Many historians write about the “inevitable” decline of slavery in America. They state that the relative cheapness and the flexibility of free labor. Slave owners also had to deal with the aged and the infirm and, occasionally, with the runaways and the “uppity.”
Yet, despite all those disadvantages, slaves were expensive. A healthy male slave could bring 1,000 pre-war dollars, quite a steep price when daily wages of unskilled laborers hovered between one and two dollars per day. Since price on a commodity is usually a rational phenomenon, slaves were obviously a useful aspect of the economy.
Many believe that slavery in the US went away after the Civil War. However, a different kind of slavery, more efficient and far more brutal, was introduced in 1863 by the North. Instead of keeping a cross-section of a population, strong youngsters and useless dotards, they temporarily enslaved only strong young men. Unlike the blacks who only had to work conventional jobs, these were forced to report to training camps, sent into battle and used as cannon fodder. Once used up, the surviving slaves were released, with only minor obligations towards them by their captors.
People born to bondage and kept ignorant, seldom appreciate the predicament of their own position. Slave insurrection and defections were not as common in the South as we'd expect based on our own reaction to being enslaved. Not surprisingly, the draft proved unpopular in the North and was ended with the end of the war because people affected by it had an expectation of personal freedom. However, the concept stayed with us.
During the Spanish-American War or 1898 and the World War 1, the state propaganda was successful in convincing many to join up voluntarily. By WW2, the population had wised up and had to be forced into uniform. The same happened during Korean and Vietnam wars: thousands of men were forced to enlist on the pain of imprisonment. As far as I know, relatively few fled abroad and no one went hunting for those politicians who voted for the draft. And to think that the impressment of a few Americans by the British navy had once triggered a war!
Other governments, notably the German, require two years of either military of other service without compensation or much choice, reinforcing the concept of the state government owning its residents' lives. In American schools, mandatory “volunteer” work is a graduation requirement, a perversion of the concept of volunteering. The US government doesn't draft men at this time, but reserves the right to cherry-pick temporary bondservants in case of perceived need. I can only hope that this situation will improve by the time I have kids, so that I may be spare the obligation to someday hunt those who would enslave them.
Oleg Volk
Yet, despite all those disadvantages, slaves were expensive. A healthy male slave could bring 1,000 pre-war dollars, quite a steep price when daily wages of unskilled laborers hovered between one and two dollars per day. Since price on a commodity is usually a rational phenomenon, slaves were obviously a useful aspect of the economy.
Many believe that slavery in the US went away after the Civil War. However, a different kind of slavery, more efficient and far more brutal, was introduced in 1863 by the North. Instead of keeping a cross-section of a population, strong youngsters and useless dotards, they temporarily enslaved only strong young men. Unlike the blacks who only had to work conventional jobs, these were forced to report to training camps, sent into battle and used as cannon fodder. Once used up, the surviving slaves were released, with only minor obligations towards them by their captors.
People born to bondage and kept ignorant, seldom appreciate the predicament of their own position. Slave insurrection and defections were not as common in the South as we'd expect based on our own reaction to being enslaved. Not surprisingly, the draft proved unpopular in the North and was ended with the end of the war because people affected by it had an expectation of personal freedom. However, the concept stayed with us.
During the Spanish-American War or 1898 and the World War 1, the state propaganda was successful in convincing many to join up voluntarily. By WW2, the population had wised up and had to be forced into uniform. The same happened during Korean and Vietnam wars: thousands of men were forced to enlist on the pain of imprisonment. As far as I know, relatively few fled abroad and no one went hunting for those politicians who voted for the draft. And to think that the impressment of a few Americans by the British navy had once triggered a war!
Other governments, notably the German, require two years of either military of other service without compensation or much choice, reinforcing the concept of the state government owning its residents' lives. In American schools, mandatory “volunteer” work is a graduation requirement, a perversion of the concept of volunteering. The US government doesn't draft men at this time, but reserves the right to cherry-pick temporary bondservants in case of perceived need. I can only hope that this situation will improve by the time I have kids, so that I may be spare the obligation to someday hunt those who would enslave them.
Oleg Volk
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