Thomas R. Dew

The following viewpoint is excerpted from Thomas R. Dew’s book Review of the Debate in the Virginia Legislature of 1831 and 1832. Dew was a professor of political economy and law at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, and his book was a response to the Virginia legislature’s recent debate over whether to abolish slavery. The debate—the last time in the South the idea of abolishing slavery was seriously considered—came in response to the slave rebellion led by lay preacher Nat Turner in October 1831, in which approximately sixty whites were killed.

In his book, Dew praised the Virginia legislature’s decision to not abolish slavery and staunchly defended slavery as a positive good. In the excerpts presented here, Dew argues that emancipation would harm Virginia’s economy, since...