Read the following paragraphs from the section "Heated Debate on the 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 Southern-most states "shall not be parties to the union." A Virginia delegate, George Mason, who owned hundred of slaves, spoke out against slavery in ringing terms. "Slavery,' he said, "discourages arts and manufacturers. The poor despise labor when performed by slaves." Slavery also corrupted slaveholders. "Every master of slaves is born a petty tyrant. The bring the judgement of heaven on a country."

Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut said that slave holders 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 them than to import them." Ellsworth suggested that ending the slave trade would create a shortage that would benefit them since their slaves would increase in value.

How is the central idea developed in these two paragraphs?

-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.

-by describing the corruption that resulted from owning and trading slaves and explaining how that corruption would spread.

-by presenting the issues of states' rights and economic benefits to outline the reasons slavery continued to be supported by the North and South