Joe I’m learning a tremendous amount reading your posts, thank you. I think lost in all this is the fact that human being were reduced to mere chattel, as items to be bought and sold. Not to sound callous or dehumanizing here but was was the going price for a healthy black male between 20 or forty years old?
Sure, but you need to understand that many slaveocrats defended their "peculiar institution" on grounds that, actually, their slaves were treated better than Northern "wage slaves".
Ideally speaking, a Southern plantation was the ultimate welfare state -- to each according to his needs, from each according to abilities, cradle to grave.
To me, it's returning to this supposed ideal plantation life which motivates so many descendants of slaves today to vote Democrat.
Of course, they are not alone -- today's descendants of European serfs and Asian coolies also seek support from marse in the Big (white) House.
jmacusa: "Not to sound callous or dehumanizing here but was was the going price for a healthy black male between 20 or forty years old?"
Off the top of my head I can say that in 1860 approximately 4 million slaves were valued, in total, at $4 billion.
It was a huge investment and only total land itself was valued higher.
In today's terms we'd say about $16 trillion.
The loss of that much in assets was understood by all to be a crushing blow worth nearly anything to prevent.