r animal appetites (Cartwright 142-143).
These investigations further confirmed the prevalent perceptions of the South that blacks belonged to an inferior race without any sense of civilization (Calhoun 18). The passage of two legislations provided concrete evidence of the South's perception that blacks were racially inferior: laws prohibiting interracial miscegenation and laws handicapping civil and legal rights of all Blacks, whether free or enslaved. Essentially, these legislations sought to reinforce the superiority and privileges of white people and elevate them above blacks (Moore 86-90). In fact, the Chief Justice Taney of the United States Supreme Court reaffirmed this racial prejudice in a legal statement. According to Taney, blacks belonged to "an inferior order and à[were] unfit to associate with the white race"; therefore, it was fair and legal for them to be treated as property and sold as slaves (Moore 91).
The South also pointed to the economic difficulties of the Blacks in the North and attributed the problems to their emancipation. Slaveholders felt that blacks were "part idiot, part madman and child." Therefore, they should not be considered capable of taking care of themselves (Robinson 75). Dew stated that a free black represented the animalistic aspect of humanity. Without the civilizing influence of white society, he would deteriorate into a lazy and destructive person. Degraded and alone, he might attempt to wreak revenge on the white people, thus provoking a justifiable attack on him by the white people (Dew 30-31). Without slavery, the white and black people could never live side by side together. Consequently, the conflicts between the two races would result in the complete destruction of the region (Calhoun 18). Therefore, slavery prevented the occurrence of the violence and conflicts that were plaguing from the North (Dew 31).
In addition, the Southern intellectuals of the South also highlighte...