Quote:We overcame segregation, women's suffrage, child labor abuse and a whole host of other violations of civil liberties. I refuse to believe Slavery would never have ended without war, almost every other culture in the world ended it without war. Are we to believe we are the one exception?


Even removing the morality out of the equation look at it from a cost perspective. Owning slaves was not free nor inexpensive which is why such a small portion of the south owned slaves. The industrial revolution provided machines that did not need to be feed or housed to do the same labor. Slavery was destined to become an economic deficiency then the natural evolution away from it would have happened.

There is no evidence slavery would have ended naturally. There was no antebellum abolitionist movement in the South. To be completely honest the entire social system was set up to reinforce slavery.


Economically speaking, slaves represented real property value. The South's biggest asset wasn't cotton or plantations, it was continual access to the human beings that could harvest the cotton free of charge. This is why the Southern economy collapsed after 1865. "Cotton don't pick itself". Nathan B. Forrest said something along the lines of "I was a millionaire before the war and I leave a pauper" Why? Because he owned multiple plantations and all his 'wealth' was in slaves.

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