I was born in Tuckahoe, near Hillsborough, and about twelve miles from Easton, in Talbot county, Maryland. I have no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it. By far the larger part of the slaves know as little of their ages as horses know of theirs, and it is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant.
Question
Which central idea is developed and supported by this passage?
Responses
Hypocrisy in religion is used to justify slavery.
Hypocrisy in religion is used to justify slavery.
An enslaved person is treated no better than an animal.
An enslaved person is treated no better than an animal.
Justice for enslaved people is impossible.
Justice for enslaved people is impossible.
Keeping people enslaved makes slaveholders inhuman.
1 answer
The central idea developed and supported by this passage is:
An enslaved person is treated no better than an animal.
The comparison of enslaved individuals to horses and the notion that masters wish to keep their slaves ignorant of their ages highlights the dehumanization and lack of care for the lives of enslaved people, treating them as property rather than human beings.
