Saturday, February 16, 2013
Slavery and Paternalism
Even though I haven't read a whole lot of Genovese's work yet, it is really unusual, at least in my opinion, for a book about slavery to spend so much time trying to 'humanize' the slaveholders. Slaveholders were not in touch with humanity; that's why they had slaves, and many of them treated them so brutally. One aspect of the book that has really stood out to me is how Genovese tries to portray slaveholders as, as he describes, "authoritarian fathers." I can see the point he is trying to make with this, but I can't bring myself to agree with him. Sure, no one can speak for all the slaveholders, but for the most part, and looking at primary sources from being who were slaves, etc., it seems like this is certainly not the case. Also another reason I find fault with the argument that slaveholders tended to view themselves as "authoritarian fathers" is this: many slaveholders didn't even consider their slaves to be human. I know a good part of the book is devoted to paternalism and slavery, but Genovese's argument regarding those two things seems slightly far-fetched.
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This is reminiscent of what I consider to be the creepiest part of Gone With The Wind : the fantasy of the happy slave. The weirdest scene comes after the war, when Scarlet O'Hara has climbed up the economic ladder by cutthroat business practices and ringing out every last bit of labor from their employees. When her husband chides her for her harsh managerial skills, she retorts that he didn't seem to mind back when they had slaves, to which, with no ounce of irony, he responds that "that was different. We didn't treat them badly." And this was made in 1939!
ReplyDeleteI can see the paternalist link and how slave owners may have seen themselves as such. Genovese demonstrates how closely owners and slaves lived and worked; his sections on miscegenation (and the treatment of mulattoes and children of masters) and children of slaves is especially indicative of how owners could wrap themselves in this vision of fathers. While it is a theme of the book, I am not sure that it carries fully through the book. As to the question of sources, I wonder if portrayals of brutal slaveowners (and yes, I recognize by definition that all slavery is brutal, but I mean in terms of bodily violence imposed on slaves)are what we are more often exposed to than what Genovese would argue is the average slaveowner. I will need to go back and review some of his notes. Genovese also seems to believe that owners were much more humane than we may think; implying that they did indeed see slaves as human rather than chattel, even though they traded them like horses...
ReplyDeleteTo me, the greater theme that stood out was agency. While owners attempted to be the paternal authoritarians, slaves found ways to assert themselves within the confines of the slave system. I think the sections on religion are strong, and the sections on the aged, children, etc. Am I correct in thinking that resistance theory was only starting to form in this period? His writing on resistance is minor, but I am guessing opened the way for later work?
Roger
My perspective on the reading tends to drift toward the symbiotic relationship between owner and slave. Mind you, some owners acquired slaves to tend to a very specific purpose. And, yes, some treated their "servants" humanely - even affording them burials and grave markers in the family plot (a big deal at that time). This is something that I can verily share, not proudly, from my own family history.
ReplyDeleteThe brutal slave owner, I believe, tends to be a very popular portrayal of the institution of slavery to build animus to the concept. The idea of omnipotent dominance of one person over another rhymes with similar constructs (i.e. Red Scare) throughout history.
Roger, as you say "slaves found ways to assert themselves within the confines of the slave system," I see that too. Even public opinion that shifted from draconian inhumanity in one state to benevolent despotism in another had the effect of law. Genovese described many ways in which slaves were able to assert themselves to ameliorate their condition.