In his famous speech titled “Slavery and the Confederate Constitution”, Alexander Stephens makes several controversial arguments about African Americans’ enslavement. One of the most contentious points in his speech is the proclamation that slavery and white supremacy were the primary causes of secession and the formation of the Confederate nation. The speaker remarks that the persistent lack of consensus over the subordination and slavery of the “Negro” between the South and North was the immediate reason why the Confederates decided to secede and establish their nation. Stephens (1861) believed that creating the Confederate constitution was a permanent solution to the subject’s continued disagreement.
Another controversial point made in this speech is that the black race was inferior to the dominant white one; thus, African Americans’ enslavement was a fundamental and justified practice. According to him, black people were not equal to their white peers; therefore, suppressing them was natural and moral. Stephen (1861) premised his argument on science and nature’s laws to justify what he termed as truth. He argued that empirical evidence has shown that the idea that “all men are created equal” and challenged the assumption that all men were created equal. Stephens (1861) further predicted his argument on the Scripture by stating that his conjecture was in harmony with Biblical teachings.
I found this speech estranging and divisive because it pitted the Northerners against the Southerners. I perceive his strong stance on equality of humans and controversial statements about African Americans’ enslavement since they could evoke negative attitudes and feelings between the Southerners and their Northern counterparts. Such negative sentiments from a man of such stature could lead to deep divisions and atrocities in the country.
Nonetheless, I am not surprised by Stephen’s outrageous admission that African Americans’ servitude was the underlying factor for the Confederate nation and constitution’s secession and formation. This point is predicated on the fact that slaves were a cornerstone of the economy at that time. They provided the much needed cheap labor for the plantations. However, Northerners advocated for abolishing slavery and believed that the practice was wrong, whereas Southerners wanted to retain ownership of Negros to work on their farms. Therefore, these disagreements about the protection and abolition of slavery could breed bigger differences between the two regions.
Reference
Stephens, A. (1861). Slavery and the Confederate Constitution, The American Yawp Reader. Web.