused by economic differences?
Social:
Do Indians have a right to the land on which they live? Should Mexico be allowed to stand in the way of America's manifest destiny to occupy the continent? Is there a Catholic conspiracy to seize the government and destroy Protestantism? Should only native-born white men be allowed to vote?
Moral:
Are African slaves human beings, or are they a lesser species? Are blacks and whites equal? Should all blacks be returned to Africa? Does the Bible support or condemn slavery? Can a good Christian be a slave holder? Does history justify slavery? Was life as a slave in the Christian United States better than life as a free pagan in Africa? |