Theory of Slavery | Hamilton

IV

It's really been a long time since I'd felt so terribly humiliated. All those slave owners were clapping their hands and smiling in a condescending, cheerfully familiar way, as though they were soothing a child. To taunt us and so to irritate our wounds was, at this time, a great satisfaction to them. A terrible anger took possession of me; then a shiver ran down my back. I became anxious. I glanced sidelong at Jefferson: was he being sarcastic? But no, his expression was a sincere one of pride and satisfaction. Only Hamilton seemed unhappy. He sat exactly like a poor guest who had come down from his room to keep his host company at tea, and was discreetly silent, seeing that his host was preoccupied. It was as if he did not wish to take part in the spectacle, and it seemed strange to me.

"Because of them," Jefferson raised his hand, flashing a big and noticeable ring on his finger, "The American economy keeps growing. It's remarkable, in fact, that the majority, indeed, of these benefactors were guilty of terrible carnage, but decided to change and now serve the country. I would like you, dear guests, to have respect for them."

I recalled being whipped, and the hurtful absurdity of this contradiction caused my spleen to rise. This was simply a performance for the foreign delegation, as polished as Hamilton's shoes. And the delegates wouldn't understand it; they smiled and nodded along. Vile.

We sat down, and the Secretary of State went on.

"First thing first, what is a crime?" Jefferson looked around the hall. "With ready-made opinions one cannot judge of crime. Its philosophy is a little more complicated than people think. I spent many years observing different sorts of criminals and never remarked in them the least sign of repentance, not even the slightest uneasiness with regard to the crime committed. Most of them hold that they had a right to act as they thought fit. That's a fact. In any country and under any regime, there are, and always will be, queer characters who only harm the society. I am convinced that the prison system gives results which are specious and deceitful — it enervates the brain by weakening it, and at last exhibits a dried up mummy as a model of repentance and amendment. It's useless for society. The desire for crime is innate, one is born with it. I say innate, and maintain my expression. The criminal cannot be fixed. Aristotle wrote about this centuries ago. I only believe in my leading idea that men are in general divided by a law of nature into two categories, slaves, that is, so to say, useless criminal elements, and men who have the gift or the talent to rule. The crimes are always different, of course— from pickpocketing to murder. Slavery is beneficial for a slave, because it punishes him and reassures society against the offences he might commit. Slaves actually enjoy being punished. They only exist on the condition of undertaking nothing for themselves, and by serving, always living under the will of masters. Besides, in America the people who show most compassion for slaves are certainly the masters, who never make between them the distinctions based on their crime, no matter how severe it might me. We are all equals in the eyes of the law. One is quite capable of understanding the humanity of the reform and its economic advantages by simply looking at our slaves. They are happy to serve!"

His speech was interrupted by a violent fit of applause. I looked around me, trembling with nervousness, with cold sweat on my forehead, feeling hot and cold all over by turns. It was visible that Jefferson had put his whole heart and all the brain he had into that speech, revealing once again how evil he actually was. Where his speech really excelled was in its sincerity. He genuinely believed in his conviction; it was a performance, yet he actually quivered with a genuine passion "for the security of society." Even the delegates, though they remained hostile to him (I'm getting ahead of myself here, however), seemed positively intrigued.

"Gentlemen!" cried Jefferson. "Not the useless, ramshackle liberalism will lead the world to balance, but the American system. The fate of our truth is in our hands. May the Lord be with you, and may the Lord save the United States of America!"