Stanley Elkins’ Slavery

Stanley Elkins’ Slavery

. analyze different views on slavery, the central issue in the U.S. Civil War. Read Stanley Elkins’ Slavery and then write a comparative analysis of Elkins’ historical interpretation of slavery with James McPherson’s interpretation in Ordeal by Fire
Instructions:

•What are the points of agreement and disagreement between the two authors, Stanley Elkins and James McPherson, concerning the institution of slavery?

•Specifically, what influence did institutions like the church have on the character of American slavery?

•How much control did the masters have over their slaves? Did the slaves exercise any autonomy over their own lives?

•Did American devotion to limited government and laissez faire capitalism ameliorate the brutality of slavery?

•What evidence does each author use to support his arguments, and is the evidence anecdotal or quantifiable?

•Which author more accurately describes antebellum American slavery? Why?

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