Figure 1.--Captive Africans were first brought to America by Dutch traders (1619). Slavery was a horendous instutution and a blot on America history. It was not, however, fundamental to either American society or economy. What was the foundation of the American Republic was the idea of freedom, that the average person could constucy his government and determine his future. And the trajectory of American political history is the steady broadening of the franchise to include all people. And it is economic freedom (capitalism) that created yhe industrail power that enabled the Republic to destroy the institution of slavery.
There is no doubt that slavery had an important impact on the United States. some of those impacts are difficult to asess such as on the American character and ethics. Other impacts such as econimics can be quantified. There is no doubt that slavery was important to the ante-bellum economy (1800-60). Cotton became the primary American export economy. Cotton was important throughout the 19th century, but by the 1830s with the development of slave labor cotton plantaions in Alabama and Mississipi it became the primary export commodity. This heped finance the industrial develooment of the United States, both by providing cheap raw material to northern mills and by earning the foreign exchange needed to import material need for industry. The huge importance of cotton can be seen in the Capitol. All over the Capitol, the ceilings are decorated with Roman coffers with the tobacco or cotton flower in the middle. Now while cottion produced by slave labor was undeniably important it was not the foundation of the American economy. Left-wing authors are toiday trying to make the case that slavery was at the heart of the United States from the foundation of the Republic. The New York Times has picked on this theme with what the call 'The 1619 Project", referring to the date that the first african slaves were landed in Virginia. [Hannah-Jones] Their goal is to 'reframe American history'. The Times tells us that they want to make it 'explicit how slavery is the FOUNDATION on which this country was built. For generations, we have not been adequately taught this history. Our hope is to paint a fuller picture of the insitution that shaped our nation." This is simply not true. Slavery was important, but it was hardly the FOUNDATION. Now the impact of slavery on America is agood discussion to have. But this is not what the Times is doing. It has used the valid issue of slavery and turned it into a thinly veiled Marxist attack on capitalism.
Important Impact
There is no doubt that slavery had an importnt impact on the United States. some of those impacts are difficult to assess such as on the American character and ethics. Other impacts such as econimics can be quantified. There is no doubt that slavery was important to the ante-bellum economy (1800-60). Cotton became the primary American export economy. Cotton was important throughout the 19th century, but by the 1830s with the development of slave labor cotton plantaions in Alabama and Mississipi it became the primary export commodity. This heped finance the industrial develooment of the United States, both by providing cheap raw material to northern mills and by earning the foreign exchange needed to import material need for industry. The huge importance of cotton can be seen in the Capitol. All over the Capitol, the ceilings are decorated with Roman coffers with the tobacco or cotton flower in the middle.
While cottion produced by slave labor was undeniably important in the first half of the 19th century it was not the foundation of the American economy. Left-wing authors are today trying to make the case that slavery was at the heart of the United States from the foundation of the Republic. The New York Times has picked on this theme with what the call 'The 1619 Project", referring to the date that the first african slaves were landed in Virginia. [Hannah-Jones] Their goal is to 'reframe American history'. The Times tells us that they want to make it 'explicit how slavery is the FOUNDATION on which this country was built. For generations, we have not been adequately taught this history. Our hope is to paint a fuller picture of the insitution that shaped our nation." This is simply not true. Slavery was important, but it was hardly the FOUNDATION. Now the impact of slavery on America is a good discussion to have. But this is what the Times is doing. It has used the valid issue of slavery and turned it into a thinly veiled Marxist attack on capitalism. Now democracy and capitalism are not not perfect. No creation of man or system run by man is perfect. This is simply because man himself is not perfect. But democracy and capitalism as they developed over time. They were not designed system, but developed over centuries. They thus reflected human nature. Feudalism, Socialism, Communism, Fascisms, Feminism and the other 'isms' are very different. They were desined systems, designed to improve on liberal democracy and capitalism.[Rahn, pp. B1 and 4.] And their propnents simply ignored human nature to improve on human society. The result was that Communists seize power and find that Socialism does not work they set out to transform humna nature. The Soviets sought to create the New Soviet Man and the NKVD with its Gulag were created to force compliance. Brutality on a wide scale was needed because Socialism reaquires behavior so different than human nature. Which explains why all the Communist countries and Socialist economies have failed and failed miserably. Man is at heart a trading animal. We know that because hunter gatheing people began trading even before civiization. All existing modern hunter gathers are trading people. And when they run out of itens to trade, man creates and produces. And the same was true of early civilizations. Countless cuuniform tablets deal with contracts and trade goods. Rome is famous for law. And much of Roman law dealt with trading practices. Over time ideas like money, propertied rights, and impartial enforcemnent developed. Italian and Dutch city states developed banks as well as financil law which lead to capitalism. Countries which embraced the principles such as the Netherlamds, Britain, America, France amd Germamy got rich and prospered. And this is because capitalism reflected humna nature. And no nation embraced capitalism to a greater extent than the United States. Fredom is deeply inbedded in the Constution and along with it the idea of represetative government and capitalism are the true foundation of America.
Foundation
What is missed by Ms. Hannah-Jones and the other authors of the 1619 Project is a fundamental understanding of history. This comes from a combination of Marxist professors and a concentratiin on ethnic and feminist studies. Even the most basic study of history leads to an understanding that the United Stes was founded on the idea of freedom: political, economic, and religious frededom. Of course that freedom was at first limited and does not meet 21st century standards. And slavery was the mos glaring of America's imperfections. The franchise in America was at first limited to propertied white men. Of course this was not very democratic. But at the time it was rare for ANY commoner to have the right to vote. Slavery or even more connonly conditions close to slavery was widely practiced around the world. In fact voting itseld was virtually unheard of any where, but America. The only couuntry with any kind of elections was Britgain and even there the franchise was much more limited. It was in America that the idea that the individual could elect a government and determine his own future was born. And this continued to be the case throuout most of the 19th century. It was the democratucally elected Republic created by the Constitution that destroyed the institution of slavery. And it as the industrail power available to that Republic as a result of economic freedom (capitalism) that gave it the power to do so. The southern Confederacy which limited freedom in the end failed. Even well into the 20th century, only a handful of countries had functioning democracies. And it was America that played a crucial role in the crushing of the great totalitarian states of the 20th century and their horific attempt to supress the very idea of freedom. It all began in America. And within only a few decades the franchise was expanded to include all white men, then all men, and evebtually women. Not only was political freedom the foundation of the American Republic, but also economic freeddom--capitalism. And this economic freeddom made America the most prosperous country on earth. There are other important freedoms, especially religious freedom. And hre America also led the way. Unquestionably there were imperfections in America's foundation. But American history has been a steady movement toward a more perfect union. And while America did not and still has not achieved utopia, it not only compares favorably to other countries since its foundation, but has been the indispenable country in spreading the idea of freedom throughout the world, including political, conomic, amd religious freedom.
Sources
Hannah-Jones, Nikole. Ms. Hannah-Jones is a New York Times staff writer and is coordinating the 1619 Project. It was launched bu a 100 page edition of the New York Times Magazine (August 14, 2019). It is composed of articles by Hannah-Jones and others trying to make the case that slavery is the foundation upon which America was built.
Rahn, Richard W. "A realkity check of The 1619 Project," The Washington Times (August 27, 2019), pp. B1 and 4.
