This is a very tough topic and is extremely complex. The end of slavery was close at hand, even before the civil war, but the looking backward in time and armchair analysis needs to be thoughtful and tempered. I believe the Civil War was a multifaceted event that had many reasons on both sides. In any context, it is a horrific event in history that we must learn from. There were significant monetary concerns on both sides and this is definitely the primary driver of virtually all wars in history. This war was no different. In downtown Charleston, S.C. there is an old courthouse that is now A museum. In 1850 there is a record book detailing auction prices of slaves. A young strong healthy African male was sold for $1500 in that era. That amount adjusted today would exceed $50k. 95% of Southerners did not own slaves because they were small farms and couldn't afford them. Only 5% of the population owned large plantations and could afford slaves. Slavery was going to die out because importation of new slaves was outlawed in 1807. It truly was only a matter of time. For slavery to die out, but it didn't die out fast enough. The already present descendents were still enslaved and probably wouldn't have been freed for possibly 10-30 years. We will never know, but either way, slavery is an abomination and should never be allowed again. Let's discuss ending the slavery today, that we have changed the name to Human Trafficking. Don't call it Human Trafficking, call it what it is, modern day Slavery.
This is a very tough topic and is extremely complex. The end of slavery was close at hand, even before the civil war, but the looking backward in time and armchair analysis needs to be thoughtful and tempered. I believe the Civil War was a multifaceted event that had many reasons on both sides. In any context, it is a horrific event in history that we must learn from. There were significant monetary concerns on both sides and this is definitely the primary driver of virtually all wars in history. This war was no different. In downtown Charleston, S.C. there is an old courthouse that is now A museum. In 1850 there is a record book detailing auction prices of slaves. A young strong healthy African male was sold for $1500 in that era. That amount adjusted today would exceed $50k. 95% of Southerners did not own slaves because they were small farms and couldn't afford them. Only 5% of the population owned large plantations and could afford slaves. Slavery was going to die out because importation of new slaves was outlawed in 1807. It truly was only a matter of time. For slavery to die out, but it didn't die out fast enough. The already present descendents were still enslaved and probably wouldn't have been freed for possibly 10-30 years. We will never know, but either way, slavery is an abomination and should never be allowed again. Let's discuss ending the slavery today, that we have changed the name to Human Trafficking. Don't call it Human Trafficking, call it what it is, modern day Slavery.