Newspaper Analysis: Abolition and Slavery

Abolition and Slavery Student Name Course Lecturer Date The modern day Virginia and Pennsylvania dates back in history where they were involved in civil wars in the 19th Century. Present day Pennsylvania was Franklin County while Augusta County was the name of what is now Virginia. The two were 200 miles apart and shared most of the times never shared the same views on many issues. One of the issues in question was that of slavery and abolition and this is evidenced by the views of the members of these two communities as expressed in their newspapers. Most of the editors of the newspapers were advocating for slavery and hence they wrote articles that were pro slavery and shunned the progress toward abolitionism. On 24th October 1859, the newspaper Franklin Repository published an article named “High Treason” in which the author was criticising the proponents of abolitionism. The writer criticised the efforts as political gimmick for Fredrick Douglass and his supporters. In another article named by the same newspaper on 10th October 1859, the author who is a republican accuses the opponents of plotting to have two slave states so that they are voted into power again and hence this clearly shows that the electorate used to support leaders who were pro- slavery (Ayers, 2007). In another article dubbed “The Other Douglas” in the Franlkin Repository dated 24th October 1959, the author starts by giving credit to the mannerisms and oratory skills of a black orator named who is against slavery. However, he is quick to give his view that though he gave an impeccable speech, the end of slavery would spell doom and rage war since people from two different racial backgrounds cannot coexist in the same place. His article majorly targets the anti-slavery proponents, majority who are owners of the large agricultural plantations. According to Ayers, these people would lose if anti slavery measures are effected since they depend on slaves for labour i...