Thread about how media manufactures “history”
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The political situation leading up to the Civil War was quite complex, and I try to explain to people that the abolition movement didn't have any real plans beyond simply ending slavery without any form of compensation, which would have nuked the entire economy of the South.
It's incredibly naive to think that half the country was going to just sit there and watch all of its wealth and influence disappear without any sort of repercussions.
Then you get into things such as the immigrant labor force powering the industrial revolution the North, and how they were basically slaves in all but name, so the moral call to end slavery quite conveniently coincided with the wealthy in the North receiving pretty much the exact same labor force but they could assuage their consciences by saying that their workers were free.
And not to mention a lot of people that opposed slavery's expansion to the west, was from white folks that wanted jobs and not be shutout by rich guys with slaves. It wasn't some moral calling to oppose slavery, it was a financial decision
Like with everything, it's the economy, stupid.
Always is, always was, always will be.
Also that a lot of people didn't own slaves, because it turns out feeding/housing people isn't cheap, and poor farmers can't afford it (they'd turn out to love tech making their lives easier).