Question

How did both slaveholders and slaves use the concept of paternalism to their advantage?

Answer 1

Answer: Southern whites used paternalism to justify slavery as an institution; often arguing that the slaves needed care, feeding, discipline, and moral and religious education that they could provide. Slaves used it to feign ignorance by playing into the slaveholder's paternalistic perceptions of them, and found opportunities to resist their condition and gain a degree of freedom and autonomy

Explanation: Hope this helps :)

Answer 2

Some slave owners defended that slaves needed care, feeding, discipline and moral because they could not have that for themselves. So slave owners should provide them that, this was also used as a way to misguide slavery to their advantage.

Many slaves used paternalism to their advantage by finding opportunities to resist their conditions and gain a degree of freedom and autonomy.