It's Claimed that Only 1.6% of US Citizens Owned Slaves In 1860. We Ran the Numbers

Snopes ^ | April 4, 2024 | Alex Kasprak

[where's_the_Outrage?]

On April 2, 2024, the claim that "only 1.6% of US citizens owned slaves in 1860" went viral on X (formerly Twitter):

Though the 3.3 million people who viewed this statement (at the time of this reporting) may not be aware, this claim is part of an long-standing genre of online memes that use a misleading statistic to minimize the importance of slavery to antebellum America.

The actual percentage reported in these memes varies, Snopes has observed, from 1.3 percent to the present 1.6 percent. As Snopes reported in August 2019, the statistic to which these memes refer is most accurately conveyed as 1.4 percent.......

The year 1860 was a census year. Officials collected detailed information on slave ownership and distribution in the Southern states, and this data, while far from perfect, is likely the most reliable source of information for the state of slavery directly preceding the Civil War......

Adam Rothman, a historian at Georgetown University and an expert in the history of slavery who spoke to us via email, told us that the percentage of slaveholding families is "the better measure of the extent of slaveholding." One reason this is true, according to historian Adam Goodheart in an interview with Politifact in August 2017, is that a person could be (and often was) a "slave master" but not technically a "slave owner":

"Many non-slaveholding whites in the South rented slaves from wealthier slaveholders ... so it was very common for a white Southerner to be a 'slave master' but not technically a 'slave owner.'"

[ansel12]

It was one state, slavery was legal there.

That was some creative writing you tried there.

[gitmo]

I also heard there were black slave owners, but can't recall ever seeing evidence.

The first legal slaveowner in America was a black man.

[BroJoeK]

Bull Snipe: "At the time the Constitution of the United States was ratified and became our instrument of Government, slavery was legal in all 13 states."

No, not entirely. The new Constitution was ratified in 1788.

1. In 1783 Massachusetts abolished slavery.

2. In 1780 Pennsylvania began gradual abolition.

3. In 1778 Vermont began gradual abolition.

4. In 1783 New Hampshire began gradual abolition.

5. In 1784 Connecticut and Rhode Island began gradual abolition.

6. In 1787 Congress abolished slavery in Northwest Territories which would soon become the states of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin & Minnesota.

So, I think it's more accurate to say that by 1788, Americans had formally abolished slavery in what would become seven states and another five states had already begun legal gradual abolition.

In 1788, eight states had taken no action on abolition, and six of those never did before the Civil War.

[Chode]

[ZULU]

Its all bullcrap to stir up interrace hate and stregnthen the DemocRats and generate “white guilt”.

[PallMal]

Believe it or not, elementary school social studies classes back in the 70’s, at least the one I took, taught that there were black slaveholders.

[Woodman]

Oh I’m not trying to be creative. Delaware was both ahead and behind the times when it came to slavery. FWIW The free black population far out numbered the enslaved population and Delaware had about 1900 enslaved people in the 1860 census. They also had a Farming community in the southern counties that pulled a lot of shenanigan’s with slave traders in Maryland.

It was a very Racist State when it came to politics and legalities, but that was also under strong Democrat Party Rule.

It had a great deal of early history that was very liberal minded when it came to slavery and was one of the earliest to ban importation of slaves along with other measures to limit it going back to the mid 1700’s So it is a very mixed and split history when it comes to Delaware and Slavery. So on the books, they were the last State to repeal it, but in practice there was very low participation in it compared to most if not all of the other Slave States.

Delaware is an interesting case study on many aspects of colonization, statehood, etc. If Biden hadn’t moved there and dug in, I would bet there might be derision on the board here and maybe a more open mindset to its history.

Although I was born there, my families history is much more ingrained in Bucks County PA going back to the mid 1700’s

[ansel12]

The post I responded to was very creative in trying to counter the fact that Delaware was a slave state, and the last one to give it up.

[DiogenesLamp]

It's Claimed that Only 1.6% of US Citizens Owned Slaves In 1860. We Ran the Numbers

Oh good. Since it's "Snopes", we know for certain that it is lying bullsh*t.

[SunkenCiv]

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[DiogenesLamp]

I would like to know how many were actually abused.

Some years back I tried to find out the answer to this question. Whenever the topic comes up, people always drag out this one picture of a slave with a whipped back. I tried to find more such pictures.

Turns out to be rather difficult. I think I found at least one other, but not many more.

So later I found out that this guy was picked just to be used for propaganda at the time. An anti-slavery group distributed copies of this same guy all over the country in an effort to build up opposition to slavery.

But was this typical? The evidence seems to say "no." This was an aberration. Slaves were valuable, and no one would make a point to whip them anymore than they would whip a horse. Those who did were as sadistic as someone who would whip a horse. Abnormal.

[DiogenesLamp]

Slaves cost about $1,000.00 in the 1850s. They are roughly equivalent to $100,000.00 today. How many people around today could afford $100,000.00 servants?

Not many, I think.

[central_va]

Slaves cost about $1,000.00 in the 1850s.

or more.

[DiogenesLamp]

I know this claim is made, over and over. But most of the "wealth" built up with slave labor was destroyed during the Civil War.

Slavery was producing 72% of the total revenue for the Federal government in 1860. It had been producing the bulk of the tax revenue since the 1820s. Pretty much everything connected to government during this era was paid for by the slaves.

When you look at the Capital accumulated in the South, most of it was in the form of slaves.

My recollection is that it was roughly equal to 4 billion dollars in capital investment that simply vanished with the Union invasion of the South.

[DiogenesLamp]

Northern inventions and industry wasn’t based on slavery.

Textile mills in the North were.

[discostu]

Of course there’s a we. We the people, in order to form a more perfect union. If you’re going to take the good part of the heritage you gotta take the bad. At least acknowledge that some bad stuff happened in there.

[DiogenesLamp]

Jefferson Davis had plantations and his business manager, and dare I say it, overseer was a black man. This man had been educated to read, write and do the necessary accounting. IIRC he was still a “slave”. But as a valuable asset, for some reason, he was NOT horsewhipped just for fun. I doubt he horsewhipped any of the other slaves.

The man was more than that. I recall reading that when the Union army invasion was imminent, Jefferson Davis signed over all the property he owned to this man. When the Union army came to claim his lands as a war prize, they were informed that Jefferson Davis didn't own the land.

This man held Jefferson Davis' land until after the danger of confiscation had been passed, then he signed it back over to Jefferson Davis.

I would say this would be the behavior of a true friend.

[linMcHlp]

Serfdom and “slave wages” replace *slavery!* under Socialism.

But the Race Huslters (promoting Socialism) continue to proclaim: RACISM!

So, if you are black (or “black” [”appropriated”]), you are given to understand you’re being a victim under RACISM! . . . ignoring the chains that the left, liberal, Democrat Party will chase you anywhere . . . to keep those chains - applied to you.

[DiogenesLamp]

Here’s an interesting fact, nearly every slave master, slave holder, and slave owner, were DEMOCRATS.

That is incorrect. I saw this topic discussed a month or so ago, and it turns out there were quite a lot of Republicans who owned slaves.

Remember the slave named "Dred Scot"? (Dred Scot vs Sanford.)

Probably the most famous slave in US History. He was owned by a Republican in Massachusetts.

General Grant also owned slaves. (Through his wife.)

And lets clear up one more thing.

1860 Republicans were Liberal, Fascist minded people who believed in government power, government control, high taxes, large government spending, and social "change." They lived in New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington DC, and every place that is today still a liberal hell-hole.

1860 Republicans were *LIBERALS*, and they lived in exactly the same regions that batsh*t crazy liberals still live in today.

The Democrats were the small government conservative party at the time.

[DiogenesLamp]

Case on point. Slavery in the "America'" can be focused on the 10% of African slaves that were received by the United States.

3%. We only received 3% of the total worldwide slave trade. As you said, the bulk went to Brazil and the Caribbean.