Historical- Effects of Slavery on the White Slave Master
The horrible accounts of how the white slave masters treated the slaves begs the question, how could one human being inflict so much pain and evil upon another human being without cause? Frederick Douglas and Fountain Hughes, the slaves under the rule of white slave masters, said it clear…slaves were nothing more than dogs? But would we treat a dog as bad as a human being under these conditions, after all, dogs are beautiful creatures that deserve the respect of mankind. The real question is how does hatred breed so deep into the mental psyche of a person that can ignore the natural inclinations of compassion for human suffering. A psychopath is unable to form emotional attachments. Psychopaths tend to be aggressive and predatory in nature. They view others as objects for their amusement, and sociopaths tend to be nervous and easily agitated. They are volatile and prone to emotional outbursts, including fits of rage.9 Categorically classifying the white slave masters as a psychopath or sociopath would be cruel. But, the suffering and abuse of human life that many of the white slave masters inflicted upon their slaves could possibly fall within this category. It is not a natural human characteristic to standby and witness the worst kind of abuse upon another human being and not feel anything. Think about it, there was consistent physical abuse, sexual and reproductive abuse, mental, and emotional abuse perpetrated upon the slaves. Can these characteristics of superiority and the right to abuse others evolve into today’s conscientious for the white police officer? If the oral history of the black culture is handed down from generation to generation, is it possible that such ideologies and white cultural perspectives be handed down as well? The white slave master dehumanized the slave because he or she had the unlimited power and authority to oppress.10
In a 2019 article published in the Washington Post, several professors of history shared their insight into two of the most notorious white slave owners. They made a lot of money on the slave trade. Isaac Franklin and John Armfield (of Franklin & Armfield – Alexandria Townhouse, 1828), were very popular slave owners during the 18th Century. They are noteworthy in this context because they were very ruthless in their dealings with slaves. The two white slave owners sent letters to each other. These letters showed the mindset of these white slave owners in a very dark manner.
The slaves were transported between Virginia and Maryland. “Armfield, [who was] based in Virginia, managed the "buying side of things" and arranged transportation [of the slaves], Rothman [the historian] said that Franklin stayed mostly in Natchez, Mississippi, and was responsible for selling their human cargo to plantations in the Deep South.”11 Throughout their ownership, it is estimated they transported 10,000 slaves. Through the letters they wrote to each other, they discussed the atrocities they inflicted upon their slaves. There were countless numbers of rapes of the black female slaves. In their correspondence between one another, they actually bragged about raping black female slaves. They obviously felt no remorse or guilt for how they treated the slaves in their writings. The question is posed, “why did they treat the slaves so mean?” The answer is “they did it because they could, and they felt like it”. “They had a raw desire for power”. 12
Comments: