Town Hall Debate Reflection

    The Town Hall Debate in class was very moving and powerful. I was on the pro slavery side which was a little uncomfortable to talk about but it was interesting to see why someone would support - still was uncomfortable to debate. But hearing the arguments given by the anti slavery side was so powerful and impressive. Some of the things that I took away from the debate was that slavery was a horrible thing that impacted so many individuals as well as generations. Families were torn apart because of slavery and that was one of the things that haunted me the most. Children would be taken from their mothers and families to later be sold to different masters. One speaker mentioned that she had 12 children and had never met a single one. That is cruel, unfair, and just wrong. Taking away an infant from their mother is disgusting. Husbands and wives were separated, brothers and sisters were separated, and parents and children were separated. Families should never be forced apart and taken away from each other, it is immoral and something that America's history should be greatly ashamed of. The treatment towards slaves was also unjust. Slaves would have to work long hours in any conditions, slaves were rented out, traded, and had harsh punishments. The Bible says “treat people that way that you want to be treated,” and that was a big way for abolitionist to argue against slavery. A human being should never be treated this way and be forced to do things against their will. The debate in class was very mature and the performances were delivered beautifully on the anti slave side. I was so impressed by our class and this assignment is one that I won’t forget.