Read the following paragraphs from the section "Heated Debate On Issue
John Rutledge of South Carolina responded forcefully. "Religion and humanity have nothing to do
with this question," he insisted. The slave trade should be left to the states or else the Souther-
most states "shall not be parties to the union." A Virginia delegate. George Mason, who owned
hundreds of slaves, spoke out against slavery in ringing terms. "Slavery," he said, "discourages
arts and manufactures. The poor despise labor when performed by slaves. Slavery also
corrupted slaveholders. "Every master of slaves is bom a petty tyrant. They bring the judgment of
heaven on a country."
Oliver Elsworth of Connecticut said that slaveholders from Maryland and Virginia were
hypocrites. They could afford to oppose the slave trade, he claimed "Slaves multiply so fast in
Virginia and Maryland that it is cheaper to raise than import them. Ellsworth suggested that
ending the slave trade would create a shortage that would benefit them since their slaves would
increase in value.
(A)
How is the central idea developed in these two paragraphs?
by describing the moral corruption that resulted from owning and trading slaves and explaining how that
corruption would spread
by explaining the motivations of slaveholders and showing that their actions would ultimately lead to
economic ruin
by laying out the arguments for and against slavery and describing the overall effect on slaveholders
and slave traders
(0)
by presenting the issues of states rights and economie benefits to outline the reasons slavery continued
the s orted by North and South