Final answer:
Southern books and pamphlets of the 1850s sought to defend slavery by depicting it as a positive force that provided civilized ways of life for Africans and argued that plantation life was genteel and beneficial for all.
Step-by-step explanation:
During the 1850s, southern books and pamphlets often contained messages intended to defend the institution of slavery as a positive and benevolent system. These publications frequently countered the abolitionist movement's narrative by depicting slaves as living better lives than factory workers in the North and stressing the supposed gentility of plantation life. Authors like Thomas R. Dew and George Fitzhugh used biblical, historical, and racial arguments to suggest that slavery benefited both masters and slaves and was vital to the southern way of life. They argued that slavery provided the means through which Africans could become more civilized and that the system brought greater liberty and equality to white people. By highlighting concepts such as courtesy, hospitality, and chivalry, they maintained that the criticism from the North was unwarranted and sought to justify slavery from an economic, moral, and social perspective.