Week 6

Part 1- APA Format- 200 Words- 3 References- I fall under Group B

You have been divided into two groups.  For this forum, Group A (last name A-L) will assume the role of an individual opposed to slavery, while Group B (last name M-Z) will argue in support. The following is a statement from the social theorist George Fitzhugh.  Each of you should post a statement in support, or in opposition to Fitzhugh’s argument. Your submission should be a minimum of 200 words in length.  Try not to make assumptions.  Instead, assume the historical role of someone who lived in the United States in the period prior to the Civil War.  Not all Northerners opposed slavery, and not all Southerners favored it.  You could be a plantation owner, a slave trader, or a Southern politician.  Conversely, you can be an abolitionist, a Northern politician, or even a slave.  Be creative.

In response to arguments against slavery, George Fitzhugh insisted that, “Domestic slavery in the Southern States has produced the same results in elevating the character of the master that it did in Greece and Rome. He is lofty and independent in his sentiments, generous, affectionate, brave and eloquent; he is superior to the Northerner, in everything but the arts of thrift. …

But the chief and far most important enquiry is, how does slavery affect the condition of the slave? One of the wildest sects of Communists in France proposes not only to hold all property in common, but to divide the profits not according to each man’s in-put and labor but according to each man’s wants. Now this is precisely the system of domestic slavery with us. We provide for each slave, in old age and in infancy, in sickness and in health, not according to his labor, but according to his wants. The master’s wants are most costly and refined, and he therefore gets a larger share of the profits. A Southern farm is the beau ideal of Communism; it is a joint concern, in which the slave consumes more than the master, of the coarse products, and is far happier, because although the concern may fail, he is always sure of a support; he is only transferred to another master to participate in the profits of another concern; he marries when he pleases, because he knows he will have to work no more with a family than without one, and whether he live or die, that family will be taken care of; he exhibits all the pride of ownership, despises a partner in a smaller concern, “a poor man’s negro,” boasts of “our crops, horses, fields and cattle;” and is as happy as a human being can be. And why should he not? – he enjoys as much of the fruits of the farm as he is capable of doing, and the wealthiest can do no more. Great wealth brings many additional cares, but few additional enjoyments. Our stomachs do not increase in capacity with our fortunes. We want no more clothing to keep us warm. We may create new wants, but we cannot create new pleasures. The intellectual enjoyments which wealth affords are probably balanced by the new cares it brings along with it.”[1]

[1] George Fitzhugh, Sociology for the South, or the Failure of a Free Society (Richmond; A. Morris Publisher, 1854) pp 244.

Part 2- APA Format- 250 Words- 3 References- Choose one of the questions

Choose one of the following questions to answer in detail .

1) How did the Olmecs influence the civilizations to come after them? How did religion play a role in their society? Why do you think there is so little evidence of their civilization available?  2) How did the Mayan religion influence their development of science and technology? How did those advances and beliefs lead to the growth of Mayan influence? What do you think led to their eventual decline?  3) Why was there so many differences in the types of settlement in North America? How did the Mississippian and Hopewell cultures foster trade and connections between different groups? Why do you think the mound-building culture came to dominate the southeast?  4) How did the religion of the Mexica or Aztec people influence the development of their society? What was Aztec daily life like? Why do you think they combined religion and warfare together?  5) How did the Inca rise to power? What methods did they employ to unify their growing empire? What problems did their rapid expansion bring to the stability of the Inca? Do you think the strict social controls the Inca placed on their society helped to create a strong empire?  6) How did the Turks rise to power in Inner Asia? What caused the division between Eastern and Western Turks? How did they eventually gain the upper hand over the Abbasid Caliphate? Why do you think they came to dominate such a wide area from India, to Persia, to Anatolia?  7) How did the Mongol lifestyle help to create a formidable military force? Why were the various clans willing to unite themselves under Chinggis Khan's leadership? Why do you think he was able to create a strong and lasting empire?  8) How did Chinggis's successors continue with his goals for expansion? How were they able to administer such a large and diverse area? What do you think led to the eventual decline of the khanates?  9) How did India respond to the threat posed by the growing power of the Mongols, Turks, or Muslims? How did Muslim leaders deal with the diversity of religious belief in India? How did the influence from these outside groups change Indian society in the Medieval period?