1. Fitzhugh uses the word “boast” twice in this paragraph.

How might that word affect his

pro-slavery readers? his anti-slavery readers? Test its impact by substituting other verbs:
“maintain,” “contend,” “claim.” How do those verbs change the tone of the paragraph?
When Fitzhugh uses the word “boast,” he is appealing to pro-slavery readers. He is making them
believe that he is one of them by appearing unremorseful and unapologetic. To anti-slavery
readers, this would not convey a good message and probably effect how much they actually
absorb from his material. If we were to substitute the word, it would likely make Fitzhugh
appear more rational.

2. In the light of the Freedom’s Story essay on the slave family, how might you respond to
Fitzhugh’s assertion that “cares of the family and household” deprive laborers of their
freedom?
I don’t think that family cares deprive free workers of their freedom. However, Northern
laborers would be able to marry, start families, and live by themselves in a single household, a
privilege that the enslaved do not share. Meanwhile, the enslaved must also worry about being
separated due to a master’s will, something Northern laborers would not have to consider.

3. What definitions of freedom are implied in Fitzhugh’s second paragraph?

Fitzhugh sees freedom in the light of the economy. Freedom to him is not having to work and
being completely secure financially.

4. Based upon Fitzhugh’s definitions of freedom, why are laborers not free? Why are
employers free? Why are slaves free? Are the slave owners free? Why or why not?
According to Fitzhugh, laborers are not free because they must not only work for themselves,
but also have to work for the economic well-being of their family in mind. Employers are free
because they don’t work and profit off of other people’s hard work without having to worry
about each individual worker’s financial, physical, and mental situation. Slaves are free because
their physical well-being is ensured by their master’s care. The only person who is not free is a
slave owner, due to the fact that they are burdened with providing for others.

5. What image of slavery does Fitzhugh create paragraph 3? Cite specific evidence from
the text to support your answer.
In paragraph 3, Fitzhugh portrays an image of happiness and ease. He claims that there are even
some slaves who barely work and are still comforted and provided for. He runs on the idea that
slaves live a luxuriously easy life, where they can sit back and have somebody else take care of
them.

6. How does he portray capitalists? Cite specific words from the text to support your
answer.
Fitzhugh portrays capitalists as oppressive. He says they are “devising means to ensnare and
exploit” workers, and that they work to strip people of their rights for economic gain.

7. Compare Fitzhugh’s portrayal of slaves with that of free laborers.

Fitzhugh portrays slaves as happy and content. On the contrary, he portrays free laborers as
those who live less-stable lives, constantly threatened with exploitation and oppression. He
claims they are constantly denied their rights and must work until a very old age.

8. In light of the Freedom’s Story essays on slave labor and slave resistance, how might
you respond to Fitzhugh’s claim that “negroes luxuriate in corporeal and mental repose”?
I do not agree with Fitzhugh’s claims here. Slaves work an excruciating amount, often from
sunrise to sunset. These tasks were either physically painful or painfully mind-numbing, and I
highly doubt any slave genuinely enjoyed their days out working. Masters were constantly
watching and physically abusing slaves, and often provided them the bare minimum in terms of
daily necessities.

9. According to Fitzhugh, why does the purchase of labor turn an investor into a slave
owner?
Regardless of the means of purchase, someone is still profiting off of somebody else’s labor.
Since Fitzhugh considers living off labor exploitation, he considers this slavery as well.