With a feeble moral organization, and entirely devoid of the
higher attributes of mind and soul so prominent in the instincts of the
Caucasian, his position was never, as a slave, oppressive to his mind
or his sense of wrong. He felt, and to himself acknowledged his
inferiority, and submitted with alacrity to the control of his
superior. Under this control, his moral and intellectual cultivation
elevated him: not simply to a higher position socially, but to a higher
standard in the scale of being, and this was manifested to himself at
the same time it demonstrated to him the natural truth of his
inferiority. This gratified him, promoted his happiness, and he was
contented. The same effect of the relation of master and servant can
never follow when the race is the same, or even when the race is but
one or two degrees inferior to the dominant one.
The influence of this relation upon the white race is marked in the
peculiarities of character which distinguish the people of the South.
The habit of command, where implicit obedience is to follow, ennobles.
The comparison is inevitable between the commander and him who obeys,
and, in his estimation, unconsciously elevates and degrades.
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