From the gift that keeps on giving, again:
“darkmoon“: “But I think your on to something, a solution to racism, benevolent slavery…”
Ms. Ross: “I think the record will show that used to be the solution.”
I’m not sure exactly what the record will show in the American case, other than slavery finally perished in the United States as the result of a bloody war, a war where Confederates fought for independence so they could protect a way of life and a social order based upon the enslavement of African Americans.
There were in fact various proposals offered in the 1850s to “reform” slavery and a slaveholding society. One such proposal was offered by several white southerners: reopening the international slave trade, thus increasing the supply of slaves, lowering their price, and thus allowing more whites to buy into the system .. a stimulus package for slaveholders, if you will. Those who opposed this idea included white Virginians who did not want to see any downturn in the price of one of the Old Dominion’s most valuable exports … enslaved human beings (I don’t see that proud Virginian, Eddie Inman, boasting about that in cwh2, although he’s ranting all over the place when it comes to slavery, race, and related issues, always finger-pointing). And yes, there were proposals to reform the practices of slavery, offered in response to criticism of the conditions of slavery and the experiences of slaves as offered in such places as the pages of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Among the leading proponents of this approach: William T. Sherman, who shared his views on the matter with white Louisianans when he worked in the Bayou State as a superintendent of a military academy that someday would be known as Louisiana State University.
Clearly Helga Ross and William T. Sherman seem to be on the same page. Who woulda thunk it?
However, Sherman’s racism ran deep, and he saw reform in slaveholding practices as a way to counter abolitionist criticisms. Given Ms. Ross’s disparagement of what she has called antislavery cliches, perhaps that’s her primary concern as well. She remains the best authority on how she sees benevolent slavery as a way to counter racism. You can always join “civilwarhistory2” and find out.
Crossroads 