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Would we all be better off if we had never had slaves?

Would we as a country be better of if there had been no slavery here?

  • Yes

    Votes: 16 88.9%
  • No

    Votes: 2 11.1%

  • Total voters
    18
  • Poll closed .

tech30528

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Interesting thought. Consider that slaves had never been brought here. Considering that they were captured and sold by other tribal Africans, they likely would have been sold to somebody else, or just killed. But either way if they had not been brought here, there would be no descendants of slaves here either, probably no Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, maybe not even a Barack Obama. So would we have been better off?
 
Interesting thought. Consider that slaves had never been brought here. Considering that they were captured and sold by other tribal Africans, they likely would have been sold to somebody else, or just killed. But either way if they had not been brought here, there would be no descendants of slaves here either, probably no Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, maybe not even a Barack Obama.

Obama's ancestors weren't slaves. His black half came from Africa.

Not sure how to answer your question. My family didn't own slaves. They were poor white immigrants.
 
Interesting thought. Consider that slaves had never been brought here. Considering that they were captured and sold by other tribal Africans, they likely would have been sold to somebody else, or just killed. But either way if they had not been brought here, there would be no descendants of slaves here either, probably no Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, maybe not even a Barack Obama. So would we have been better off?

Yes, but not for the reasons you listed.
 
This question is like asking if Jews are better off because of the Holocaust since it got them Israel.
 
I think there'd certainly be a lot less underlying ethnic tension in the United States along racial lines if Africans had never been brought over.

However, whether or not that would have been "better" per se for either whites or blacks, or whether it would have even resulted in a less polarized version of the state of affairs which exists in the United States today, is ultimately debatable. It's entirely possible that the majority culture simply would have turned it's ire against a white or religious minority (Irish Catholics, for example) instead.
 
In general we would all be better off I think. So what's the point, it's history.
 
I'm not entirely sure what the point of this thread is, but I heard similar arguments for slavery pretty recently -- that there's be less black people here if not for slavery, so it's a good thing that it happened. It was made by the leader of the Council of Conservative Citizens or CCC (not to be confused with the KKK).
 
Are you implying that we would never have elected a black man, or that it would have happened sooner and would have been more of a non-event?

I tend to think it would be the latter.
Interesting thought. Consider that slaves had never been brought here. Considering that they were captured and sold by other tribal Africans, they likely would have been sold to somebody else, or just killed. But either way if they had not been brought here, there would be no descendants of slaves here either, probably no Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, maybe not even a Barack Obama. So would we have been better off?
 
Interesting thought. Consider that slaves had never been brought here. Considering that they were captured and sold by other tribal Africans, they likely would have been sold to somebody else, or just killed. But either way if they had not been brought here, there would be no descendants of slaves here either, probably no Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, maybe not even a Barack Obama. So would we have been better off?

Answer: yes.

This is fun! Give me another!
 
Interesting thought. Consider that slaves had never been brought here. Considering that they were captured and sold by other tribal Africans, they likely would have been sold to somebody else, or just killed. But either way if they had not been brought here, there would be no descendants of slaves here either, probably no Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, maybe not even a Barack Obama. So would we have been better off?

It is an interesting question.

Had slaves never been brought here, there would never have been a lucrative cotton industry in the southland, would never have been a civil war, would never have been segregation and the civil rights bill. Would other minorities have been granted equal rights, I wonder? We could have a society in which Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans are still second class citizens.

But, maybe not. Perhaps we'd still have a society on the road to racial equality.

One thing is likely: The descendants of the slaves wouldn't be American citizens. They'd no doubt be living somewhere in Africa, perhaps in some third world hellhole. They'd most likely not be better off today, but then, who knows? If, along with not having brought slaves to America, the colonial empire builders had not existed, maybe there would be fewer third world hellholes.
 
This question is like asking if Jews are better off because of the Holocaust since it got them Israel.

I was thinking about that as I wrote it actually. All 8 of my great grand parents come from Poland (Prussian region actually), had it not been for the Holocaust they would not have come here, at least not all of them would have.
 
Are you implying that we would never have elected a black man, or that it would have happened sooner and would have been more of a non-event?

I tend to think it would be the latter.

No, in fact had there not been African slaves it could be assumed that there never would have been a stigma against blacks anyway, so it is quite possible we would have had a black President, maybe even Obama as it has been pointed out that his heritage is not from slavery. But much of our black population would not be here so maybe he wouldn't have gotten elected anyway. This could go a lot of different directions.
 
Sigh.....

In the alternate reality world, would the natives have still had slaves? Would there still have been indentured servitude? Would the Spaniards and British still have had slaves...just not on Continental America? Are you really asking if it would have been better for all black people if none of them had ever been brought to the US?
 
I don't believe racism, or this "stigma against blacks", is here in America because of slavery. Some people just treat people different than them differently.

No, in fact had there not been African slaves it could be assumed that there never would have been a stigma against blacks anyway, so it is quite possible we would have had a black President, maybe even Obama as it has been pointed out that his heritage is not from slavery. But much of our black population would not be here so maybe he wouldn't have gotten elected anyway. This could go a lot of different directions.
 
Interesting thought. Consider that slaves had never been brought here. Considering that they were captured and sold by other tribal Africans, they likely would have been sold to somebody else, or just killed. But either way if they had not been brought here, there would be no descendants of slaves here either, probably no Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, maybe not even a Barack Obama. So would we have been better off?

Wow. I was the only person who voted no. Me against the world.

Would we as a country be better off if we had never had slaves? Unfortunately the answer is no. Without slavery and the labor that came with it, it is very unlikely that the United States would have ever been formed. The colonies would not have become strong enough to fight England, and there wouldn't have been much for England to tax if not for slavery, which would have meant no declaration of independence. The early colonies were failing, and early colonists were lazy. They would have died if not for slaves doing everything for them and giving them a means to produce product enough to turn a profit and generate an economy for themselves. Once it was realized how little gold was left to plunder, Europeans would have left or died off and the Native Americans would have repopulated the continent over time. That is most likely anyhow. Small chance our country might have survived and been formed without slavery, but it is a small chance.
 
I think you'll get a yes from most people... something racists and black leaders would agree with.

I am not so quick decide, Kind of leads me to think of the movie/graphic novel the watchmen when the woman super hero was raped by the other guy, but ultimately she wouldn't have taken it back because of her child that has become such an important thing in her life.... I forget... but my point is there is no way to measure what we have all gained to what people lost way back when...

I think Black people have contributed a large amount of good to The US to what it is today, rock and roll, blues, fought in our wars, literature, unlimited of things...it motivated many to make cultural changes and brought people together... it makes US's history unique and relevant, with deep meaning to many.

Would the US be better off without slavery? It wouldn't be the US anymore without it's history and the contribution from black people. It would simply be different... not better or worse.

I doubt the world would have been up to any more good if the slaves went to the Americas or not...call me a cynic
 
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Interesting thought. Consider that slaves had never been brought here. Considering that they were captured and sold by other tribal Africans, they likely would have been sold to somebody else, or just killed. But either way if they had not been brought here, there would be no descendants of slaves here either, probably no Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, maybe not even a Barack Obama. So would we have been better off?

We certainly did a lousy job of normalizing society afterwards.
 
Wow. I was the only person who voted no. Me against the world.

Would we as a country be better off if we had never had slaves? Unfortunately the answer is no. Without slavery and the labor that came with it, it is very unlikely that the United States would have ever been formed. The colonies would not have become strong enough to fight England, and there wouldn't have been much for England to tax if not for slavery, which would have meant no declaration of independence. The early colonies were failing, and early colonists were lazy. They would have died if not for slaves doing everything for them and giving them a means to produce product enough to turn a profit and generate an economy for themselves. Once it was realized how little gold was left to plunder, Europeans would have left or died off and the Native Americans would have repopulated the continent over time. That is most likely anyhow. Small chance our country might have survived and been formed without slavery, but it is a small chance.

I doubt the Native Americans would have repopulated and fought back... it would have taken more time, but the European take over of the Americas was inevitable... it happened in every single part of the Americas. If the east coast wasn't strong enough than the Spanish in mexico would have been or the french in the north... or the russians in the west
There also would have been more enslaving of Native americans... they were ditched in favor of Africans because they were "weaker" and less hearty.
 
Interesting thought. Consider that slaves had never been brought here. Considering that they were captured and sold by other tribal Africans, they likely would have been sold to somebody else, or just killed. But either way if they had not been brought here, there would be no descendants of slaves here either, probably no Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, maybe not even a Barack Obama. So would we have been better off?

No we would not be better off if slavery never existed in the US. Most of the black people in the US alive today because they are descended from the Africans from various tribes that were brought here as slaves. If slavery never existed in the US they would not exist.Nor would they would not exist anywhere else .So basically you are asking would if we be better off if those people never existed. America is what it is because of all the good and bad things that happened in our past.
 
Sigh.....

In the alternate reality world, would the natives have still had slaves? Would there still have been indentured servitude? Would the Spaniards and British still have had slaves...just not on Continental America? Are you really asking if it would have been better for all black people if none of them had ever been brought to the US?[b/]



Well, there is that perspective. Considering the lamenting about how horrible it is to be black in a post slavery America one could assume that many would prefer to not have been born. Others may agree. I wonder how much different the black community would be today if they did not have slavery to blame.
 
I doubt the Native Americans would have repopulated and fought back... it would have taken more time, but the European take over of the Americas was inevitable... it happened in every single part of the Americas. If the east coast wasn't strong enough than the Spanish in mexico would have been or the french in the north... or the russians in the west
.

I don't think so. The attempted colonization of the Americas was failing for our colonies. Now you make a good point about the spanish and french, but they didn't fair a whole lot better. But that is certainly a viable option as well.

There also would have been more enslaving of Native americans... they were ditched in favor of Africans because they were "weaker" and less hearty

Sticking to how it was worded in the Poll question, it was about America (us) and slavery (not just AA slavery). Which then would imply no NA slavery either. And left to their own devices, English colonists wouldn't have lasted, and we wouldn't be a country.
 
Well, there is that perspective. Considering the lamenting about how horrible it is to be black in a post slavery America one could assume that many would prefer to not have been born. Others may agree. I wonder how much different the black community would be today if they did not have slavery to blame.
I think they would still have been born. The Africans rounded up and sold wouldn't have been sold to America, but they would still have had children. Their children would have been born somewhere else, however.
 
I think they would still have been born. The Africans rounded up and sold wouldn't have been sold to America, but they would still have had children. Their children would have been born somewhere else, however.

But those would not be same black people because their parents would not have ever met.If your parents met other people instead of each other you would not exist. There wouldn't some wierd version of you with your father's family or some other weird version of you with your mother's family. You simply would not exist anywhere. Much the same way if America never had slaves most of the black people in the US would not exist anywhere.
 
I don't think so. The attempted colonization of the Americas was failing for our colonies. Now you make a good point about the spanish and french, but they didn't fair a whole lot better. But that is certainly a viable option as well.



Sticking to how it was worded in the Poll question, it was about America (us) and slavery (not just AA slavery). Which then would imply no NA slavery either. And left to their own devices, English colonists wouldn't have lasted, and we wouldn't be a country.

Fair enough... But the Russians were coming too, The spanish were attacking the south, Britsh colonies in the east and French in the North... The battles in the south were failing, but over time the European population would have increased to the point where they could. The Natives inferior farming, building, medicine, and war tactics would have eventually fallen...
 
Well, there is that perspective. Considering the lamenting about how horrible it is to be black in a post slavery America one could assume that many would prefer to not have been born. Others may agree. I wonder how much different the black community would be today if they did not have slavery to blame.
I dont know but there are plenty of comparisons. With all the people currently ****ting themselves over the Confederate flag compare life in...well...say...Charleston vs the freedom of NOT living under that symbol of racism in, say...Chicago.

Its always easy to find an excuse for your ills.
 
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