On many levels, I think the Civil War (like WWI) was a huge mistake. The problem was fixing itself -- now, 150 years later, it's still not fixed. And we ended states rights and built a massive federal government to boot as part of the "solution".
If you look at the census data up to 1860 you would see that the slave population was increasing and not decreasing. As were the number of slave owners.
You are correct. If the Civil War had never happened slavery would have died its natural death within 15-20 years as it is a good deal cheaper to just pay some immigrant almost nothing to work than to purchase, feed, clothe and care for a slave.
The good example still exists today. Which would you rather do pay some paco $5 an hour to work or pay $10,000 for a slave and then have to clothe them, feed them take them to the doctor and make sure they can’t run off? Plus if they get sick and die or run off you are out $10,000. Its basically a terrible plan.
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Many historians say there were more slaves owned by black or mixed race slave owners than white. A fact that is not often heard in today's society. Some apologists will say that blacks bought their family members to protect them from servitude but more recent studies say the vast majority of black and mixed race slave owners owned slaves as a commercial venture.
Slavery is and was a vile and immoral act. Anyone who participates in it today knowing what we know should be punished forever.
There is and cannot be an excuse for slavery. I realize that people were lead to believe that the black African was sub human, not much different than an ape, but, by the time of the Civil War there were many educated blacks that should have dispelled that belief. While slavery was suffered by white Europeans mostly they were indentured servants ranging in time of servitude from several years to a few decades but were normally freed after a time unless they died, as many did, in servitude.
Should we apologize or offer some form of reparation payment to descendants of slaves? Heavens no. None of us today were guilty of slavery, none of us alive today, our parents or our grandparents were guilty of it. Descendants of slaves are likely much better off than their brothers and sisters that remained in Africa and should be grateful for their good fortune at being here.
If there should be any reparations it should be to the families of the men who fought for the freedom of slaves and lost life or limb in that fight. I had a 5th great grandfather who died of exposure from the war. Who helped raise his children or cared for his wife?
Nearly all slaves sold into slavery from Africa were sold by black slave holders. Today the majority of slave holders are in Africa and are black. White owned slave markets developed after international slave trading was outlawed in the US. That is when the children of slaves became highly prized because inexpensive African slave ships no longer provided the (comparably) cheap slaves they once did.
Sometimes we need to change the angle we look at things from. .
And yet the number of slaves and their price were both increasing.