A really interesting thread guys and I have joined the discussion a little late. As a Brit I would not dare give an opinion on the case of slavery/abolition within the North and the South as causes of the struggle/war between the States and the continuation of segregation following the end of the war right up to almost the present day. History tells us it happened and I have been around that buoy many times before and trust me there is no solution to the argument/discussion. However, using Britain and other European countries, who had banned slavery by 1855, I'll take the discussion if I may off at a slight tangent to Africa where the majority of US slaves originated from.
Europe although giving up the institution of slavery still practiced colonialism on the Dark Continent and with a relish right up until the early 1960's when independences were quickly doled out to the various African countries.Now colonialism on one hand was seen as exploitation and oppression in fact not far removed from slavery itself. But on the other hand colonial governments did much to develop Africa and the Africans themselves benefited from the hospitals, schools, railroads and a civil society.
But following independence can anyone state if the independence of Africa has really worked? It would appear that racism and segregation is alive and well across the whole continent practiced with the same relish as their European masters but now by the corrupt African governments themselves.
Sudan/Darfur; Congo; Ivory Coast; Zimbabwe; Chad; Somalia; Guinea; Liberia; Burundi; Sierra Leone; Uganda; Nigeria/Biafra; Rwanda; Ethiopia; Malawi; Kenya; Cameroon; Angola. Every single one of those countries has had and continues to have endless civil wars, coups d'etats, oppression, misery, murder, ethnic cleansing, rape, thousands of refugees, the highest infant mortality in the world and an Aids pandemic in fact the complete collapse of civil society.
Most of these countries are/were poorly governed nations with weak institutions run in the main by African despots. Public service is fraught with favouritism, incompetence and corruption with continuous segregation/racial wars between tribal factions to the point that The Black Continent is now almost written off as hopeless-a veritable Continent without hope- but a continent that had such independent hope and rich resources that could have been developed into shining examples of a successful indigenous people. But they all followed the very first African state to gain it's independence-Ghana-who within six years was war stricken and completely bankrupt.
What has this got to do with this discussion? perhaps not a lot! However, Yes slavery/segregation happened in the South and to some degree in the North but stop beating yourselves up about it guys the independent alternative has not exactly been an illuminated beacon of African Utopia.
Reb
Where's the love??
