Thomas Clarkson Case

In the excerpt from the document titled “Abolition of the Slave Trade” addressed to the Lords of London in the early 19th Century, English philosopher Thomas Clarkson raises awareness on the plight of slaves by calling upon religion, specifically Christianity, to give a greater motive for abolition. Correlating with the humanitarian movement in human rights history, people began to care about what happened to other people, and Clarkson stresses that slaves are people too and that they deserve to have rights as well. Clarkson claims that slavery is the epitome of evil and appeals to the human conscience by citing three major parties and outcomes associated with slavery: “First, As it has been proved to arise on the continent of Africa in the course of reducing the inhabitants of it to slavery…Secondly, in the course of conveying them from thence to the lands or colonies of other nations…And Thirdly, In continuing them there as slaves.” This first point of view he discusses is from the outside looking in, presenting scenes from Africa that have come about as a result of slavery, such as a woman struggling to overcome the loss of her children to a man living in constant fear of the “savage man-stealer”. The second point of view is from the people of Africa themselves and centers on the loss of pride and struggles being brought forth as the population decimates and as a result the quality of life deteriorates. The slaves must endure harsh conditions aboard the slave ships and live in fear of the unknown as they contemplate what the journey beholds for them. The third aspect is from the point of view of the slaves themselves, after they have been transported to their final destination and sold into a life of hard labor with no imminent opportunity for advancement. Clarkson also discusses the counterparts of these points of view, which in this case are the slave-catchers, the auctioneers, the slave-owners, and everyone else associated with the ideal of

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