Outstanding article. It reminds me of another excellent article done in Quillette, a few years ago. It was written by a black man and dug in depth into the black promotion of the slave trade. That article and this one are both excellent. It is a complicated issue and I appreciate the author bringing up so many facets of it that are just simply not taught.
I really like that he brought up the indentured servitude which covered many different kinds of people and the fact that slavery was worldwide, very ancient, and that it still exists today.
I would like to make one typo correction. The author mentions Article 2, Section 9 as stipulating that no law restricting the importing of slaves could take place until 1808. It's actually Article 1.
Thank you for putting light on the facts of what actually happened and clearly showing the evil of it. In this day and age of memes and abbreviations, this is an in-depth explanation that far too many will not be willing to take the time to read and understand.
Words have meanings. This is the Webster definition of Marxism and what a Marxist is. What "code word" are you imagining?
Marxism
noun
Marx·ism ˈmärk-ˌsi-zəm
Synonyms of Marxism
: the political, economic, and social principles and policies advocated by Marx
especially : a theory and practice of socialism (see socialism sense 3) including the labor theory of value, dialectical materialism, the class struggle, and dictatorship of the proletariat until the establishment of a classless society
Marxists typically look for some flaw in a society - and every society has flaws - and then harp on it and inflame it, not for the sake of justice, but only so they can destabilize the system. Reason, facts and logic are irrelevant.
But it does help to point out the real truth also.
And, the parts of America built on slavery, the South, were the poorest and least developed parts of the nation. Freedom and liberty stimulated the greater development of the North.
Geography and weather played a big part in the relative development of the North and the South. The population below the Mason-Dixon Line exploded with the invention of air conditioning. The humidity, heat, and mosquitos caused wave after wave of disease in the South. In 1853, more than 9,000 residents of New Orleans died from Yellow Fever.
Of course, in 2024, the population of southern states is soaring as people flee DEI madness and violence in the uncontrolled and violent North.
Geography and weather had a lot to do with it. But people died in northern cities of diseases also. There were smallpox epidemics in Boston in the 1700s. But people writing about slavery before the Civil War wrote about how the master slave relationship did not stimulate the workers' best efforts as much as wages and freedom to choose one's work did. But you are right, there were other factors - but nevertheless it is an argument against the claim that America's wealth was all built on or derived from slavery.
And, I did not mean to belittle the south. While less developed economically, the north is not a paradise either. I lived in Kentucky for some years, it was my favorite place in the US. My mom lived in Texas for some years after my dad's death, and I visited here there a number of times. I thought of moving to the south myself, just to get out of the state of Illinois.
And, I did use the past tense - "parts built on slavery WERE the poorest" - but I did not mean to belittle the south as a whole.
Agree. LONG before it was in US
Outstanding article. It reminds me of another excellent article done in Quillette, a few years ago. It was written by a black man and dug in depth into the black promotion of the slave trade. That article and this one are both excellent. It is a complicated issue and I appreciate the author bringing up so many facets of it that are just simply not taught.
I really like that he brought up the indentured servitude which covered many different kinds of people and the fact that slavery was worldwide, very ancient, and that it still exists today.
I would like to make one typo correction. The author mentions Article 2, Section 9 as stipulating that no law restricting the importing of slaves could take place until 1808. It's actually Article 1.
and it still exists.
Great article!
I already know that. But some people accuse those not espousing "True Conservative political opinions" of being Marxists.
Thank you for putting light on the facts of what actually happened and clearly showing the evil of it. In this day and age of memes and abbreviations, this is an in-depth explanation that far too many will not be willing to take the time to read and understand.
What is a Marxist but a code word?
Words have meanings. This is the Webster definition of Marxism and what a Marxist is. What "code word" are you imagining?
Marxism
noun
Marx·ism ˈmärk-ˌsi-zəm
Synonyms of Marxism
: the political, economic, and social principles and policies advocated by Marx
especially : a theory and practice of socialism (see socialism sense 3) including the labor theory of value, dialectical materialism, the class struggle, and dictatorship of the proletariat until the establishment of a classless society
Marxist
ˈmärk-sist
noun or adjective
Marxists typically look for some flaw in a society - and every society has flaws - and then harp on it and inflame it, not for the sake of justice, but only so they can destabilize the system. Reason, facts and logic are irrelevant.
But it does help to point out the real truth also.
And, the parts of America built on slavery, the South, were the poorest and least developed parts of the nation. Freedom and liberty stimulated the greater development of the North.
Geography and weather played a big part in the relative development of the North and the South. The population below the Mason-Dixon Line exploded with the invention of air conditioning. The humidity, heat, and mosquitos caused wave after wave of disease in the South. In 1853, more than 9,000 residents of New Orleans died from Yellow Fever.
Of course, in 2024, the population of southern states is soaring as people flee DEI madness and violence in the uncontrolled and violent North.
Geography and weather had a lot to do with it. But people died in northern cities of diseases also. There were smallpox epidemics in Boston in the 1700s. But people writing about slavery before the Civil War wrote about how the master slave relationship did not stimulate the workers' best efforts as much as wages and freedom to choose one's work did. But you are right, there were other factors - but nevertheless it is an argument against the claim that America's wealth was all built on or derived from slavery.
And, I did not mean to belittle the south. While less developed economically, the north is not a paradise either. I lived in Kentucky for some years, it was my favorite place in the US. My mom lived in Texas for some years after my dad's death, and I visited here there a number of times. I thought of moving to the south myself, just to get out of the state of Illinois.
And, I did use the past tense - "parts built on slavery WERE the poorest" - but I did not mean to belittle the south as a whole.
A sailinet statement! Thanks.