Inspiring Essay About Primary Source Discussion 2

Drapetomania referred to an alleged disease of the mind that only affected black people. Apparently, upon infection, a black person becomes mad and would often act in an unexplainable manner because his or her brains would not have normal function. For that reason, when slaves ran away, they were mentally sick, and the situation was getting out of hand since the doctors were yet to understand the details of drapetomania.
If Caucasians failed to exert their God-given authority over the black population, the latter group would become idle because it is in their nature to be so. In other words, God knew the problems that colored people faced and as a result, He made them physically and mentally unstable without the rule of the whites. After all, since their knees were ready to bend in submission and their brains were at risk of contacting drapetomania, the lives of all blacks were in danger unless whites rescued their numbers.
The surest way of curing idleness is through hard labor. The lifting of heavy objects and the hard toil of the lands opened up the lungs of black people and allowed them to breathe in large quantities of oxygen. Once in their system, the oxygen would travel to the brain of each black individual and allow him or her to fight the mental illness and in turn, be productive. Still, because they were naturally idle, the slavery system was the only way through which whites could guarantee the safety of the colored persons.
Therefore, the arguments for abolition had serious errors merely because they also advocated equality between the races. Liberty in the hands of white people meant prosperity for their themselves and the nation because they are not idle and were immune to drapetomania. In contrast, blacks would probably lie around and become a burden for the government lest they die because of self-neglect.
The Southern States exhibited a functional social order, economic prosperity, and low crime rates within its borders. The populations were content, and the population was moral because the societies observed strict rules for the inhabitants based on white supremacy. Blacks were predominantly inferior and fit for bondage while whites were superior and fit to be masters.
In the South, whites protected their own by making sure the social hierarchy placed blacks in the lowest class. Consequently, available resources were available for all Caucasians to exploit as they saw fit and for that reason, Southern whites were content regardless of their wealth statuses. On the contrary, the North failed to support its rightful citizens and made efforts to promote equality for all persons including free blacks and immigrants. Hence, chaos dominated the Northern States as they lacked order and insisted on caring for non-whites at the expense of the worthier whites.
Hence, slavery was a good thing because its existence gave evidence to white supremacy. In other words, as long as black people were eligible for bondage the white skin color meant authority in the United States. For that reason, there would be no need for envy among white individuals because their pride and self-respect will have protection from the federal government.
The yeomen class encompassed mostly poor whites who opted to work in their farms personally instead of relying on slave labor. In the rare instance of a yeomen farmer owning one or more slaves, the situation did not change. Apparently, it was common to see the yeomen farmers toil their lands alongside their slaves and even make a game out of the situation by competing to see who worked harder. Consequently, white farmers who would use personal or family labor to produce food for sustenance purposes were of the yeomen class.
Just as other whites, the yeomen farmers enjoyed absolute authority over persons of African descent and could own black slaves. However, their social superiority did not mean the same as that of plantation owners. After all, and as mentioned before, yeomen farmers worked alongside their slaves and saw no need for brutality as a method of making them work hard.
Expectedly, the yeomen farmers were not for the abolition of slavery. Among the Southern planters and the industrialist Northerners, the yeomen class was perhaps the least wealthy and for that reason, were the lowest class of whites. Naturally, without the institution of slavery to draw the color line, it would mean that every black person was qualified for the yeomen class, as both groups would most probably share the same economic status. Thus, to the yeomen farmers, black slavery was more beneficial than it was harmful because the interests of the white populace took priority over the freedom of blacks.
The arguments are different as they defend slavery by insisting that its existence benefits black people. After all, the yeomen farmer attempts to show that slavery is not brutal while the doctor explains a medical condition that needs slavery as a cure.