Moran: north vs. south

It is very important to distinguish between ignorance and innocence while reading Melville’s stories. In “Benito Cereno” Amasa Delano can be seen as an ignorant character, but has little if any innocence to him. While he may have saved Benito Cereno and the white crew, by doing so he supported the system of slavery by quelling the rebellion. By the same logic Benito Cereno cannot be innocent for using slaves or Babo for enslaving the white crew when he saw the opportunity.
The major theme in the story is that, while some may be ignorant, no one is innocent. This fit in perfectly with the political debate over slavery between the north and south at the time. While the north often times attempted to maintain the higher ground saying that slavery is immoral, they benefited and profited from it. The raw materials that south produced with slave labor, such as cotton, were shipped to up the much work industrial north where they were turned into items such as clothing. Once produced, they were shipped back down to the south, subjecting southern to higher price because they could not produce the items themselves. Just as in the case of Amasa Delano, the north may be able to claim ignorance, but not innocence.