Stanley M. Elkins’ illustrative jobs Slavery; A Problem in American Institutional and Intellectual Life provides one more a technique to the phenomenon of slavery in American history. Unlike ordinary depiction of causes of its origin and its advantages and disadvantages, Elkins takes into consideration an entirely novels manifestation of slavery i.e. slavery a problem in American history and its results of intellectual and institutional life.
He reinforces the thought that from the early nineteenth century, a couple of phenomenon, democracy and capitalism, changes the course of events as well as the socio-psychological pattern of American life. During the context of slavery, theses two phenomenon appear juxtaposing every other but reality was numerous as both helped dissolving old institutions Mr. Elkin seems at the activities with the church in totality with other social forces has singled out the Catholic spirit as the dominant force that compelled the Southerners to retreat to old practices and social patterns and slavery was a single of them.
He reinforces the thought that from the early nineteenth century, a couple of phenomenon, democracy and capitalism, changes the course of events as well as the socio-psychological pattern of American life. During the context of slavery, theses two phenomenon appear juxtaposing every other but reality was numerous as both helped dissolving old institutions Mr. Elkin seems at the activities with the church in totality with other social forces has singled out the Catholic spirit as the dominant force that compelled the Southerners to retreat to old practices and social patterns and slavery was a single of them.
First main chapter “Institutions as well as the Law of Slavery” provide a comparative analysis of slavery in United States vis a vis Latin America. From the second chapter “Slavery and Personality”, Elkins additional offer a deep insight to the psychological effect on Negro personality and its individual and collective consequences. He compares the slave life in The us with the concentration camps of Nazi Germany and their conversion into immature individuals. The third main chapter “Slavery and Intellectuals” deals with abstract American concept and its inability in creating channels for resolving the slavery issue. He elaborates numerous abolitionist ways recommended and/or adopted by the modern day leaders and politicians to solve this problem. Mr. Elkins reinforces the notion that American slavery was harsher and was augmented by institutional set-up as compared with Latin Americans. In United States, slaves were regarded as an entity that was included in their (Americans) home rights and were sanctioned by legal system.
In “Slavery and Personality”, Elkins provide a deep insight to the level and intensity of control that masters had over their slaves. He further narrates the psychological effect of this control on Negro personality and its individual and collective consequences. He tries to reinforce the concept that “Sambo’[ism] just isn't something inherent and it is not a racial or cultural solution as no Sambo is discovered among the Afro-American salves of Latin America. The docility and childishness only come from harsh treatment of slaves on a North American territories. He compares the slave life in The united states in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany and their conversion into immature individuals. He additional locates the socio-cultural motives for this action _transformation of Afro-Americans into Sambos, as compared with Latin American. He illustrates with examples that Spanish law has provision for salve to purchase home and even their freedom if they've purchase adequate wealth. Furthermore, the Orthodox Church has granted them the right to marriage. Whilst inside Southern American states their economic problems have been better comparatively but they had been negated these critical rights. The negation distorted their psychological being, hampered their psychological development and they were reverted to child-like behavior. To illustrate the psychological effect, Elkins says that harsh pattern of slavery from the South brought into like a normal Negro personality that was normally called Sambo. Sambo denotes to a personality prototype that was characterized by childlike behavior. This infantilism (as Mr. Elkins calls it) was a result of absolute negation of person rights and ultimate powerlessness. He extra compares it with Nazi concentration camp, wherever harsh treatment and absolute powerlessness over every action had reduced the Jews to infantilism. Even though
“Slavery and Intellectuals” deals with abstract American thought and its inability in doing channels for resolving the slavery issue. He elaborates many abolitionist methods advised and/or adopted by the modern leaders and politicians to solve this problem. Mr. Elkins reinforces the notion that American slavery was harsher and was augmented by institutional set-up as compared with Latin Americans.
Mr. Elkins is on the view that economic compulsions interpreted the relationship of slavery as being a master-slave relationship that was additional rooted into the social and intellectual life of America. Later on it was structured to the legal system. Inside whole scenario, slaves acted as economic instruments and this subordination was characterized only by commercial necessities.
Finally, Elkins takes into account the surge of abolitionists in American history and their passionate movements. He regards the abolitionists as of high moral character, anti-institutional and mortified. He extra compares the American abolitionism on the same movements in England and manifests that that I region like England, institutions have been powerful and “men could hardly avid thinking and acting institutionally”. Whereas in America, there was not even one institute of that caliber at national that could determine the slavery issue. So surge in abolitionism was a natural outcome of this situation.
Mr. Elkins investigations and interpretations depend on range of principal and secondary sources. He has explored and utilized the legal manuscripts, the home documents, states legal codes to provide an particular legal structure in the age over a specific problem of slavery. His comparative evidences include a number of secondary sources. For example, he uses the authentic and influential original jobs “Slave and Citizen” by Frank Tannenbaum to compare slave life in Latin America and United States. He extra uses the Nazi literature to compare the Sambo with Jews. Elkins has utilized the behavioral sciences to provide this analysis. He extra rely on Alexander Bruce’s “An Economic history of Virginia” and Lewis C. Gray’s “History of Agriculture inside the Southern America” to analyze economic perspective wherever slavery took its birth and evolved. These references extra capacitated Elkins with deep investigation of slave problems inside South. Mr. Elkins does not speculate more than the institutions of slavery in different nations and draws it conclusion but he relies on main and secondary resources to advance his thesis and provides supportive arguments and analysis to conclude those. For example, to investigate and compare the British Anti-slavery movement with American abolitionist movement, he relies over a classical source of Coupland’s book. Furthermore, a lot of footnotes enrich the authenticity from the book.
Mr. Elkins’ book was a new addition inside series of U.B. Philipps, Kenneth Stamp and James Ford Rhodes who interpreted different aspects of slavery but Elkins’ jobs is of significance hitherto as it has marked a brand new orientation to slavery. It further initiated a “comparative sociology of slavery”. It has tried to supply a comprehensive interpretation of intellectual facets of ante-bellum slavery and its institutionalization.
A close analysis of Mr. Elkins’ thesis suggests that he has not regarded as an significant intellectual element that was the basis of this problem. In United States, the phenomenon of “slave as property” was limited to one racial group i.e. African American. So this racial discrimination over a economic and also the social level additional manifested itself in the intellectual assumption of hereditary linkage between slavery and inferior mental and rational level. Additionally, he pays no heed to an critical element of slavery i.e. the effect of presence and personality of these Afro-Americans on the white population and how it contributed toward the social, cultural and political history of America. It is incredibly clear that no facet of American life in particular the Southern life was able to escape inside the powerful influence of Negro presence.
I still I believe that Elkin’s book is more accurate and wide-ranging since it has tried to supply a comprehensive interpretation of intellectual facets of ante-bellum slavery and its institutionalization. It interprets slavery in the social, political, economic context of American history. Elkin’s prepositions and conclusions are not far-fetched but are according to concrete historical arguments. This like most others doesn't “overtone quite reminiscent from the abolitionist” (Elkin, p. 6) but provides a completely new insight into the difficulty of slavery. This book manipulates our traditional view of slavery in United States and compels us to ponder more than it inside a new way.
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