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In some ways yes....had white people not been willing to pay for slaves there wouldn’t have been a market

Umm, no. There would have been a market. Just as there had been for hundreds of years before the US. It just not have been here.

“..had white people not been willing to pay for slaves there wouldn’t have been a market ..”

I don’t believe that is correct. Many slaves were sold to other Africans, Arabs and Orientals.

The market here in the US ,which is what the article is about, would not exist without white contributions.

It is intellectually dishonest to try and deflect by saying other people did it too or other people did worse

This sort of discussion is a bit like the War on Drugs, where we debate whether this is a supply or demand problem without touching upon morality. Yes, there will always be evil, from all walks of life. And yes, the Ottomans were active in the slave trade, and slavery was pretty popular in Ancient Greece and in Biblical times. Further, tribal warfare helped fuel the supply of slaves, just like there is no shortage of dudes willing to sell drugs to children and adults alike.

Slavery is about morality. Morality depends upon not giving in to sinful activities. Yes, those individuals leading people in to sin are guilty; ultimately, the sinner is accountable for his/her own deeds.

Americans bought other humans and nobody forced them to do so. That is the bottom line. It doesn't matter if the slaves fared better than they would have absent slavery: a sin is always a sin.

Now, a raging and bitter war between the States was fought and the slaves were freed. We sorted out this problem, time to move on. Let's not introduce the Chewbacca Defense. True, there was also a principle of sovereignty and Northern overreach. But to suggest slavery played no role in the CW is like suggesting prostitution has nothing to do with carnality.

If men and women of good character could agree that 1) slavery Is immoral, 2) the slave was the victim, 3) slavery is illegal in the US (except for the 16th Amendment), 4) racism remains in the world, 5) the sin of slavery and reparations today apply to slaveowners and slaves provided you were alive during the CW, 6) despite slavery and the CW, most people of all walks of life in America get along pretty well - not bad, especially compared to other nations and how they deal with racism, and 7) there is a cottage industry of hate-mangers who love to blame that guy who looks like ____ for all their evils, life would be so much easier.