Ending slavery in the 1800sI'm doing a speech about slavery, I am pretending to be a person from the 1800's. I need some ideas on what to say to...

Considerations Toward Ending
Slavery:

How would you provide for slaves who were too
elderly to work?  Once freed, their former owners will no longer be obligated to care
for them.

In many areas, there were more slaves than the
work required.  How would you find employment for the excess?  Once freed, their former
owners will no longer employee any more than he needs to do his work.  If nothing is
done, many will be forced to steal for survival; for this they will end up in jail or at
the end of a rope, not to mention the harm to their
victims.

What would you do with slaves who had grown up in
slavery and did not want to be free?

Some slaves could read
and write, but more could not.  Would you put them into the job market with no
education, or would you somehow provide an education for them?  How would you do
this?

Many slaves had skills at carpentry, brick laying,
house keeping, etc., but many more had no job skills but as field hands.  How would you
provide for the excess field hands who had no skills for any other
job?

The slave was worth a lot of money, kind of like an
automobile today.  Some families own one or two autos; some families own large fleets of
trucks or constructin equipment, or busses.  If internal combustion engines were
outlawed because of their pollution, many people would be bankrupted, and many more
would be unable to make a living.  How will you keep this from happening to your
slave-owners when you free the slaves?

If all the slaves
are freed at once and go looking for jobs, a lot of people with jobs, in northern
factories for example, will suddenly find their wages are a lot lower.  This sudden
reduction in wages will be hard on them and their families.  Maybe you should release
only a part of the slaves each year.  How will you handle this
problem?

If you tell your audience about the few who are
beaten for no reason, will you tell your audience about the many who were never beaten
for no reason, or will you mislead your audience into thinking being beaten for no
reason was common?

Slaves could not change bosses if they
did not like the one they had.  Neither could most factory hands of the time, but
however that may be, this inability to seek a better position for one's self may have
been the thing about slavery that slaves themselves most disliked.  There is a joke from
the era that makes this point. 

A slave escaped from
Kentucky and went to Ohio.  In Ohio he was apprehended and taken before a magistrate. 
The magistrate asked him if he was mistreated as a slave.  "Oh, no sir.  Me and ol'
massa was best of friends."  The magistrate asked if he was over-worked.  "No sir.  Me
and ol' massa took Wednesdays and Saturdays off and went fishing, and went hunting most
near ever night."  The magistrate asked if he was under-fed.  "No sir.  Ol' massa gave
me all the pork and cornmeal I could eat and I raised plenty of vegetables and
chickens. "  The magistrate asked if he was adequately housed.  "I had a nice little
cabin sir, with roses around the door."  "Well!  I don't understand why you ran away!"
the magistrate exclaimed.  The slave replied, "Well judge, your honor, sir, that
position is still open down there if you want it."

Good
luck with your speech.