[Cleburne]

Yes, the great sin of Southern slavery, in my opinion, was not so much the slavery (though I am personally opposed to it) but the racism inherent with it. Indeed, without racism the whole system would have collapsed. The idea that blacks were subservient to whites was what allowed slavery to exist alongside very heartfelt beliefs on liberty and freedom. The legacy of this racism, and not so much the slavery (though the two are closely tied of course) is I think the great tragedy of the American South.

[Texaggie79]

D00d, you must be plagiarizin me cause I like said that exact same thing a year or so ago!

The sin wasn't the slavery, it was seeing them as less than human.

[groanup]

"Yes, the great sin of Southern slavery, in my opinion, was not so much the slavery (though I am personally opposed to it) but the racism inherent with it. Indeed, without racism the whole system would have collapsed. The idea that blacks were subservient to whites was what allowed slavery to exist alongside very heartfelt beliefs on liberty and freedom. The legacy of this racism, and not so much the slavery (though the two are closely tied of course) is I think the great tragedy of the American South."

I just love this. You must be about fifteen years old. Do you know that slavery exists to this very day? It must be because of racism. Economics has nothing to do with it.