William J. Grayson was a politician, poet, critic, and planter in a period when America was divided on the issue of slavery. Grayson’s work occupied an important place in the proslavery discourse during his lifetime. In his poem “The Hireling and the Slave,” he defends slavery by comparing the lot of laborers who work for a wage to the lot of enslaved laborers. Although well known and well received during his time in proslavery circles, this work is now generally ignored.