The Benefits of Technology in an Old Fashioned World Achilles Davenport, 21 Dec. 1845
With the invention of the Cotton Gin in 1793, Southern cotton production hit a record high. Our native South Carolina took a much needed boost in our economy and the slave trade increased exponentially. Now however, I am proposing that we are in the midst of several new cotton gins. Our little South Carolina must capitalize on these machines if we are to keep up with cotton production. Just recently a man by the name of John Deere in the west develop a new steel plow unlike that ever seen before. This new plow allows farmers to become four times more productive than ever before. But it does not just benefit the poor white farmers of the west. Imagine if you can an entire fleet of these plows at the hands of skilled slaves. They would be able to increase productivity ten fold. Combine this with the cotton gin and the efficiency of moving goods through the United States by way of the new steam boat, the plantation of the future is imagined.
However impressive this new plow may seem, there is yet another invention developed recently that also revolutionarily changes farming. Mentioned before it is the steam boat. This remarkable water borne craft moves through the water at great speeds outpacing even the swiftest wind powered vessels. Furthermore it is possible to use on rivers, which means it can be used in the transport of goods. This proves revolutionary for Southern farmers and plantation owners alike. Once isolated, far away from the massive manufacturing centers of the north, sending cotton and tobacco to the northern states proved costly and inefficient. Now however, all one has to do is send their products upriver in a steam boat, and they can be expected to get to their intended destination in the matter of one week or less.
South Carolina is without a doubt, one of the biggest farming states in the union. we produce great quantities of cotton, tobacco, and indigo. The north relies on us greatly to supply it with raw goods to manufacture and send throughout not only the United States, but the world. It is our duty as farmers to make sure that our farms are as productive as possible. Also, we must make sure to beat out the competition of the other states who are working just as hard. So, my fellow South Carolinians I implore you, take advantage of these new inventions. They will ensure that we continue to prosper and remain economically healthy.
Lastly, I feel the need to touch upon an invention that may not seem useful to us simple farmers. It is the telegraph machine. This wondrous mechanism transmits words through a series of taps to a receiver at the other end of a wire. This enable messages to be sent quickly through long distances. Although this may seem interesting, most will view it as unnecessary for plantations or farms. However, I encourage you to look at it in a different way. This machines enable plantations to warn each other of disasters otherwise left unpredicted. These could be the invasion of savages who have come up from Florida, or natural disasters not yet witnessed. If a series of these machines are connected throughout South Carolina’s plantations, an early warning system could develop. If there are heavy rains or other weather events unfavorable to the growth of crop, then one plantation could warn another, allowing them to prepare for the event. This machine allows for unparalleled linkage between fellow plantation owners. So I encourage my fellow South Carolinians consider this machine, for it is useful and could be the difference between a plentiful harvest, and a ruined land.
However impressive this new plow may seem, there is yet another invention developed recently that also revolutionarily changes farming. Mentioned before it is the steam boat. This remarkable water borne craft moves through the water at great speeds outpacing even the swiftest wind powered vessels. Furthermore it is possible to use on rivers, which means it can be used in the transport of goods. This proves revolutionary for Southern farmers and plantation owners alike. Once isolated, far away from the massive manufacturing centers of the north, sending cotton and tobacco to the northern states proved costly and inefficient. Now however, all one has to do is send their products upriver in a steam boat, and they can be expected to get to their intended destination in the matter of one week or less.
South Carolina is without a doubt, one of the biggest farming states in the union. we produce great quantities of cotton, tobacco, and indigo. The north relies on us greatly to supply it with raw goods to manufacture and send throughout not only the United States, but the world. It is our duty as farmers to make sure that our farms are as productive as possible. Also, we must make sure to beat out the competition of the other states who are working just as hard. So, my fellow South Carolinians I implore you, take advantage of these new inventions. They will ensure that we continue to prosper and remain economically healthy.
Lastly, I feel the need to touch upon an invention that may not seem useful to us simple farmers. It is the telegraph machine. This wondrous mechanism transmits words through a series of taps to a receiver at the other end of a wire. This enable messages to be sent quickly through long distances. Although this may seem interesting, most will view it as unnecessary for plantations or farms. However, I encourage you to look at it in a different way. This machines enable plantations to warn each other of disasters otherwise left unpredicted. These could be the invasion of savages who have come up from Florida, or natural disasters not yet witnessed. If a series of these machines are connected throughout South Carolina’s plantations, an early warning system could develop. If there are heavy rains or other weather events unfavorable to the growth of crop, then one plantation could warn another, allowing them to prepare for the event. This machine allows for unparalleled linkage between fellow plantation owners. So I encourage my fellow South Carolinians consider this machine, for it is useful and could be the difference between a plentiful harvest, and a ruined land.
SLAVERY: A Way of Life Milton Huckelbee, 25 Dec. 1831
“Be it good or bad, it has grown up with our society and institutions, and is so interwoven with them, that to destroy it would be to destroy us as a people. ” These are the words of former Vice President and proud South Carolinian John C. Calhoun. Calhoun perfectly illustrates the feelings of all South Carolinians and southerners for that matter with these words. Slavery is a way of life down here. We cannot live without it. Taking away our slaves would be like taking away Northern factory workers machines. Our work is not possible without them.
Our slaves are our property, we pay for them, we feed them, and we hose them. These are luxuries that they never would have had back in their native land of Africa. Slaves in the south are treated with the utmost care. When they work hard and do what their masters say, they are rewarded. However, when they disobey their masters they are punished. This is no different than being a factory employee in the north. When your work is good, you are rewarded with money. The only difference is that we do all of the spending for our slaves and they receive the food and clothes that a northerner would have to buy for themselves.
Many people in the north are actually worse off than slaves in the south. Those who are unemployed and living on the street with no money and no food are very much worse off then our slaves. Our slaves are cared for and given the necessities that they need for them to be productive. Not to mention how much better off slaves are in the south then their homeland of central Africa. Never in central Africa has there been an institution so civilized as that of slavery. Slavery gives blacks the opportunity to learn from and observe the white man. This results in a general happiness and cooperation between both slaves and their masters.
Well many northerners may be asking what happens if slavery is abolished? To this question there is only one answer. If slavery is abolished, not only the Negros but all men in the south, including white men, will become slaves to the north. They will have complete power over us as our production rates and wealth and social standard will all dramatically fall if slavery is abolished. All southerners will be forced to work the fields day and night, Negros to, just to make enough pay to survive and produce for the greedy and lazy northerners. The amount of money that we will be paid to work the fields would likely be less than that of the price of the luxuries that slaves receive from their masters today. The North’s big argument is “This is America where all men are free” but abolishing slavery will only make more men slaves to the North. Southerners will be given the choice of doing essentially what slaves have been doing since American grounds were first being cultivated or die of starvation. So you tell me how that is considered freedom.
Not only will abolition be detrimental to the South, but it will only benefit the North. There would no longer be any competition between North and South or even coexistence. It would be the North ruling the South. Does this not remind you of the American colonies being ruled by Great Britain? Slavery is what holds this nation together. We fought to rid ourselves of Britain and we will fight again for those same basic freedoms. The abolition of slavery will almost certainly result in war.
What gives the North the right to try to abolish slavery anyway? They could never even fathom how important and essential slavery is to the function of the South. Without it, everything falls apart. But the Northerners wouldn’t know that because they don’t need slaves to work factories. They have machines to do the work for them. So there is no way that nNrtherners can be impartial to the abolition of slavery because they are only concerned about how Negros are treated in the south rather than the aftermath of abolition. I assure you that with the abolition of slavery, not only will the quality of life for all freed slaves diminish but many white men would begin to lead lives worse than most slaves ever did.
It is true, however, that there are flaws within the slavery system. There are some cruel slaveholders who do not treat their slaves well enough. But we live in a time of reform on these issues, not abolition. “Slave Codes” are being passed to better the treatment of all slaves. The institution of slavery is a good one, and with the proper care and reform, it can be beneficial to all involved parties. On top of this, we see rebellions such as that of the delusional Nat Turner who organized the murder of at least 55 innocent white men in cold blood, including his master who he described to be kind. Clearly, people like this should not be free to roam the streets as free men. Nat Turner is a prime example of why these people need to be kept as slaves away from free men.
To abolish slavery would be destructive to the foundation on which the United States was built. America is a great place but the abolition of slavery may very well change that fact. The South was raised with Slavery. It has developed a culture of slavery. Southerners believe in slavery and to take it away would be like taking away a religion, something that is not permitted by the constitution. The South will not allow slavery to be abolished. For the north, they have two options, slavery or war.
Our slaves are our property, we pay for them, we feed them, and we hose them. These are luxuries that they never would have had back in their native land of Africa. Slaves in the south are treated with the utmost care. When they work hard and do what their masters say, they are rewarded. However, when they disobey their masters they are punished. This is no different than being a factory employee in the north. When your work is good, you are rewarded with money. The only difference is that we do all of the spending for our slaves and they receive the food and clothes that a northerner would have to buy for themselves.
Many people in the north are actually worse off than slaves in the south. Those who are unemployed and living on the street with no money and no food are very much worse off then our slaves. Our slaves are cared for and given the necessities that they need for them to be productive. Not to mention how much better off slaves are in the south then their homeland of central Africa. Never in central Africa has there been an institution so civilized as that of slavery. Slavery gives blacks the opportunity to learn from and observe the white man. This results in a general happiness and cooperation between both slaves and their masters.
Well many northerners may be asking what happens if slavery is abolished? To this question there is only one answer. If slavery is abolished, not only the Negros but all men in the south, including white men, will become slaves to the north. They will have complete power over us as our production rates and wealth and social standard will all dramatically fall if slavery is abolished. All southerners will be forced to work the fields day and night, Negros to, just to make enough pay to survive and produce for the greedy and lazy northerners. The amount of money that we will be paid to work the fields would likely be less than that of the price of the luxuries that slaves receive from their masters today. The North’s big argument is “This is America where all men are free” but abolishing slavery will only make more men slaves to the North. Southerners will be given the choice of doing essentially what slaves have been doing since American grounds were first being cultivated or die of starvation. So you tell me how that is considered freedom.
Not only will abolition be detrimental to the South, but it will only benefit the North. There would no longer be any competition between North and South or even coexistence. It would be the North ruling the South. Does this not remind you of the American colonies being ruled by Great Britain? Slavery is what holds this nation together. We fought to rid ourselves of Britain and we will fight again for those same basic freedoms. The abolition of slavery will almost certainly result in war.
What gives the North the right to try to abolish slavery anyway? They could never even fathom how important and essential slavery is to the function of the South. Without it, everything falls apart. But the Northerners wouldn’t know that because they don’t need slaves to work factories. They have machines to do the work for them. So there is no way that nNrtherners can be impartial to the abolition of slavery because they are only concerned about how Negros are treated in the south rather than the aftermath of abolition. I assure you that with the abolition of slavery, not only will the quality of life for all freed slaves diminish but many white men would begin to lead lives worse than most slaves ever did.
It is true, however, that there are flaws within the slavery system. There are some cruel slaveholders who do not treat their slaves well enough. But we live in a time of reform on these issues, not abolition. “Slave Codes” are being passed to better the treatment of all slaves. The institution of slavery is a good one, and with the proper care and reform, it can be beneficial to all involved parties. On top of this, we see rebellions such as that of the delusional Nat Turner who organized the murder of at least 55 innocent white men in cold blood, including his master who he described to be kind. Clearly, people like this should not be free to roam the streets as free men. Nat Turner is a prime example of why these people need to be kept as slaves away from free men.
To abolish slavery would be destructive to the foundation on which the United States was built. America is a great place but the abolition of slavery may very well change that fact. The South was raised with Slavery. It has developed a culture of slavery. Southerners believe in slavery and to take it away would be like taking away a religion, something that is not permitted by the constitution. The South will not allow slavery to be abolished. For the north, they have two options, slavery or war.
Immigration: The Purest of Soil Eliza Cook, 20 March, 1835
Dear Editor of the Charleston Chronicle:
I am writing you on the nation-wide topic of immigration, with a slightly Southern outlook. As you probably do or maybe do not know, millions of immigrants have come to claim their American dream. Over the past two decades, already over four million people have made the now reasonably-priced and somewhat faster journey to the United States, escaping countries like Germany and Ireland. Escaping the catastrophic potato famine, half of the immigrants are from Irish territory. On the other hand, a million German immigrants have left escaping impecunious situations and nationwide economic difficulties.
Driven away from agriculture from their disasters on the homeland, these immigrants seek nothing more than an opportunity to work. Upon their arrival in the United States, it has been said that this influx of people have actually benefitted our great country… they are definitely no benefit to our purest of Southern soil, I may add.
After their arrival in cities such as New York, Philadelphia, and Boston, most newcomers have made their homes in the North where they can find cheap labor. Let us all hope that it stays that way, and that these migrants do not dilute our noble Southern society! With our multitude of plantations and our pro-slavery feel, there is no need for these people. Let them find work in the north, we did not fight for this country to allow huge congregations of outsiders in; we fought devotedly for the inmates of this land—the true Americans! As long as these millions of Irish or German immigrants stay in the north, where they belong, we do not have an issue to deal with on our end of the nation. Different from the northern blend of backgrounds and people, our society values the Jacksonian democracy and the importance of the white male. Our society is organized, one in which everyone knows their own place, from slaves and poor farmers to the wealthy plantation owners. Our pure society does not need newcomers to do our labor, we have our slaves, and what a great part of life they are. We are the true Americans, embodying strong morals and the upmost of goals; we are the model of a populous to be reckoned with!
But then again I am writing to you as a wealthy white male himself…..
Signed, Anonymous, 31 years of age, South Carolina
I am writing you on the nation-wide topic of immigration, with a slightly Southern outlook. As you probably do or maybe do not know, millions of immigrants have come to claim their American dream. Over the past two decades, already over four million people have made the now reasonably-priced and somewhat faster journey to the United States, escaping countries like Germany and Ireland. Escaping the catastrophic potato famine, half of the immigrants are from Irish territory. On the other hand, a million German immigrants have left escaping impecunious situations and nationwide economic difficulties.
Driven away from agriculture from their disasters on the homeland, these immigrants seek nothing more than an opportunity to work. Upon their arrival in the United States, it has been said that this influx of people have actually benefitted our great country… they are definitely no benefit to our purest of Southern soil, I may add.
After their arrival in cities such as New York, Philadelphia, and Boston, most newcomers have made their homes in the North where they can find cheap labor. Let us all hope that it stays that way, and that these migrants do not dilute our noble Southern society! With our multitude of plantations and our pro-slavery feel, there is no need for these people. Let them find work in the north, we did not fight for this country to allow huge congregations of outsiders in; we fought devotedly for the inmates of this land—the true Americans! As long as these millions of Irish or German immigrants stay in the north, where they belong, we do not have an issue to deal with on our end of the nation. Different from the northern blend of backgrounds and people, our society values the Jacksonian democracy and the importance of the white male. Our society is organized, one in which everyone knows their own place, from slaves and poor farmers to the wealthy plantation owners. Our pure society does not need newcomers to do our labor, we have our slaves, and what a great part of life they are. We are the true Americans, embodying strong morals and the upmost of goals; we are the model of a populous to be reckoned with!
But then again I am writing to you as a wealthy white male himself…..
Signed, Anonymous, 31 years of age, South Carolina
Exclusive Interview with John Ross of the Cherokee Tribe Margaret Cogdell, 1 May 1836
I traveled all the way to the Cherokee Reserve in Georgia for an exclusive interview the John Ross, head of the Cherokee tribe. He gave me the inside scoop on the Cherokee point of view on the Indian Removal Act and the plans of the Cherokee tribe concerning relocation. He made it very clear that the Cherokee are not interested in negotiating with the government.
Margaret: Hello Mr. Ross. My name is Margaret Cogdell. How are you doing today?
John: Hello Margaret. I am doing okay. How are you?
Margaret: Good, good. Now let’s get down to business with this interview, shall we?
John: Okay.
Margaret: First of, would you mind telling me your point of view on the relocation of Indians to west of the Mississippi River?
John: I think that it is not fair to move us. It is our home, and you are asking us to completely ditch it and move thousands of miles away. Not to mention the fact that it violates the treaty we have with the American government.
Margaret: Hmmmm…well that is very interesting! But President Jackson has made a very fair trade with you by offering to give you the same amount of land out west.
John: It is not only about the land. Our current territory is our home. We don’t believe that the American government has the right to just take it away.
Margaret: They aren’t just taking it away. They are negotiating with you, for mutual benefit. The Bureau of Indian Affairs has been created to assist the resettled tribes. As you know, most of the Indian tribes have already resettled, including many members of your own tribe. So do you think that the rest of you will ever relocate?
John: No, at least not willfully. Georgia is our home, and it is unfair to relocate us. We live in Georgia. It is our territory, and to take away our land is unjust. Other tribes may have relocated, but that does not mean we are going to any time soon. We value our home and plan to stay.
Margaret: Tell us why you drafted an appeal towards the treaty that a small faction of your tribe negotiated.
John: That treaty was fraudulent. It was only created by a small group of us, and most of our population did not agree with it. They may have wanted to relocate, but we had no desire to do so. Therefore, they simply cannot speak for us. Our tribe is staying in Georgia and that’s all I have left to say. I’m sorry if you disapprove.
Margaret: Thank you for your time, Mr. Ross. Have a wonderful evening!
As one can see, the Cherokees do not plan on leaving anytime soon. At this point, almost every other tribe has realized the benefits of relocation. However, this tribe is unable to do so. The government has compromised with the Indian tribes, and has even tried to help them by giving them equal amounts of land and setting up the Bureau of Indian Affairs, but the Cherokee tribe is too stubborn to relocate. They could easily move to the West, but they are choosing not to. It appears that they are will be unwilling to change their minds anytime soon, but hopefully they will see the light and relocate one of these days, so that we can have the land that should belong to us. A few of the Cherokee have come to terms with the act, and have relocated, so hopefully the rest of the tribe will eventually join them. The Cherokee Indians continue to take up Georgian land, and refuse to give us what is rightfully ours. With this land, us Southerners would profit through farming on the prosperous Cherokee territory. The Cherokee lands are within southern borders, and we could really benefit from them. Why should we be swiped of our land, when the remaining, stubborn Cherokees can just pick up and move West. Some of the Cherokee people have begun to accept this act, so hopefully the rest of them will join the tribes out West, and we will be left in peace, free from the Cherokee.
Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ross_(Cherokee_chief)
Margaret: Hello Mr. Ross. My name is Margaret Cogdell. How are you doing today?
John: Hello Margaret. I am doing okay. How are you?
Margaret: Good, good. Now let’s get down to business with this interview, shall we?
John: Okay.
Margaret: First of, would you mind telling me your point of view on the relocation of Indians to west of the Mississippi River?
John: I think that it is not fair to move us. It is our home, and you are asking us to completely ditch it and move thousands of miles away. Not to mention the fact that it violates the treaty we have with the American government.
Margaret: Hmmmm…well that is very interesting! But President Jackson has made a very fair trade with you by offering to give you the same amount of land out west.
John: It is not only about the land. Our current territory is our home. We don’t believe that the American government has the right to just take it away.
Margaret: They aren’t just taking it away. They are negotiating with you, for mutual benefit. The Bureau of Indian Affairs has been created to assist the resettled tribes. As you know, most of the Indian tribes have already resettled, including many members of your own tribe. So do you think that the rest of you will ever relocate?
John: No, at least not willfully. Georgia is our home, and it is unfair to relocate us. We live in Georgia. It is our territory, and to take away our land is unjust. Other tribes may have relocated, but that does not mean we are going to any time soon. We value our home and plan to stay.
Margaret: Tell us why you drafted an appeal towards the treaty that a small faction of your tribe negotiated.
John: That treaty was fraudulent. It was only created by a small group of us, and most of our population did not agree with it. They may have wanted to relocate, but we had no desire to do so. Therefore, they simply cannot speak for us. Our tribe is staying in Georgia and that’s all I have left to say. I’m sorry if you disapprove.
Margaret: Thank you for your time, Mr. Ross. Have a wonderful evening!
As one can see, the Cherokees do not plan on leaving anytime soon. At this point, almost every other tribe has realized the benefits of relocation. However, this tribe is unable to do so. The government has compromised with the Indian tribes, and has even tried to help them by giving them equal amounts of land and setting up the Bureau of Indian Affairs, but the Cherokee tribe is too stubborn to relocate. They could easily move to the West, but they are choosing not to. It appears that they are will be unwilling to change their minds anytime soon, but hopefully they will see the light and relocate one of these days, so that we can have the land that should belong to us. A few of the Cherokee have come to terms with the act, and have relocated, so hopefully the rest of the tribe will eventually join them. The Cherokee Indians continue to take up Georgian land, and refuse to give us what is rightfully ours. With this land, us Southerners would profit through farming on the prosperous Cherokee territory. The Cherokee lands are within southern borders, and we could really benefit from them. Why should we be swiped of our land, when the remaining, stubborn Cherokees can just pick up and move West. Some of the Cherokee people have begun to accept this act, so hopefully the rest of them will join the tribes out West, and we will be left in peace, free from the Cherokee.
Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ross_(Cherokee_chief)
Reform Movements: the Ultimate Controversy and Dispute Jane Allen, 16 Jan. 1851
Abolition, public education, women's rights and temperance are topics currently in the foreground of widespread controversy. American opinions differ by region, and our own Southern opinion is distinctly defined on each issue. This compilation of letters to the editor encompasses Southern views addressing a variety of topics, most prominently the distasteful abolition movement, and presents the wary viewpoint of many in dear Charleston.
Letter to the Editor:
Concerns of the Southern Gentry, 17 Jun. 1834 Blasphemous “reform” movements have taken the North and even the West by storm. (I would like to note my disappointment in our Western counterparts for becoming so absorbed in corrupt Northern affairs). These young radical thinkers have suddenly decided that the old ways of life are no longer satisfactory. They call for extreme change. These “modernizers” are attempting to create their ideals of a perfect world, an impossible and impractical task. They argue that slavery is a sin, that it is an evil institution. Codswallop I tell you! They say this from afar. They do not see our perspective, the Southern perspective. Only the members of the top sector of our society own a substantial number of slaves, and many middle-class farmers who own slaves work side by side these very slaves. They are treated well, though not quite as equals, but well nonetheless. Many even have the opportunity to work toward their freedom. Northerners argue that we treat our slaves inhumanely, but what is their rationale for saying so? Northerners, including free blacks, are inciting our slaves and encouraging revolts. This is hurting us and our slaves alike; to revolt is to force good Southern slaveowners to act maliciously against their own will to control the uprisings. The worst revolt to date resulted in many deaths, of both blacks and whites. This behavior of the slaves is uncalled for and unruly, and to think that it is promoted in the North! Abolitionists are a violent and turbulent people, one to not be trusted to lead a “movement.” Recently, these Northern antislavery societies have denounced and burned our dear Constitution with claims that it is a “pro-slavery” document. Our dear Constitution! I demand they recognize that they live in a pro-slavery nation, one established by our wisest forefathers, who owned slaves themselves. Had slavery been the evil the North claims it to be, it would have been abolished long ago or perhaps never established. Moreover, the institution has evolved to be the cornerstone of Southern economy. Northern and Western industries do not rely on slave labor, whereas Southern industry does. Our economy is dependent on the exports of farms worked by slaves. The North and the West depend on our crops as well. But these Northern yokels convince themselves that slavery is a backwards concept and they form their petty antislavery societies, but they have no real evidence backing their claims. Slavery is a necessary institution practiced by our forefathers for years. The call for abolition is ridiculous and unneeded. We, the South, must come together to stave off Northern involvement in our own affairs. They may dislike slavery, but they do not have the right to intervene and disrupt our well-functioning Southern economy. Slave labor is necessary, but these Northern radicals focus their foolhardy thinking too much on the individual to comprehend the larger picture. They do not realize how essential the institution is. These pretentious Northerners write newspapers and journals against our genteel way of life; they wish to disrupt our tradition. The time has come to stop ignoring their words and to take action in self-defense. To all slaveowners and otherwise, all Southern men, I implore you to recognize the preposterous views supported by the North and the West and to do all in your power to undermine their attempts to make poor our successful economy and defunct our traditional way of life. Signed, Mister Charles Lowry |
Letter to the Editor:
On Horace Mann’s Conception of Public Schooling, 4 Feb. 1848 Horace Mann has established the idea of “public schooling,” yet another Northern strike against the Southern way of life. We are used to the aristocratic education available here; it is the backbone of our society. It allows a hierarchical society to retain its proper function. A man of humble background has the tools to achieve success but is not simply handed them. Instead he must prove his merit to become of the upper class. A man of a wealthy family is raised for success and is destined to strive provided a good education. Our Southern education system is just fine the way it is. Massachusetts, by the advise of Mann, has proposed a new system designed to give every child an equal chance at an education and property gain. That is fine and well—in Massachusetts. Imagine the application of such an abstract idea in South Carolina. It would disrupt every facet of our society. If every child had a high-level education, the entire generation would embark in search of “skilled” work. However there is plenty of skilled work that does not require such an education. Farming, for example, requires skills not provided by a classroom education. It also happens to be the most significant industry in all of the South. If public education were to be instituted in the South, the entirety of our industry, our society, our long-standing way of life would be ruined. Along with the development of public schooling comes the development of higher education and colleges as well as a redefined way of thought. I do not hold much against college education, but I find much of this new thought erroneous. Mann and others such as William Holmes McGuffey intend to teach “morality” in these schools, rather than the skills one is expected to teach. By teaching morality and virtues, especially those as prescribed by a single religion, Mann and McGuffey are effectively forcing children to adopt beliefs rather than develop their own thoughts and opinions. America is known for its freedom and its freedom of speech and press especially. These schools and their material cut down on this freedom by controlling thoughts and confining young brains to certain opinions. It can only be seen as a variant of unconstitutional action. Mann has spoken of the greatness of this new Massachusetts system. The system has been proposed as if it is a remedy to all that had gone awry in the country. However, I wish to note that any form of application of this concept in South Carolina will simply cause more to go awry here. Dear politicians, heed my words. Be wary of the public education system and understand the negative effects it would have in our precious South. Northerners claim that we are slow to support the reforms when we are in fact honoring the traditions and customary way of life in an agrarian and socially stratified society. Our cherished culture must be preserved rather than destroyed by new ideas. W. L. McCauley Letter to the Editor:
The Voice of a Woman American South, 21 Aug. 1849 The age of reform has given way to a movement for women’s rights, a movement born in the North that had originally branched from the antislavery movement. This is a hard time for the outspoken women of the South. I myself longed to be present at the Seneca Falls Convention, held in July last year in New York. I wanted to hear the leaders of similar determined women speak with fervor. I wish to have a voice similar to those of my Northern counterparts. However, I cannot. I am a Southern woman, wife to an upper class landowner. I am subordinate. I have little opportunity like that of Northern women to speak my opinions. I cannot join the movement; reform, antislavery societies and the North are the most hated things in the South, and the movement for women is connected with each of the three. I am in no position to speak out, to join the movement. I am even writing this letter anonymously. Dear Chronicle, publish my thoughts. Allow similar women to feel confidently that they are not trapped alone. Perhaps if there are others like me, other Southern women who search for their voice in society and politics, we can come together to form our own “women’s society.” I hope, for me and for them, that they truly hear my message. Signed, Anonymous |