In chapter nine Hochschild describes a envelope seal designed for the committee in wich Wedgwood was involved in. The seal showed a kneeling African in chains, lifting his hands beseechingly, encircled by the words "Am I Not a Man and a Brother?" The image was instantly well known and represented the abolitionst's cause. It was the "first widespread use of a logo designed for a political cause". They could be found everywhere from books, leaflets, snuffboses and cufflinks. Clarkson gave out five hundred meallions with the seal and many laides wore them on bracelets. Later in teh chapter Hochschild states, "The abolitionist attitude towards blacks was perhaps summed up best by Wedgwood's design. The Afrian may have been "a man and a brother", but he was definitely a younger and grateful brother, a kneeling one, not a rebellious one. I think that the seal was very well designed. Clearly, there were slaves who were rebellious and not all were kneeling and grateful. Yet the design of this seal was well htough out because it portrayed the African in a way to gain sympathy from those who do not support the abolitionist movement.
In chapter ten, I could not believe that Equiano had lost his job due to racism. Even though he was a free man his position was not taken seriously by others because of his race. It is unbeleiveable how long it takes a society to adjust to changes in laws. In our own country it took nearly a hundred years until the segregation of whites and blacks was put an end to. It is a shame that with all of the effort towards making a free black community one of the men chosen for a leadership position had it taken away from it because he was black.
In chapter eleven the issue is brought up that if England were to give up the slave trade, would France simply take over teh business? To this question Wilberforce responded "For those who argue thus may argue equally, that we may ro, murder, and commit any crime, which any one else would have committed, if we did not." I think this point clearly makes a difference between the forces that drive those who are proslavery and antislavery. Those who are pro slavery are more concerned with economics and haveing their country dominate over other countries' economies. Those who are anti slavery are more concerned with the moral issue of doing what is right.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I wrote about the same thing with the possibility of France taking over the slavery business. It gets to the point where countries are fighting over a struggling business and the realization that the situation can only get worst. You can go one way and say you'll keep slavery yet worry that the abolitionist movement won't stop or you can try and stop slavery and struggle with compromises - there's no easy way out.
Post a Comment