Slavery And Southern Honor Essay -- Slavery Essays

ParallelsTo southern men, repay was everything. I dictated their standing in society, whether or not they could own slaves it basically was a secret rank formation. A man held in the broad(prenominal)est detect experienced a soundly life from a social stance in the south. The honor system used in the south was related to the language used by southern gentlemen. Honor and Slavery by Kenneth S. Greenburg attempts to explain the vernacular and usage used by men in the antebellum south. It would be rough for a someone in todays society to understand the way honor was shown it would have even been a challenge for men living in the Northern United States to understand at that time. As Greenburg states, Since the language of honor was the dominant language of the men who ruled the slave southern, we will neer understand masters, the nature of slavery, or the Civil war without first perceptiveness that language. To be a powerful man in the south, society similarly had to run into you to be an honorable man. Honor and power in the southeastern were parallel to each other a man with a steep honor ranking was usually a prominent member of society. The fresh gentlemen of the South used honor as a means for zip society and it slightly resembled a monarchic society, as if a person was born into honor whether or not they chose so. It was very important to a Southern man the family name he carried because it would prove his honor in some situations.The biggest insult that could be given in the antebellum South was accusing an honorable man of lying. It could be over something trivial or something serious. Either way, if a man was accused of lying, his very livelihood was organism challenged. If a certain person fell out of societies favor an... ... high honor holdings were usually wealthy also. Today, money is not necessary to strain honor. Honor is not dictated by social standings but by the actions and decisions that people make on a dai ly basis. Most consider religious figures, soldiers, doctors, firefighters, etc. to be honorable positions because they make a accommodating contribution to society. Honorable people help others even if they cannot gain anything from the situation. An fiddling example of honor would be taking an hour out of your supple schedule to help brighten someones day. This clashes greatly with the perception of honor in the Old South. We consider slavery to be an illegal act and something openhanded but the Old South considered most slave masters to be very honorable people. If honor has changed so significantly over the other(prenominal) 150 years just imagine what it will be care in the next years to come.