Question

Which fallacy does this excerpt from “Cotton Is King” by James Henry Hammond contain?

It was this that brought on the American Revolution. We threw off a Government not adapted to our social system, and made one for ourselves. The question is how far have we succeeded? The South, so far as that is concerned, is satisfied, harmonious, and prosperous, but demands to be let alone . . . . You [the North] have been making war upon us [the South] to our very hearthstones. How would you like for us to send lecturers and agitators North, to teach these people this, to aid in combining, and to lead them? . . . We [the South] have kept the Government conservative to the great purposes of the Constitution.

a. weak analogy
b. ad hominem
c. either/or
d. ad populum

Answer 1

Answer: a. weak analogy

The fallacy of weak analogy occurs when an argument compares two things that are not really comparable, or that are not really alike. It is a common type of fallacious thinking, and it can be very persuasive despite its lack of merit. In this case, the author is comparing the situation of the North with that of the South. However, he misrepresents them, and compares them in an inaccurate way.