Slavery: Morally Right Or Wrong?

Words: 458
Pages: 2
Open Document
What moral and legal position should the national government take on the question of slavery? Is it the government’s responsibility to decide whether slavery should be considered a legal matter or should it be left to each individual to decide if it is morally right or wrong to own a slave? These are questions that were argued about during the time that George Bourne was an active member of his community. George Bourne was a preacher who moved from England to Maryland in 1804. Six years later, he moved to Virginia and was the pastor of a Presbyterian church. After witnessing how slaves were treated on plantations he became angry at the idea of slavery. His ideas led him to be removed from his church. He later moved to New York and …show more content…
Some people during this time, used the bible to justify slavery. Bourne stated many instances from the bible that argued against slavery. One being that slavery, “is a direct violation or breach of the eighth commandment--it being impossible for one person to enslave another, without first "coveting," or eagerly desiring what he knows is not morally and justly his own.” (Bourne 39) He believed that someone who wanted to own another person was committing the same sin as coveting something that does not belong to him. Another argument from Bourne was that it was strange that any American accept slavery because of, “all its influences on the moral and political destinies of this great and mighty nation.” (Bourne 5) He thought it was ridiculous that our country and constitution go against everything we were founded on and allow one human to own another. He also had strong feelings that our country’s laws should not allow slavery because, “By our common law definitions, human slavery is compounded of the crimes of kidnapping, assault and battery, and false imprisonment.” (Bourne 9) Slavery is actually a form all these crimes and should be punished. In one book written by Bourne, he even predicted the end of our nation if we didn’t stop slavery when he said, “It is most true that God will eventually deliver the slaves. He will do so by our own national destruction, unless we seasonably repent and reform from
Show More

Related Documents: Slavery: Morally Right Or Wrong?

Should We Use Animals Be Allowed To Capstonia?

would not introduce pet ownership to Capstonia because it would increase the number of pets suffering in the world, it is cruel, and it is morally wrong. PETA said: “Their lives are restricted to human homes where they must obey commands and can only eat, drink, and even urinate when humans allow them to. Because domesticated animals retain many of their basic instincts and drives but are not able to survive on their own in the wild, dogs, cats, or birds, whose strongest desire is to be free, must…

Words 548 - Pages 3

1st Responce Paper

that the customs of other societies are morally inferior to our own” (20). 2. “We could no longer criticize the code of our own society” (21). 3. “The idea of moral progress is called into doubt” (21). I will object only to the second idea that from Cultural Relativism “We could no longer criticize the code of our own society” (21). Rachels and Rachels say this because, in their interpretation of Cultural Relativism, we judge if something is right or wrong by looking at how society views something…

Words 315 - Pages 2

Philosophy Ncr Essay

since it is merely one among many, (iv) there is no such thing as a “universal truth”, (v) the moral code of a society determines what is right within that society, and (vi) different societies should adopt an attitude of tolerance for practices of other cultures. Based on these six arguments, William Graham Sumner, summarizes that there is no measure of right and wrong other than the standards of one’s society. However, if NCR and the six arguments are correct, the idea of moral progress within society…

Words 1182 - Pages 5

Essay on On The Law s Reflection of Morality

public's perception of what is right and just; it is morally wrong to steal, we all recognize, so thieves are arrested and penalized. In general then, the law is indeed a reflection of the public's sense of morality. (Good intro, but use only one semi colon per sentence, please) Laws, of course, change over time and from place to place. So does that mean that morality too, is subject to change depending on where you are in the world and where you are in history? Slavery for example, was not abolished…

Words 688 - Pages 3

Celia Murder Research Paper

trial of Celia, A Slave shows the realities and horrors of slave life and societal views on slavery. By the 1850s in the South, slavery was a very common practice. Most Southerners were not worried if it was moral or not; they just wanted a profit. Slave owners often own more land than nonslaveholders, some totaling up to 300 acres. This extra help and land often makes their farms valued at…

Words 890 - Pages 4

Some moral Minima Essays

and upbringing rather than a code/standard of absolute rights and wrongs, in contrast moral absolutes do not change regardless of culture, upbringing, and social conditioning; right is right and wrong is wrong. In Goodman’s opinion anything that the Western world considers morally incorrect is in fact morally incorrect for the entire human race. Obviously this isn’t true because each of the concepts he brought up (rape, genocide, slavery, polygamy and incest) exist in societies around the world…

Words 519 - Pages 3

Huckleberry Finn Moral Analysis

individuals to what is morally right or wrong, Mark Twain expertly crafts characters representing the lack of moral ambiguity during the 1830’s to 40’s. Mark Twain author of classic novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, uses characters to satirically express the faults of society. The main character, Huckleberry Finn, symbolically represents all of society’s teachings about salves during that time. The story is an explanation of how Huck will come to learn that slavery is wrong. Huck’s moral journey…

Words 933 - Pages 4

Westward Expansion Research Paper

first reason why westward expansion was wrong is because slavery isn’t a good thing. In 1845 we were on the edge of a full-on civil war. The reason was the south wanted slavery, and the north didn’t. If we expanded westward, then there wouldn’t be any rules on whether it would be slaves or not. In the passage “THE CASE AGAINST MANIFEST DESTINY” it states “The line outlawed slavery in the north but protected it in the south, so many argued it would cause slavery to spread.” This…

Words 638 - Pages 3

Analyze The Ways In Which Supporters Of Slavery In The 19th Century

slaves. Supporters of slavery made arguments in the political, moral and economic categories to defend their usage of slaves. These arguments would continue the harsh treatment that the slaves received until slavery would be abolished in 1865. Supporters of slavery in the 19th century used many different types of arguments, but their most prominent were their political, moral, and economic arguments. There were many different economic arguments made by the supporters of slavery. However, their most…

Words 550 - Pages 3

Debates: Abraham Lincoln and Slavery Extension Issue Essay

campaign of 1858. The biggest controversy was over slavery. Slavery was a big part of the debates because of the new territories added to the United States. The south believed they should allow slavery, and the North didnt. Douglas sponsered the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which brought the slavery issue back. His bill in effect repealed the Missouri Compromise by lifting the ban against slavery in territories north. Lincoln and Douglas debated the slavery extension issue in 1858, therefore, they were…

Words 834 - Pages 4