Morality
A conscience is that little inner voice that tells us whether or not we are doing the right thing, and is something that most of us has to deal with. If I were a religious person I would think that a clear conscience would keep me in God's good graces, but I am not. Instead, I have tried to live my life according to the morals that my father patiently taught to me. My dad is a good man, he is well liked by everybody who knows him, and has gone to great lengths throughout my life to teach me the importance of honesty, open-mindedness, and just how precious life is. As a result of his steadfast teaching I believe I grew into a morally ground person who is honest, open-minded, inquisitive, and just plain old friendly to anybody regardless their sex, color, or sexual preferences. For me, my conscience works in such a way that it is either clear and I can sleep at night, or it is guilty and knots my stomach til I'm sick. While reading "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe I've noticed that many of the characters have a conflict with their own conscience concerning slavery and its encompassing practices.
The exact details of this conflicted conscience is different for each character, and since I'm not writing a whole essay I am going to focus on the trader, Mr. Haley. During a conversation with two trappers at a tavern after Eliza's successful flight Haley proclaims to Tom Loker, "I al'ays meant to drive my trade so as to make money on 't, fust and foremost, as much as any man; but, then trade an't everything, and money an't everything, 'cause we's all got souls. [...] I b'lieve in religion, and one of these days, when I've got matters tight and snug, I calculates to tend to my soul and them ar matters; and so what's the use of doin' any more wickedness than's re'lly necessary?- it don't seem to me it's 't all prudent." (Stowe 60) This statement suggests to me that Haley probably has some doubts about his chosen profession, that he understands there is a moral ambiguity surrounding the slave trade and violence, and he worries about getting into heaven because of this uncertainty. He even tries to treat his slaves well and without violence to compensate for this uncertainty. On the boat heading south, Haley becomes part of a heated conversation about slavery with a handful of fellow passengers, and is left rather unsettled and pensive by one stranger predicting, "Depend upon it, God will bring you into judgement for this." (Stowe 113) If Haley's profession left him with a clear conscience this young man's statement would have little footing in Haley's mind, but it does bother him. Which to me suggests again that Haley isn't totally comfortable with the moral ambiguities of his profession. Haley justifies his conscience and profession by pointing out an obvious fact,"So long as your grand folks wants to buy men and women, I'm as good as they is; 'tan't any meaner sellin' on 'em, than 't is buyin'!" (Stowe 92) I agree with Haley here, while his profession is vile, it is no worse than even the kindest slave owner, and suggests to me a broader implication of the government that legalizes such practices.
We live in a country that celebrates capitalism, and "Uncle Tom's Cabin" highlights one of the biggest issues surrounding free-market capitalism: Ethics. In the mid nineteenth century, when our capitalist market was still in its infancy and slavery was legal, there was a market demand for slaves, and many enterprising men that strove to supply it. Even though many slave owners and traders knew that slavery and violence were morally wrong, the government told them it was o.k., and the rest is history. It doesn't matter how unethical, inhumane, or "dirty" a job is, there will always be somebody willing to do whatever it takes to make a buck. Even in modern times we see the effects of unregulated capitalism through global events like the financial crisis of 2008; some big-wigs wanted to make a buck, didn't care how many or whose lives they would destroy, made some unethical decisions, and began a recession that has been compared to the great depression of the 1930's. We can all help to create and support an ethical capitalist system by doing a little research. Much like Haley's government made the slave trade legal, our government makes it perfectly legal for us to buy products that were made by children working in sweat shops. If we all took the time to find out which products are produced by child labor we could stage a mass boycott, and effectively end child labor, but as long as there is a market for these products, there will always be someone willing to supply it. The capitalist system of the U.S. started in a pretty ambiguous way and is still quite murky when dealing with ethics, but as long as we try to make ethical consumer decisions, we can grow this nation into the beacon of freedom, justice, and equality that it was meant to be.
Works Cited
Stowe, Harriet Beecher, Ammons, Elizabeth, and Cairns Collection of American Women Writers. Uncle Tom's Cabin : Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Contexts, Criticism / Harriet Beecher Stowe ; Edited by Elizabeth Ammons. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2010. Print. Norton Critical Edition.
We live in a country that celebrates capitalism, and "Uncle Tom's Cabin" highlights one of the biggest issues surrounding free-market capitalism: Ethics. In the mid nineteenth century, when our capitalist market was still in its infancy and slavery was legal, there was a market demand for slaves, and many enterprising men that strove to supply it. Even though many slave owners and traders knew that slavery and violence were morally wrong, the government told them it was o.k., and the rest is history. It doesn't matter how unethical, inhumane, or "dirty" a job is, there will always be somebody willing to do whatever it takes to make a buck. Even in modern times we see the effects of unregulated capitalism through global events like the financial crisis of 2008; some big-wigs wanted to make a buck, didn't care how many or whose lives they would destroy, made some unethical decisions, and began a recession that has been compared to the great depression of the 1930's. We can all help to create and support an ethical capitalist system by doing a little research. Much like Haley's government made the slave trade legal, our government makes it perfectly legal for us to buy products that were made by children working in sweat shops. If we all took the time to find out which products are produced by child labor we could stage a mass boycott, and effectively end child labor, but as long as there is a market for these products, there will always be someone willing to supply it. The capitalist system of the U.S. started in a pretty ambiguous way and is still quite murky when dealing with ethics, but as long as we try to make ethical consumer decisions, we can grow this nation into the beacon of freedom, justice, and equality that it was meant to be.
Works Cited
Stowe, Harriet Beecher, Ammons, Elizabeth, and Cairns Collection of American Women Writers. Uncle Tom's Cabin : Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Contexts, Criticism / Harriet Beecher Stowe ; Edited by Elizabeth Ammons. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2010. Print. Norton Critical Edition.
