Africans in = America/Part 4/Mudsill Theory

From: Subject: Africans in America/Part 4/Mudsill Theory Date: Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:00:29 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; type="text/html"; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0000_01CA2278.813C6800" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.5579 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0000_01CA2278.813C6800 Content-Type: text/html; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h3439t.html Africans in = America/Part 4/Mudsill Theory

"The = 'Mudsill'=20 Theory," by James Henry Hammond

Speech to the U.S. Senate, March 4, 1858
In all social systems there must be a class to do the menial = duties, to=20 perform the drudgery of life. That is, a class requiring but a low = order of=20 intellect and but little skill. Its requisites are vigor, docility,=20 fidelity. Such a class you must have, or you would not have that = other class=20 which leads progress, civilization, and refinement. It constitutes = the very=20 mud-sill of society and of political government; and you might as = well=20 attempt to build a house in the air, as to build either the one or = the=20 other, except on this mud-sill. Fortunately for the South, she found = a race=20 adapted to that purpose to her hand. A race inferior to her own, but = eminently qualified in temper, in vigor, in docility, in capacity to = stand=20 the climate, to answer all her purposes. We use them for our = purpose, and=20 call them slaves. We found them slaves by the common "consent of = mankind,"=20 which, according to Cicero, "lex naturae est." The highest = proof of=20 what is Nature's law. We are old-fashioned at the South yet; slave = is a word=20 discarded now by "ears polite;" I will not characterize that class = at the=20 North by that term; but you have it; it is there; it is everywhere; = it is=20 eternal.
The Senator from New York said yesterday that the whole world had = abolished slavery. Aye, the name, but not the thing; all the powers = of the=20 earth cannot abolish that. God only can do it when he repeals the = fiat, "the=20 poor ye always have with you;" for the man who lives by daily labor, = and=20 scarcely lives at that, and who has to put out his labor in the = market, and=20 take the best he can get for it; in short, your whole hireling class = of=20 manual laborers and "operatives," as you call them, are essentially = slaves.=20 The difference between us is, that our slaves are hired for life and = well=20 compensated; there is no starvation, no begging, no want of = employment among=20 our people, and not too much employment either. Yours are hired by = the day,=20 not cared for, and scantily compensated, which may be proved in the = most=20 painful manner, at any hour in any street in any of your large = towns. Why,=20 you meet more beggars in one day, in any single street of the city = of New=20 York, than you would meet in a lifetime in the whole South. We do = not think=20 that whites should be slaves either by law or necessity. Our slaves = are=20 black, of another and inferior race. The status in which we have = placed them=20 is an elevation. They are elevated from the condition in which God = first=20 created them, by being made our slaves. None of that race on the = whole face=20 of the globe can be compared with the slaves of the South. They are = happy,=20 content, unaspiring, and utterly incapable, from intellectual = weakness, ever=20 to give us any trouble by their aspirations. Yours are white, of = your own=20 race; you are brothers of one blood. They are your equals in natural = endowment of intellect, and they feel galled by their degradation. = Our=20 slaves do not vote. We give them no political power. Yours do vote, = and,=20 being the majority, they are the depositories of all your political = power.=20 If they knew the tremendous secret, that the ballot-box is stronger = than "an=20 army with banners," and could combine, where would you be? Your = society=20 would be reconstructed, your government overthrown, your property = divided,=20 not as they have mistakenly attempted to initiate such proceedings = by=20 meeting in parks, with arms in their hands, but by the quiet process = of the=20 ballot-box. You have been making war upon us to our very = hearthstones. How=20 would you like for us to send lecturers and agitators North, to = teach these=20 people this, to aid in combining, and to lead them?

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