Wendell+Phillips-The+Patrician+as+Agitator

VB- Slavery is regarded in a negative form today for the immoral practices it encompassed. Wendell Philips was one such person who recognized this while slavery was being practiced. Richard Hofstadter asserts that, like Karl Marx, Wendell Phillips adopted the socialist aspects of slavery. Wendell Philips understood that while white labor came at a cost, black labor was always forced. This statement held true for its time period. Although Phillips believed all Blacks needed to be emancipated from this wage labor that was occurring, he failed to foresee the consequences. If the south had emancipated, as Phillips wish, there was no plan to have the slaves become free. Phillips also did not understand the economic consequences that would ensue as a result of any emancipation. Phillips’ naivety in these plans was concealed by his ability to recognize and condemn slavery as an unjust moral practice that went against the Constitution. Phillips realized that until Black labor could receive wages blacks would never truly be free and worked ardently as an agitator to promote change.

In an alternative view point, it is possible to Wendell Phillips as not an abolitionist with socialist views, but rather an individual who understood all moral implications that surrounded slavery. Slavery is considered an economic system, Wendell Phillips comprehended this, and by making propositions pertaining to an economic solution. As stated above, this solution was for blacks to receive wages. It is not until other abolitionists were heard with Phillips that the idea that slavery was unjust morally grew attached to Philips’ argument. Hofstadter analyzed Phillips’ view point when he was established among individuals. ﻿my previous comments stand -- same issues checked