Slave and Citizen

From the text that we read in class, "Slave and Citizen",  Frank Tennenbaum claimed that the slaves in different countries were being treated differently form the slaves in North America. In his defense, he used that in Brazil, for example, they give their slaves more "rights" due to the fact that they are more  "privileged".

In page 4 of the text, it mentions: "Even under the Empire the negro and the mulatto-and, socially, the attractive mulatto women-had an acceptance unthinkable in the American scene." To my comprehension, I understood that although they knew that slaves in different countries had more rights than the slaves in North America, they refused to change their laws for them and still wanted to treat as harsh or more cruel than what they already did. I feel that greed led them to act upon toward the hatred of the slaves. They treated the slaves like animals when the slaves did all their work and their growth and wealth would not happen if the slaves didn't work. They wanted to keep treating the slaves the same, due to their on greed. They did not care about the slaves or their human rights or their human privileges that they deserved.

But, although the slaves in other countries were considered more "liberal", I don't think they were considered any better either as well. They had to respond to a "master" and no human being is higher then the other, therefore, although they were more "liberal", they were still looked own upon somehow. Either way, slavery wasn't correct in any country, but in North America, they were more cruel and not human like.

First Class

     In class, we discussed a section from the Declaration of Independence and David Walkers appeal. In the Declaration of Independence, it states that everyone is entitled to the pursuit of happiness, but the thing is the pursuit of happiness is different for other people, including Americans, Immigrants or even terrorists. So it makes you wonder, when a terrorist attacks, they attack because they believe that what they are doing is "correct", and their form of showing it is "right",  because no one wanted to hear it another way, and they needed to make their point across. And although we take their actions as a terrorist form, they feel that they accomplished their "happiness". So what exactly is an overall "happiness"?
      When we discussed David Walkers appeal to Jefferson, the part that stuck out to me the most was  when it mentioned that "What right then, have we to obey and call any other Master, but Himself? How we could be sosubmissive to a gang of men, whom we cannot tell whether they are as good as ourselves or not, I never could conceive. ". It reminded me of the bible verse in John 8:7, when Jesus was talking to the men who were trying to murder the promiscuous woman in the temple. It says "So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.". Basically, why should African Americans be slaves and the white people their "masters". Your color of skin does not dictate whether you are better or superior then others. Everyone is entitled to human rights, no matter your color of skin.