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Check out this test question from a Social Studies teacher certification exam

Posted on 6/24/14 at 2:12 pm
Posted by Tiger1242
Member since Jul 2011
31894 posts
Posted on 6/24/14 at 2:12 pm
quote:

All of the following were motivations for the continuance of slavery in the Antebellum South, EXCEPT:

A. Slaves were an economically efficient labor force because they were not paid.

B. Slaves were a source of sexual gratification because male slave owners could legally rape them.

C. Slaves were a potential source of political representation for slave-holding states.

D. Slaves were an economically efficient labor force because they could be purchased at very low cost.


The correct answer to the question according to them is D, here is their explanation
quote:

This question tests your knowledge of the historical justifications for slavery in the United States. The South’s primary economic production involved labor-intensive agriculture (cotton, tobacco, sugar cane) for which an unpaid, overworked labor force was ideally suited. In addition, first-hand accounts reveal that slave women were regularly raped and sexually abused by their white male owners and overseers. Furthermore, the Three-Fifths Compromise of the Constitution ensured that non-voting slaves would be taken into account for the purposes of states’ representation in Congress. In the years preceding the Civil War, however, the cost of buying slaves had become prohibitively high for all except the the most wealthy. For these reasons, the correct answer is D.


When I saw the question I was very confused because I thought D looked like a good answer but B was so ridiculous I assumed that had to be the answer. This test is claiming it is a fact that one of the things behind slavery was that the owners wanted the ability to rape them for sexual gratification?

I mean I am sure some slaves were raped and that's horrible, but they area acting as if it was just something that slave owners did and is a reason behind owning slaves.

IMO this is offensive to all southerners, including people descended from slaves, and it is offensive to rape victims as well because it makes the claim that they were raped for "sexual gratification" even though I think it's pretty much proven that most rapists do it for the power trip
Posted by oleyeller
Vols, Bitch
Member since Oct 2012
32015 posts
Posted on 6/24/14 at 2:13 pm to
too much to read... but i always choose C when that is the case
Posted by TigerBait1127
Houston
Member since Jun 2005
47336 posts
Posted on 6/24/14 at 2:13 pm to
quote:

IMO this is offensive to all southerners, including people descended from slaves, and it is offensive to rape victims as well because it makes the claim that they were raped for "sexual gratification" even though I think it's pretty much proven that most rapists do it for the power trip



Posted by SouthOfSouth
Baton Rouge
Member since Jun 2008
43456 posts
Posted on 6/24/14 at 2:13 pm to
I hate that shite. Such a dumb question.
Posted by LesMiles BFF
Lafayette
Member since May 2014
5101 posts
Posted on 6/24/14 at 2:15 pm to
quote:

I think it's pretty much proven that most rapists do it for the power trip



Yeah, rape is all about power...





















...and cumming. Don't forget the part where the rapist cums.

Adam Carolla on Rape
This post was edited on 6/24/14 at 2:19 pm
Posted by UGATiger26
Jacksonville, FL
Member since Dec 2009
9044 posts
Posted on 6/24/14 at 2:16 pm to
Well, it's true.

However, if you were to make a pie chart of the reasons for being against the abolition of slavery, owners wanting to rape their slaves would be an extremely small slice.

Not a dumb question, but I agree that it's a dumb list of answers.
This post was edited on 6/24/14 at 2:18 pm
Posted by Tiger1242
Member since Jul 2011
31894 posts
Posted on 6/24/14 at 2:19 pm to
All I'm saying is that it's a ridiculous question and states something drenched in opinion and bias as a fact
Posted by LSUtiger17
New Orleans
Member since Mar 2009
3081 posts
Posted on 6/24/14 at 2:19 pm to
quote:

they could be purchased at very low cost

slaves were considered to be valuable property and weren't 'purchased at a very low cost' (even though, on average, their value was far greater than the purchase price). I've taken a couple of classes that cover slavery and one specifically on the Antebellum South. None have explicitly mentioned rape even though they all mentioned 'relationships' occurred between masters and slaves. I'm not sure how common rape occurred or that it would be a primary motivator for the continuance of slavery though.
This post was edited on 6/24/14 at 2:20 pm
Posted by Tiger1242
Member since Jul 2011
31894 posts
Posted on 6/24/14 at 2:19 pm to
I know it's true that slaves were raped, but claiming it was a contributing factor to most people in the south being pro slavery is ridiculous
Posted by Tiger1242
Member since Jul 2011
31894 posts
Posted on 6/24/14 at 2:20 pm to
Exactly, that's why the question makes no sense, IMO there are two right answers
Posted by lsu1982
LSU
Member since Jan 2006
2631 posts
Posted on 6/24/14 at 2:34 pm to
Are you gonna be a social studies teacher?
Posted by kingbob
Sorrento, LA
Member since Nov 2010
66993 posts
Posted on 6/24/14 at 2:39 pm to
quote:

Yeah, rape is all about power...

...and cumming. Don't forget the part where the rapist cums.

Adam Carolla on Rape


Well, Congressman Frank Underwood from "House of Cards" summarized it thusly: "Everything is about sex, but sex. Sex is about power."
This post was edited on 6/24/14 at 2:40 pm
Posted by Chair
New Orleans
Member since Jan 2013
2168 posts
Posted on 6/24/14 at 2:45 pm to
Not sure why you are having such a tough time with this. The question is pretty straightforward and so is the answer.
Posted by redbaron
Member since Aug 2011
706 posts
Posted on 6/24/14 at 2:58 pm to
quote:

None have explicitly mentioned rape even though they all mentioned 'relationships'


Well they couldn't give written consent, so of course it was rape
Posted by fouldeliverer
Lannisport
Member since Nov 2008
13538 posts
Posted on 6/24/14 at 3:00 pm to
Bro, do you even history?

Sexual exploitation of female slaves was ubiquitous. Hell New Orleans specialized in the auctioning of young slave "fancy girls". Read Soul by Soul by Walter Johnson for information about the New Orleans "fancy trade". Offensive to all southerners? It frightens me that you want to be a history teacher. The question and answer is completely factual and not even remotely controversial.
Posted by lsuwontonwrap
Member since Aug 2012
34147 posts
Posted on 6/24/14 at 3:02 pm to
Dumb question, but I knew the answer was "D" because slaves weren't cheap.
Posted by fouldeliverer
Lannisport
Member since Nov 2008
13538 posts
Posted on 6/24/14 at 3:02 pm to
quote:

All I'm saying is that it's a ridiculous question and states something drenched in opinion and bias as a fact



You're a ignorant fricking moron. Have you ever even read a slave narratives?
Posted by High C
viewing the fall....
Member since Nov 2012
53707 posts
Posted on 6/24/14 at 3:02 pm to
As a social studies teacher, I chose D immediately. Test writer obviously has an agenda. Is this Praxis?
Posted by seeLSUrun
Baton Rouge
Member since Nov 2005
23038 posts
Posted on 6/24/14 at 3:22 pm to
That's a pretty damn wide blanket to cast for sure. Is it documented that it was the regular practice of slave owners and overseers to rape slaves? Was it in some training manual on how to subjugate their slaves?

It's sticky because, yes, salves were raped and, most likely, on a much wider scale than free peoples. For this question though, and to have it posed as a factual reason that the practice continued, and was fought for, just so they could continue to rape slaves is ridiculous.
Posted by Jack Daniel
In the bottle
Member since Feb 2013
25407 posts
Posted on 6/24/14 at 3:24 pm to
Multiple choice;dr
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