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I'm opposed to most forms of slavery, but some historical forms have been more civilized than others. American slavery was just one of the nastier ones.
True. Historically, many forms of slavery included some rights for the slave and a limited term of slavery.
It sort of grew out of ancient circumstances where you had one family that had "made it big" and had excesses of land/cattle/etc and needed help working it, and other people who for one reason or another had nothing and desperately needed a job... they didn't have the concept of "employee" back then so you were either a slave or an indentured servant, "contract labor"... but not necessarily treated as a non-person depending on the culture and laws of the time and place. It was the way things were: there were masters and slaves/servants.
Some slaves or servants could rise to positions of considerable wealth and power under their master. It wasn't always abominable; obviously many considered it preferable to starvation or poverty on their own. That was the way in the ancient world: either you rose to power and wealth, or you attached yourself to someone who had as either a kinsman, armsman, retainer, servant or slave.