Cannibals all! or, Slaves without masters (eBook)

George Fitzhugh (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2022
226 Seiten
DigiCat (Verlag)
859-654702904-5 (EAN)

Infos

In "Cannibals All! or, Slaves Without Masters," George Fitzhugh presents a provocative examination of society, labor, and freedom, positioning Southern slavery as a more humane and just system compared to the wage slave economy of the North. Written in the mid-19th century, Fitzhugh's work utilizes polemical rhetoric and employs a biting, satirical style that challenges prevailing notions of freedom and capitalist individualism. Rooted in the antebellum South's socio-political climate, the book critiques the moral underpinnings of capitalism while advocating for the plantation system as a paternalistic haven amid an increasingly industrialized nation, emphasizing the interconnectedness of duty and dependency in human relationships. George Fitzhugh, an influential, albeit controversial Southern writer and social theorist, emerged from a background steeped in the cultural and economic realities of American slavery. His advocacy for a slavery-based social order was informed by his experiences and observations as a defender of Southern values during the tumultuous pre-Civil War era. Fitzhugh's writings reflect a keen intellect grappling with the socio-economic transformations of his time, striving to make sense of the complexities surrounding human labor and freedom. This compelling work is essential reading for those interested in American history, social theory, and the ideological battles that shaped the nation. It challenges readers to reconsider widely accepted definitions of freedom and to engage critically with Fitzhugh's arguments, which, while controversial, continue to resonate in discussions about labor and economic systems today.

Autor

George Fitzhugh (1806-1881) was a notable American social theorist known for his extreme pro-slavery stance and sociological treatises justifying slavery during the 19th century. Born in Virginia, he was a prominent figure in Southern intellectual circles and often engaged in debates concerning the moral and economic dimensions of slavery. Fitzhugh's contributions to literature primarily come from his provocative texts that defended slavery as a beneficial institution both for the enslaved and society at large. His major work, 'Cannibals All! Or, Slaves Without Masters' (1857), is a polemical response to the growing abolitionist movement in which he asserts that Northern wage workers were actually worse off than Southern slaves. A reflection of the antebellum pro-slavery ideology, Fitzhugh argued that slavery provided necessary protection and support for those unable to compete in a capitalist economy. Despite the moral reprehensibility of his arguments by contemporary standards, Fitzhugh's works are relevant from a historical perspective as they encapsulate the attempts to intellectually justify the institution of slavery by its proponents. His writings are characterized by their use of satire, dire predictions of societal collapse without slavery, and a paternalistic view towards the social hierarchy. Fitzhugh's perspectives have been largely discredited, but his texts remain objects of study for scholars interested in the complexity of pre-Civil War Southern thought and the lengths to which its advocates went to defend the indefensible.

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 29.5.2022
• Verlagsort: Prague
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Geschichte / Politik ► Neuzeit bis 1918
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte
• Schlagworte: 19th Century America • 19th century literature • american classic novels • antebellum literature • Antebellum South • class conflict • controversial ethics • Controversial literature • economic complexities • Economic Philosophy • George Fitzhugh writings • historical debates • historical perspective • historical social commentary • Justification • persuasive writing style • Political Commentary • political literature classics • Political Philosophy • pro-slavery arguments • Pro-slavery debate • pro-slavery literature • slave labor • slave narratives • Slavery • slavery and philosophy • Slavery perspectives • Social hierarchy • sociology in literature • Southern Literature • Southern social theory • southern society • United States • Working Class