Slavery—A Southern View.
The defenders of the slave system often maintained, as this cartoon illustrates, that
slavery was less oppressive than the drudgery of factory work in the industrialized
areas of the North and England. ‘‘Is it possible,’’ inquires a gentleman in the background of the upper picture, ‘‘that we of the North have been so deceived by false Reports? Why did we not visit the South before we caused this trouble between the
North and South, and so much hard feelings amongst our friends at home?’’
In the lower picture, the woman with the children proclaims: ‘‘Oh Dear! What
wretched slaves this Factory Life makes me and my children.’’ On the right, a barefooted man tells his companion that, ‘‘I am going to run away from the factory and go
to the Coal Mines where they have to work only 14 hours a day instead of 17 as you
do here.’’ (Courtesy of the Library of Congress.)