American Slavery was not the Vast Evil it is Portrayed as

Thanks, Pro. I look forward to an interesting discussion. - - - First and foremost, we must consider what it means to be a slave. Before the Civil War, slaves were considered personal property, and they and their descendants could be sold or inherited like any other personalty [1]. In other words, while they had very few rights, the two most important rights were not guaranteed to slaves: the right to life and the right to freedom. The resolution of this debate calls for me to defend that slavery was EVIL. Then comes the part of the resolution "as it is portrayed as." In other words, I have to defend that slavery is just as evil as we (school, the media and society) contend that it is. This doesn't mean I have to ignore that slaves were in fact cared for in certain ways, i.e. being provided food, shelter and medical care. However, I'm arguing that the institution of slavery in itself (legally viewing people as property) is in fact as evil as we suggest, and that the treatment of slaves including the rampant abuses we mention did in fact occur. - - - "The treatment of slaves in the United States varied by time and place, but was generally brutal and degrading. Whipping and sexual abuse, including rape, were common... Slaves were punished by whipping, shackling, beating, mutilation, branding and/or imprisonment. Punishment was most often meted out in response to disobedience or perceived infractions, but masters or overseers sometimes abused slaves to assert dominance" [2]. Let me be clear. Even if masters decided to give slaves food and shelter as an investment of their property, that does NOT discount any of the atrocities that slaves had to endure. Consider a scenario where a woman is the victim of domestic violence. Ray Rice's fiance presumably lived a very privileged life. She was not only given food and shelter by her partner, but accommodations in a multi-million dollar mansion. She was given designer clothes, expensive luxuries and did not have to work at all. Yet when video surfaced of Rice hitting his fiance in an elevator, we acknowledged that his actions were just as evil as the video surveillance portrayed. In other words, despite the fact that Janay Rice lived and lives an incredibly privileged life, with tons of luxurious accommodations, we still recognize that what was done to her by Ray was evil. Similarly, just because slaves were given bare minimum provisions, it doesn't mean that what was imposed upon them was not horrendous. - - - Thus far I've mentioned that slaves were beaten, burned, hanged, branded and mutilated. My opponent will not be able to deny that these things definitively occurred [3, 4, 5]. Thus he will attempt to distract you by saying "At least they didn't starve to death!" as if that's a good point. Indeed by Pro's own assertions, slaves were provided for only because they were valued as an investment (human capital) and not because the government or their masters recognized them as fellow people with rights who deserve care. The fact that slaves had "masters" and owners in the first place is morally abhorrent, and that is pure evil regardless of how Pro tries to present it. In addition to being physically assaulted, slaves were sexually assaulted as well. Rape was rampant across plantations. Slave women were forced to comply with sexual advances by their masters on a very regular basis and became their concubines, even if they were married to others [6]. Male slaves were also raped. Historian Nell Irvin Painter describes the effects of this abuse as "Soul murder, the feeling of anger, depression and low self-esteem," never mind the physical scars and effects. Not only did slaves get STDs from their masters [7] but often became pregnant and had their master's children. These mulatto babies served as stark reminders to the master's wife that her husband was unfaithful with slaves, and in turn, many wives treated the concubines even more wretchedly. The fact is the government legally permitted raping these slaves as well [8]. And it goes beyond that; masters were intentionally cruel. It wasn't just about a sexual release but a complete and utter display of control, dominance, aggression, force and lack of rights. "Slave masters even beat pregnant women, devising ways to do it without harming the baby. Slave masters would dig a hole big enough for the woman's stomach to lie in and proceed with the lashings" [9]. - - - My opponent has included a lot of quotes in the last round; I will wait until later rounds to provide first-hand accounts and descriptions of the brutality that occurred. On the other hand, Pro has presented completely biased and unreliable testimonies. In a ridiculous display of ignorance, Pro quoted three WHITE OBSERVERS saying that a slave's life was too easy. Are we really going to believe that (at best) some minimal time for leisure somehow discounts the complete and utter evil that occurred on slave plantations? That's absurd. Perhaps what these three white observers didn't see during their short visits were how slaves were treated on a regular basis and what their daily labor looked like. Labor was more difficult for some slaves than others, for example working on rice plantations was notoriously hard and their labor was incredibly demanding. Slave working conditions were often made worse by the plantation's need for them to work overtime to sustain themselves in regards to food and shelter. I'm also curious as to when slaves had time for fun, considering they worked 15 hour days and presumably needed time to sleep. It's no secret that my opponent is exaggerating the "benefits" of slavery including medical care. For example while he boasts about the fact that slaves were treated while ill (ignoring the fact that slaves were equally beaten and tortured), what Pro failed to mention was that medical care was usually provided by *fellow slaves* or by slaveholders and their families, and only rarely by physicians [10]. Further, researchers performed medical experiments on slaves without consent, which often had a detrimental impact on their health and well-being [2]. - - - Pro writes, "Many thought that slavery was beneficial to the negro, especially the removal from Africa. By leaving Africa, their quality of life increased in every way." Yet that is a fallacious description that uses manipulative information. While it might be true that slaves were given food, shelter and shoddy medical care by their masters, they very much had to work for it. People in Africa could work for their food and shelter the way they do and always have. Plus, living in Africa these people would be free. Not only would they have freedom, bodily autonomy and not be forced to work in deplorable conditions against their will, but free Africans would not be made to suffer the incredible brutality that slaves endured. They would not necessarily be cramped in close quarters with minimal provisions and they would have choices. They would not be considered property with their children being plagued to the same fate, and their marriages might be recognized along with not being raped... or branded, beaten, hanged, whipped, shackled or permissibly murdered in cold blood. Indeed while laws to protect slaves existed, in practice, white people could get away with murdering slaves who were considered subhuman -- it was *extremely* rare that masters were punished for their treatment of slaves, despite the laws that allegedly protected them [11]. It is completely inaccurate to suggest that because slaves were somehow given bare-minimum things (to ensure they provided labor without dying) that somehow they would have been worse off and unable to obtain the exact same things... except so much better and without suffering extensive unjust harm... in Africa. Thus in conclusion, Pro's entire argument is rooted in absurdity. Just because people have SOME positive things in their life does not in any way whatsoever discount the evil or injustice they experience overall. - - - [1] https://memory.loc.gov... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org... [3] http://answersafrica.com... [4] http://archderm.jamanetwork.com... [5] https://www.boundless.com... [6] https://www.bowdoin.edu... [7] https://en.wikipedia.org... [8] https://en.wikipedia.org... [9] Gray White, Deborah (2013). Freedom On My Mind: A History of African Americans. Bedford/ St. Martins. [10] http://tinyurl.com... [11] https://www.quora.com...