AP Success - AP US History: Southern Perspective on Slavery

In 1854, George Fitzhugh published "Sociology for the South, or the Failure of Free Society," in which he argues for the benefits of domestic slavery in the Southern States.
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...But the chief and far most important enquiry is, how does slavery affect the condition of the slave?...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...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...There is no rivalry, no competition to get employment among slaves, as among free laborers. Nor is there a war between master and slave...The slaves are all well fed, well clad, have plenty of fuel, and are happy. They have no dread of the future no fear of want. A state of dependence is the only condition in which reciprocal affection can exist among human beings the only situation in which the war of competition ceases, and peace, amity and good will arise….
Sociology for the South, or the Failure of Free Society, George Fitzhugh, 1854.

Question 1

Short answer
Briefly describe one perspective about slavery expressed in the excerpt.

Question 2

Short answer
Briefly identify one historical trend the author used to support his arguments.

Question 3

Short answer
Briefly explain one way the ideas expressed in the excerpt led to growing sectional divide.

Teach with AI superpowers

Why teachers love Class Companion

Import assignments to get started in no time.

Create your own rubric to customize the AI feedback to your liking.

Overrule the AI feedback if a student disputes.

Other U.S. History Assignments

10/4: Foreign Policy in the Early Republic10/4: Foreign Policy in the Early Republic11.1 Colonial Foundations11.2 CONSTITUTIONAL FOUNDATIONS (1763 – 1824)11.2 Reliability - Declaration of Independence11.2 Reliability - Declaration of Independence11.3 Reliability - Monroe Doctrine1 - 4.6 (a) Market Revolution: Society and Culture1 - 4.6 (b) Market Revolution: Society and Culture1 - 4.8 (a) Jackson and Federal Power1 - 4.8 (b) Jackson and Federal Power1 - 4.8 (c) Jackson and Federal Power14th & 15th Amendments 1865-18771920s and 30s Short Answer Practice1920s: Cultural and Political Controversies1920s Cultural Developments1920s DBQ1920s SAQ1950s conformity19th c. African American Experience DBQ19th Century Immigration and Economic Growth in the United States19th Century Industrialists: Captains of Industry or Robber Barons2000 DBQ: Organized Labor's Success in Improving Workers' Position (1875-1900)2006 AP United States History Free-Response Questions20s, 30's WWII- Essay 12.2 - Puritan Settlement of Massachusetts Bay2.3 Comparing the British Colonial Regions2.3 European Colonization - Map SAQ2.3 Geography of British Colonial Regions2 - 4.6 (a) Market Revolution: Society and Culture2 - 4.6 (b) Market Revolution: Society and Culture2 - 4.6 (c) Market Revolution: Society and Culture2 - 4.8 (a) Jackson and Federal Power2 - 4.8 (b) Jackson and Federal Power2 - 4.8 (c) Jackson and Federal Power2.5 - British and French Interactions with Native Americans2.5 Gary Nash - Red, White, and Black Excerpt2nd Dilemma--Advice to President Adams: Response to Tribute Demands3.10- American Foreign Policy (1789-1800)3.2 The Seven Years' War - Territorial Changes3.6 - Historians on women and the American Revolution3.6 - Historians on women and the American Revolution3.6- Interpretations of the American Revolution3.7(a) Articles of Confederation3.7(b) Articles of Confederation3.7 Understanding the Articles of Confederation3.7 Understanding the Articles of Confederation - Option C3.8 Articles to Consitution3.8- Founding Fathers' Leadership and the Ratification of the Constitution3.8 - Historians on the U.S. Constitution