Question

Sociologist george fitzhugh argued that southern black slaves group of answer choices

a. did not need the paternal guidance of white masters.
b. deserved gradual emancipation and limited economic opportunities.
c. should be gradually amalgamated with the white race.
d. received better treatment than northern factory workers.

Answer 1

George Fitzhugh advocated for the paternalistic nature of slavery, believing southern black slaves were better off than northern factory workers because their basic needs were met by their masters.

• Sociologist George Fitzhugh was a proponent of the southern defense of slavery, arguing that in contrast to northern factory workers, southern black slaves received better treatment.
• In his publication Sociology for the South, or the Failure of Free Society (1854), Fitzhugh contended that the paternalistic nature of slavery protected the enslaved from the economic hardships experienced by wage laborers in the North.
• He claimed that slaveholders provided their slaves with necessities like food, clothing, and shelter, and viewed them as part of a familial hierarchy where the master acted as a parent or guardian to the enslaved, who he saw as similar to children requiring guidance.