Celia & American Slavery

Jonathan Choi
Hall
HIST-201-04
11 June 2014











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Life of an enslaved person
A life of a slave in the rural American South during the 1850s was undeniably
gruesome, tiresome, and prejudicial. Slaves were not considered humans; in fact, they were
viewed primarily as items. Slaves lacked freedom. The typical slave in the rural American
South was controlled by slave codes, which consisted of customs, laws, regulations, and
rules enforced on the enslaved. In terms of labor, many slaves in the South strictly worked in
the plantations to produce cotton using the cotton gin. The south was profoundly involved in
exporting million tons of cotton to Englands textile mills and relied heavily on slave labor
to produce that much. There were also slaves who served as maids, factory workers,
blacksmiths, carpenters, etc. Harsh punishments such as whipping were common for
disobedience.
Economic effect of slavery
Those who did not own slaves in Missouri in the 1800s were more sympathetic
towards the harsh and cruel realities of the slavery system. According to a historians
examination, non-slave holders farm was valued a third less than the average slaveholders
farm. There was a discernable difference between slaveholders and non-slaveholders in
terms of productivity. Slave owning southern whites had the upper-hand in all areas of
category measured largely because of the use of slave labor. In terms of ownership,
Slaveowners held twice as many horses and sheep as did non-slaveholders, and three times
as many cattle (7). Slaveowners were evidently, in average, more prosperous than non-
slaveholders.
The nature of slavery in Missouri was that of empathy because attitudes were already
beginning to strengthen against slavery. The Missouri Compromise was also a factor to find
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solutions to the slavery system. Non-slave holders in Missouri brought the attention of the
issue of slavery when Missouri was added to the Union. Their position and say on the
slavery issue was influential because they saw this slavery institution as unnecessary and
morally wrong.
Debate over slavery
The debate over slavery was profound in the 1850s. The Compromise of 1850 were
bills passed to decide which territories acquired during the Mexican-American War would
be a slave state or free state. One of the issues was about California in that the Missouri
Compromise of 1820 cut the state in half in relation to the areas that allowed slavery and did
not allow. The Fugitive Slave Act was also passed during this time, and it was considered
very controversial because it favored the slavery system. This act effectively required for
runaways to be sent back to their masters and citizens had to cooperate with the effort of
returning the slaves. The Free Soil Party emerged and was actively trying to oppose the
expansion of slavery in the newly acquired western territories. Many non-slaveholders in the
north criticized the compromise for supporting slave interests.
Celia background
Celia was a young woman who was enslaved by Robert Newsom, a prosperous
widowed Missouri master. Everyday of her life, she would work directly under Newsom
while being forced to attend to his sexual needs. She later had to bear two of his children,
but during this time, she was in love with a fellow slave.
In 1855, Newsom went to her cabin intending to rape her yet again, but this time, Celia
reacted by beating him to death with a stick weapon. In Celia, A Slave, by Melton A.
McLaurin, Celia and all the enslaved were placed in similar and in specific situations that
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forced them to make and to act upon personal decisions of a fundamentally moral nature
(xiii). Celia was defending herself from sexual assault and acted out on her own personal
decision. This act was dissimilar to what other slaves would have done. Many slaves did not
act on their own because it would lead to harsh consequences.
Whites sympathy
During the trial, many citizens from the Fulton and Callaway Countys were
sympathetic to Celia. A Fulton physician with prominence, James Martin, was called to the
stand and defended Celia. He stated, slaves possessed certain elemental human rights,
which owners were bound to respect (100). This statement supported her case and helped
form a strong panel of defense. The citizens who supported and had sympathy for Celia
believed resisting sexual assault should not be seen as a crime whether it is a freed or
enslaved person. The defense side brought people from the county to the stand to testify and
support Celia. One man acknowledged that Celia feared for her life and killed Newsom out
of that fear. A state law gave the right to use force to repel physical attacks that threatened
his or her life (102). The defense side all believed that Celia deserved the best possible
legal defense because she was morally innocent.
Problems of legal defense
Celia went to trial and the judge declined the defenses motion because of the reason
that slaves had no right to resist their master, even in the case of rape. This clearly shows
that slave owners had total control and empowerment over their slaves. The defenses
argument stated, Celia had the legal right to protect her honorand could resist unwanted
sexual advances with deadly force (108). This brought about many concerns and questions
in liaison with ownership. The defense was resolute to entail every conceivable legal
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argument to prove Celias innocence, which threatened the very foundations of the
institution of slavery (107). If Celia were acquitted, the role of white males would likely be
questionable. There was a code of personal honor, and men were expected to act out this
code to whomever they were responsible for. Her win would not only mean that the Souths
social system lacked any sense of honor but also show that the institution was doubtful
because slaves would not be able to rely on their masters and trust them.
Celias story
Celias story provided a deep, profound insight on not only what slaves dealt with
but also with issues regarding aspects of life such as human rights, morality, and integrity.
The institution of slavery was corrupt especially in the South. Slaves were worked to death,
not able to speak for themselves, and had no freedom. During trial, Celia had supporters
from the county despite her being a slave. The defendants main argument clearly threatened
to undermine the Souths social system and the institution of slavery. The basis of morality
was fought for during her trial, and the fact that Celia was not able to win her case shows the
hopelessness of her and slaves difficulty in life. Slaves did not have any right to self-
defense against their masters. Celias story is only one account of many unjust and
prejudiced issues at hand. The slavery system had immense long-term effects, and heated
arguments over which states would be free were a factor that led to the quarrel of North and
South. All throughout the timeline of the American slavery system, there were people on
both sides of the issue. Peoples view on slavery changed throughout time, and ultimately
most would realize the corruptive and unmoral nature of the institution. The moral
inconsistency of the American slavery system had detrimental effects to the Nation.