The Killer Angels Slavery Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #10

"I tried to point out that a man is not a horse, and he replied, very patiently, that that was the thing I did not understand, that a Negro was not a man. Then I left the room." (3.2.102)

Chamberlain remembers arguing with a visiting Southerner back in Maine. The Southerner insists that African Americans aren't really human, which disgusts Chamberlain. It doesn't seem compatible with the idea that all human beings possess a "divine spark," since they were created by the same God.

Quote #11

"I don't really understand it. Never have. The more I think on it the more it horrifies me. How can they look in the eyes of a man and make a slave of him and then quote the Bible? But then right after that, after I left the room, the other one came to see me, the professor. I could see he was concerned, and I respected him, and he apologized for having offended me in my own home." (3.2.103)

Even though Chamberlain finds the Southerner's views on slavery and race abhorrent, the Southerner still tries to be polite. It's part of the difficulty of fighting the war: the South has a conception of morality and manners while still totally disavowing human equality and treating the slaves horribly.

Quote #12

The war was about slavery, all right. That was not why Longstreet fought but that was what the war was about, and there was no point in talking about it, never had been. (3.5.197)

Longstreet admits to himself that the idea that the South is fighting for states' rights is hogwash. In his view, they may really believe that, but they're fooling themselves. But what is Longstreet fighting for? Is it just that he feels obliged to defend the place he's from?