Final answer:
George Fitzhugh defended slavery by arguing it was a positive institution, providing care for enslaved people and contrasting it with Northern wage labor. His perspective was influenced by southern beliefs in racial inferiority and paternalism, and by economic and political interests tied to the plantation system.
Step-by-step explanation:
George Fitzhugh's Arguments in Defense of Slavery
George Fitzhugh made several arguments in defense of slavery in his book titled Sociology for the South, or the Failure of Free Society. He believed that laissez-faire capitalism greatly disadvantaged the ignorant and the less intelligent. According to Fitzhugh, slavery under southern paternalism was actually beneficial; slaveholders provided care for enslaved people from birth to death, contrasting with the wage slavery of the North, where workers were left to the mercy of economic forces.
Fitzhugh's Perspective Driven by Southern Reaction
The South felt increasingly compelled to defend their lifestyle as moral and constitutional debates over slavery intensified in the mid-1800s. In response to northern criticism and antislavery advocacy, southern intellectuals like Fitzhugh argued that slavery provided a stable and caring environment for the enslaved, whom he saw as incapable of taking care of themselves. This paternalistic view was an attempt to justify slavery by portraying the enslaved as 'grown up children' who needed guidance, thereby framing slaveholders as benevolent guardians.
Influence of Fitzhugh's Background
As a southerner, Fitzhugh's stance was influenced by the prevailing southern societal norms, which included notions of racial inferiority, paternalism, and the economic dependencies of the plantation system. His defense also aligned with growing southern sentiments that feared the loss of their political and economic privileges assured by slavery.