Dublin Core
Title
Br. Joseph Mobberly, S.J. calculates the cost savings from emancipation.
Subject
Slaves--emancipation; Jesuit Missions-19th Century; Catholic Clergy-Correspondence
Description
The letter by Br. Joseph Mobberly to Georgetown's President Giovanni Grassi S.J. portrays the financial loss that would be suffered by the university if they did not sell the Jesuits' enslaved people. Throughout the source, he is actively calculating the cost of hiring free white workers and proving its advantages over using enslaved labor. It is important to note, however, that Mobberly was pro-slavery. The document assists readers in understanding the economics behind switching from enslaved to free labor.
Creator
Maryland Province Archives
Source
Maryland Province Archives, Box 58, Folder 6, Special Collections, Lauinger Library, Georgetown University.
Publisher
Georgetown Slavery Archive
Date
1815-02-05
Contributor
Adam Rothman, Tom Foley
Rights
Georgetown University Library
Format
PDF
Language
English
Type
Manuscript letter
Identifier
GSA58
Coverage
Joseph Mobberly S.J was born in Maryland in 1779, where he was educated at Georgetown College, then became a teacher and administrator in the same college. His document portrays the significantly cheaper option of hiring free white workers instead of using enslaved labor. Mobberly emphasizes the downsides of using the Jesuit’s enslaved people to work on campus throughout the document. Georgetown’s financial struggle acted as an incentive. It led to their choice of slave-trading in order to make ends meet in some instances, as the college finances mattered more than enslaved people’s freedom. This letter shows the reality of the economics behind enslaved labor and how pro-slavery advocates like Mobberly viewed the Jesuits’ enslaved laborers as numbers and financial calculations instead of living individuals.
Enslaved labor was commonly used as an inexpensive alternative to free labor, and Georgetown College utilized this custom. Georgetown College’s decision to use enslaved labor instead of hiring free white workers proved to be a significantly more expensive and inefficient option, as stated by Joseph Mobberly in his letter to Georgetown’s President at the time, Giovanni Grassi S.J. During these 70 years, beginning in the 1790s and ending in the 1860s, these slaves were used on the Georgetown campus as teamsters, carpenters, cooks, and nurses. Due to the university’s decision to become tuition-free for several years, financial debt weighed upon them as a consequence. This later acted as an incentive to purchase and sell the Maryland Jesuit’s 272 black men, women, and children enslaved by the Maryland Jesuits.
Though cheap, their labor seemed like a worse option compared to the hiring of free white workers in the view of Mobberly. In addition to this, it is essential to note that Mobberly was pro-slavery and advocated for enslaved labor, except for Georgetown’s case. “We are in the dark as long as we keep slaves,” He states, expressing his viewpoint on the maintenance of enslaved labor.
In his view, the collective expenses to care for the slaves were far more costly, approximately $350 more than the costs to hire free white workers.[1] Mobberly fails to see the black slaves as feeling, emotional human beings. Instead, he voices the cost of their work, their labor, why they are not worth their labeled price. Not surprisingly, Mobberly fails to consider the anguish felt by the slaves regarding their sale. It is also noteworthy to mention his authorization of pro-slavery tracts. The objectifying of slave labor portrays the priorities in the Georgetown alumni’s mind and that for him, the slaves were easily replaceable assets.
Written by: Latifa Al-Naimi
[1] "B.R Joseph Mobberly, S.J. calculates the cost savings from emancipation, February 5, 1815," The Georgetown Slavery Archive. Georgetown Slavery Archive, Accessed December 5, 2021.
http://slaveryarchive.georgetown.edu/items/show/66
Enslaved labor was commonly used as an inexpensive alternative to free labor, and Georgetown College utilized this custom. Georgetown College’s decision to use enslaved labor instead of hiring free white workers proved to be a significantly more expensive and inefficient option, as stated by Joseph Mobberly in his letter to Georgetown’s President at the time, Giovanni Grassi S.J. During these 70 years, beginning in the 1790s and ending in the 1860s, these slaves were used on the Georgetown campus as teamsters, carpenters, cooks, and nurses. Due to the university’s decision to become tuition-free for several years, financial debt weighed upon them as a consequence. This later acted as an incentive to purchase and sell the Maryland Jesuit’s 272 black men, women, and children enslaved by the Maryland Jesuits.
Though cheap, their labor seemed like a worse option compared to the hiring of free white workers in the view of Mobberly. In addition to this, it is essential to note that Mobberly was pro-slavery and advocated for enslaved labor, except for Georgetown’s case. “We are in the dark as long as we keep slaves,” He states, expressing his viewpoint on the maintenance of enslaved labor.
In his view, the collective expenses to care for the slaves were far more costly, approximately $350 more than the costs to hire free white workers.[1] Mobberly fails to see the black slaves as feeling, emotional human beings. Instead, he voices the cost of their work, their labor, why they are not worth their labeled price. Not surprisingly, Mobberly fails to consider the anguish felt by the slaves regarding their sale. It is also noteworthy to mention his authorization of pro-slavery tracts. The objectifying of slave labor portrays the priorities in the Georgetown alumni’s mind and that for him, the slaves were easily replaceable assets.
Written by: Latifa Al-Naimi
[1] "B.R Joseph Mobberly, S.J. calculates the cost savings from emancipation, February 5, 1815," The Georgetown Slavery Archive. Georgetown Slavery Archive, Accessed December 5, 2021.
http://slaveryarchive.georgetown.edu/items/show/66