There's also the history of James Spence himself, who may have worked for the South, but whose history was very connected to trade with the North. His views on race are quite shocking today, but his disapproval of the slave trade while still seeing Africans as an 'inferior race' is probably quite representative of many of the middle classes or the time. The arguments Spence puts forward in his books have a very strange kind of twisted logic, but it was popular enough for numerous reprints. One of his arguments was that slavery was abhorrent to white Europeans, who were moral and good, hence it should be outlawed, though 'of course' the institution was not only natural, but also loved by the slaves himself, who couldn't be expected to know any better!
While my work on the Square and American Civil has naturally focused on Confederate links so far, I'm wondering in the interests of balance if I should do a little more on the pro Northern and pro- neutral occupants. There was still a lot of trade with the North, and some figures who lived next door to the pro-South lobby, like the McIvers and George Melly, dealt more with the Union than the rebels. Worth mentioning at least.
There's also the history of James Spence himself, who may have worked for the South, but whose history was very connected to trade with the North. His views on race are quite shocking today, but his disapproval of the slave trade while still seeing Africans as an 'inferior race' is probably quite representative of many of the middle classes or the time. The arguments Spence puts forward in his books have a very strange kind of twisted logic, but it was popular enough for numerous reprints. One of his arguments was that slavery was abhorrent to white Europeans, who were moral and good, hence it should be outlawed, though 'of course' the institution was not only natural, but also loved by the slaves himself, who couldn't be expected to know any better!
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