What was the main argument of people opposed to slavery?

Answer 1

The main argument of people who opposed slavery revolved around the fact that slaves were human. These people thought of slaves as equal to their owners and were not in favor of the harsh treatment they received.

Answer2: Notice this regarding slavery: FREEDOM! Few words are more appealing to the human heart. People have fought and suffered, lived and died, in pursuit of freedom.

DARK sweating bodies bent almost in two shuffle up gangplanks under the crushing burdens of enormous bales of cotton. Ruthless overseers drive them on with rawhide whips. Screaming children are torn from the arms of weeping mothers and sold to the highest bidder in auctions. These are likely the stark, brutal images that come to mind when you think of slavery.

Ironically, it is said that many slave traders and slave owners were deeply religious individuals. Historian James Walvin wrote: "There were hundreds of such men, Europeans and Americans, who praised the Lord for his blessing, giving thanks for profitable and safe business in Africa as they turned their slave ships into the trade winds and headed for the New World."

Some people have even asserted that God condoned the slave trade. For example, in a speech to the General Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church in 1842, Alexander McCaine stated that the institution of slavery was "ordained by God Himself." Was McCaine correct? Did God approve of the kidnapping and raping of girls, the heartless separating of families, and the cruel beatings that were part and parcel of the slave trade of McCaine's day? And what of the millions who are forced to live and work as slaves under brutal conditions today? Does God condone such inhumane treatment? Exodus 21:16 "If anyone kidnaps a man and sells him or is caught holding him he must be put to death."

God's Law stated that kidnapping and selling a human was punishable by death. Furthermore, Jehovah provided guidelines to protect slaves. For example, a slave who was maimed by his master would be set free. If a slave died because his master beat him, the master could be punished with death. Women captives could become slaves, or they could be taken as wives. But they were not to be used for mere sexual gratification. The gist of the Law must have led righthearted Israelites to treat slaves with respect and kindness, as if these were hired laborers.-Exodus 20:10; 21:12, 16, 26, 27; Leviticus 22:10, 11; Deuteronomy 21:10-14.

Some Jews voluntarily became slaves to their fellow Jews in order to repay debts. This practice protected people from starvation and actually allowed many to recover from poverty. Furthermore, at key junctures in the Jewish calendar, slaves were to be released if they so desired.* (Exodus 21:2; Leviticus 25:10; Deuteronomy 15:12) Commenting on these laws regarding slaves, Jewish scholar Moses Mielziner stated that a "slave could never cease to be a man, he was looked upon as a person possessing certain natural human rights, with which the master even could not with impunity interfere." What a stark contrast to the abusive systems of slavery that mar the annals of history!

Slavery, oppression, and cruelty are simply hallmarks of Satan's rulership. Under such influence, human rulership has built up a miserable record. The Bible summarizes that record succinctly: "Man has dominated man to his injury."-Ecclesiastes 8:9.

Jesus said: "By this all will know that you are my disciples if you have love among yourselves."

No one shall be held in slavery or servitude: slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms."-Universal Declaration of Human Rights.