Slavery Reparations

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A movement in the US which seeks the apology of the government and reparations in the form of money, land, or other goods to slave descendants, for its role in the institution of slavery prior to 1865.

Background

  • In the United States, the debate often centers on events immediately following the end of the Civil War. Union Civil War General Sherman, in his Special Field Orders, No. 15 of 1865, effectively set aside 400,000 acres of land in Georgia and South Carolina to 40,000 freed slaves. The Order was rooted in necessity; with a massive amount of freed slaves without owners and homes and the once Confederate owned land now vacant, it only made sense to 'give' the land away to those who needed it most. With the assassination of President Lincoln and Johnson's rise to office, the land was given back to its previously White owners. Effort was made in 1876 by Thaddeus Stevens to give the land back to the freed slaves, but to no avail.
  • Debate on slavery reparations oftentimes discusses four types of compensation: government payments, private payments, land compensation and social services, some more realistic than others. Government payments would not be limited only to the United States; if the estimated 100 trillion dollars would be distributed to descendants of slaves for the 222,505,049 hours of forced labor their ancestors toiled through between 1619 and 1865 (Source: Harper's Magazine), the US would only pay part.
  • Regardless of possible solutions, the debate on reparations for slavery is often ignored due to its legal complexity.

Debate

  • Reparations are unrealistic given the legal and situational complexity.
  • The effects of slavery are still felt today.

Recent Developments

  • Private payments have made some legal ground in the US. By 2002, nine lawsuits were filed in the country targeting private companies that played a role in the slave trade, including Aetna Inc., which has dealt in life insurance since 1850. Brown University, JP Morgan Chase, Wachovia, and the Southern Baptist Convention have all apologized for their role.


Where do the major players stand on this Issue?

Stance Person Profession
John Edwards (D) Attorney and Former Presidential Candidate
Dennis Kucinich (D) Congressman
John Herman Cox (R) Author & Politician
Barack Obama (D) 44th President of the United States
Gloria La Riva Politician
Hillary Clinton (D) Secretary of State
Rudy Giuliani (R) Fmr. NYC Mayor
Fred Thompson (R) Presidential Candidate, Lawyer, Lobbyist, Actor, and Former Senator
Mike Huckabee (R) Fmr. Governor & Minister
Sam Brownback (R) Senator
Chris Dodd (D) Senator
Mike Gravel Fmr. Alaskan Senator
Duncan Hunter (R) Congressman
Tom Tancredo (R) U.S. Representative
Nick DiBari (R) High School Student/Musician

Where do the major groups stand on this Issue?

Stance Group
Green

Show topics from

Slavery Reparations Forum


Topic (jump to last post >>) Last Post Forum Posts
Reparation Day! >>
started by Weather Man, views since Jan 11, 2009
mr mr 7 >>
Updated 10 days, 8 hours, 31 minutes ago
Slavery Reparations
32
Is this even on the table anymore? >>
started by SpikeLee, views since Jun 7, 2008
OneNationUnderCrisis (I) >>
Updated 177 days, 4 hours, 26 minutes ago
Slavery Reparations
5
We freed them. >>
started by quinnhu, views since Oct 11, 2007
nd_1992 (R) >>
Updated 261 days, 17 minutes ago
Slavery Reparations
49
Reparations >>
started by TexasPatriot67, views since Jul 2, 2008
soxman11691 >>
Updated 262 days, 1 hour, 32 minutes ago
Slavery Reparations
26
Reparation Math >>
started by ldunning, views since Feb 20, 2008
Emmpu (I) >>
Updated 1 year, 3 days, 2 hours, 42 minutes ago
Slavery Reparations
14