The mudsill theory var en tale til U.S. Senate den 4. marts 1858, afholdt af James Henry Hammond, hvori en samfundstruktur beskrives. Heri påstår Hammond at det er nødvendigt at der er en underklasse til at klare de ting som den hvide mand ikke vil. Hammond går så vidt som at sige at man bliver nødt til at bygge et fundament på den laveste del først (mudsill betyder den laveste del af enhver bygning) i det her tilfælde slaverne. ”A race inferior to her own, but eminently qualified in temper, in vigor, in docility, in capacity to stand the climate, to answer all her purposes.” (James Henry Hammond, the mudsill theory, first paragraph) ’Her’ er i dette tilfælde en henvisning til syden. Her beskriver Hammond hvorledes slaven er en laverestående race som har sine egne fordele i forhold til Syden interesser. Disse slaver er ikke mennesker og har de samme rettigheder som husdyr. Det vil sige at Syden har en logisk begrundelse for deres slaver og det faktum at de ikke giver dem løn, man giver jo heller ikke en okse løn. Hammond beskriver endda hvordan slaverne er bedre egnet til det job de laver i forhold til den hvide mand, hvorved han faktisk roser slaverne. Han påstår dermed ikke, at de bare er umælende dumme dyr, men at de gør nytte på deres egen måde, en måde den hvide mand ikke kan. Herefter beskriver Hammond slaveriet i sin form og påstår, at slaveriet måske nok er et ord der ikke burde findes, men at afskaffelsen af det ikke kan lade sig gøre. Fordi selv Norden har slaver i form af de hyrede arbejdere, den eneste forskel er, at de selv skal betale for deres mad og tøj. Hvilket jo også kan være svært idet de ikke får en stor løn. Han trækker igen forskellen på racerne ind og påstår at de hyrede arbejdere som Norden har, er deres ligemænd og derfor ikke burde blive således behandlet, og at syden i hvert fald ikke holder deres ligemænd som slaver. Idet han tror, at negeren er et undermenneske forefindes en god undskyldning om at holde dem som slaver, idet man ikke kritiserer det at holde husdyr. Dermed er det jo samme problematik, negeren er ikke et mennesker, og derfor har han ikke de samme rettigheder som et menneske, men nærmere de samme rettigheder som et dyr. “The status in which we have placed them is an elevation. They are elevated from the condition in which God first created them, by being made our slaves.” (James Henry Hammond, the mudsill theory, second paragraph) Han fastholder at de faktisk har ophøjet dem fra det, de egentlig var bestemt til at være. Idet negrene er som dyr, kan Hammond retfærdiggøre sin tankegang ved at påstå, at de dog behandler dem bedre end dyr, og at Norden faktisk behandler deres folk værre. Dermed er hele slaveinstitutionenretfærdiggjort, idet Norden ikke kan påstå, at deres folk har det bedre end slaverne. Logikken i the mudsill theory er ikke til at diskutere med, hvis synspunktet er at negeren ikke er et menneske, er der ikke noget galt i at holde dem som arbejdere uden at give dem løn. I slutningen af sin tale forklarer Hammond problematikken med Nordens politik om at sende folk ned og kritisere deres levevis. “How would you like for us to send lectures and agitators North, to teach these people this, to aid in combining, and to lead them?” (James Henry Hammond, the mudsill theory, sidste linje) ’These people’ er de hvide mennesker, som Hammond påstår er slaver i Norden. Det vil sige at hvis Syden gjorde nøjagtig det samme som Norden, ville Norden få et større problem. Det er indirekte en trussel mod Norden, men samtidig et opråb mod kritikken af Syden. Hammonds tale emmer af hans overbevisning om sin ideologi, han bruger mange værdiladede ord og opråb som støtter hans ideologi. Eksempler ville være ord som necessity, lifetime, elevated osv. Hammond er meget personlig, og siger ’us’ om Syden, og ’you’ om Norden, dermed bliver talen meget personlig og dermed meget overbevisende. Flere gange nævner han ting i rækkefølge: ”They are happy, content, unaspiring and utterly incapable, from intellectual weakness, ever to give us any trouble by their aspirations.”( James Henry Hammond, the mudsill theory, second paragraph) Dette er ligesom I første citat et klart eksempel på både værdiladede ord, men også at der er flere sider af sagen, der er mange faktorer der tæller ind, i begrundelsen af slaveriet. Ved at nævne dem i rækkefølge opnår han en større overbevisning. Man skal dog huske at James Henry Hammond er politiker og dermed har han også haft vælgere at skulle tænkte på. Dermed kan man ikke være 100% sikker på at det er hans egne meninger der kommer frem, dette vises også i forhold til brugen af flertal ’you’ og ’they’. Dermed trækker han hele sin politiske kreds indover hans udsagn, og står dermed ikke alene med ansvaret. Dermed kan man ikke sige, at den er helt troværdig, da der med garanti er en bagtanke i forhold til politikken. Kilden er et levn, da det ikke er genfortalt af en person der har hørt talen. Hvis dette havde været tilfældet ville det have været en ber

The mudsill theory was a speech to the U.S. Senate March 4, 1858, held by James Henry Hammond, in which a structure of society is described. In it, Hammond claims that there is a need for an underclass to handle the things that the white man does not want. Hammond goes so far as to say that one will have to build a foundation on the lowest part first (mudsill means the lowest part of any building) in this case the slaves. "A race inferior to her own, but eminently qualified in temper, in vigor, in docility, in capacity to stand the climate, to answer all her purposes." (James Henry Hammond, the mudsill theory, first paragraph) ‘Here’ is in this case a reference to the south. Here Hammond describes how the slave is an inferior race which has its own advantages over the interests of the South. These slaves are not human and have the same rights as domestic animals. This means that the South has a logical reason for their slaves and the fact that they do not give them wages, you do not give an ox a wage either. Hammond even describes how the slaves are better suited to the job they do compared to the white man, thereby actually praising the slaves. He thus does not claim that they are just unspeakably stupid animals, but that they are doing good in their own way, a way the white man cannot.Hammond then describes slavery in its form and claims that slavery is perhaps a word that should not be found, but that its abolition is not feasible. Because even the Nordic countries have slaves in the form of the hired workers, the only difference is that they have to pay for their own food and clothes. Which can also be difficult as they do not get a large salary. He again draws in the difference between the races and claims that the hired workers that the Nordic countries have are their equals and therefore should not be treated as such, and that the South at least does not keep their equals as slaves. Believing that the Negro is a subhuman, there is a good excuse to keep them as slaves, not criticizing keeping pets. Thus, it is the same problem, the negro is not a human, and therefore he does not have the same rights as a human, but rather the same rights as an animal. “The status in which we have placed them is an elevation. They are elevated from the condition in which God first created them, by being made our slaves. ” (James Henry Hammond, the mudsill theory, second paragraph) He maintains that they have actually exalted them from what they were really meant to be.Being Negroes like animals, Hammond can justify his thinking by claiming that they treat them better than animals, and that the Nordics actually treat their people worse. Thus, the entire slave institution is justified, as the Nordic countries can not claim that their people are better off than the slaves. The logic of the mudsill theory is not to be discussed with, if the view is that the negro is not a human, there is nothing wrong in keeping them as workers without giving them wages. At the end of his speech, Hammond explains the problems with Nordic policy of sending people down and criticizing their way of life. "How would you like for us to send lectures and agitators North, to teach these people this, to aid in combining, and to lead them?" (James Henry Hammond, the mudsill theory, last line) ‘These people’ are the white people whom Hammond claims are slaves in the Nordic countries. This means that if the South did exactly the same as the Nordic region, the Nordic region would have a bigger problem. It is indirectly a threat to the Nordic countries, but at the same time a call against criticism of the South. Hammond's speech exudes his conviction of his ideology, he uses many value-laden words and appeals that support his ideology. Examples would be words like necessity, lifetime, elevated, etc.Hammond is very personal, and says ‘us’ about the South, and ‘you’ about the Nordic countries, thus the speech becomes very personal and thus very convincing. Several times he mentions things in order: "They are happy, content, unaspiring and utterly incapable, from intellectual weakness, ever to give us any trouble by their aspirations." (James Henry Hammond, the mudsill theory, second paragraph) This is like In the first quote a clear example of both value-laden words, but also that there are several sides of the issue, there are many factors that count, in the justification of slavery. By mentioning them in order, he achieves a greater conviction. One must remember, however, that James Henry Hammond is a politician and thus he has also had voters to think about. Thus, one can not be 100% sure that it is his own opinions that emerge, this is also shown in relation to the use of the plural ‘you’ and ‘they’. In this way, he draws his entire political circle inwards towards his statements, and thus does not stand alone with the responsibility. Thus, one can not say that it is completely credible, as there is guaranteed to be an ulterior motive in relation to the policy. The source is a relic as it is not retold by a person who has heard the speech.If this had been the case it would have been a ber