Summary: Should The US Pay Reparations For Slavery

Should the US Pay Reparations for Slavery?
Sigourney Ramirez
Erica Lein
WRI 303
December 7, 2014

Should the US Pay Reparations for Slavery?

Ta-Nehisi Coates’ article published in The Atlantic, titled “A Case for Reparations” inspired me to write this paper. He writes: “Two hundred fifty years of slavery. Ninety years of Jim Crow. Sixty years of separate but equal. Thirty-five years of racist housing policy. Until we reckon with our compounding moral debts, America will never be whole.” The abolition of slavery proved that the institution was unconstitutional and morally incorrect. Furthermore, the passing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 proves that the US made a mistake in enacting the Jim Crow legislation and allowing such discriminatory…show more content…
The US Capitol, White House and other government buildings were built by slave labor ("White House History,” n.d.). How ironic is it that the US Capitol is also known as The Temple of Liberty? What’s more infuriating is that slave owners were paid for the construction of these buildings because it was their slaves who did the work (Reed, 2002). Aside from building, slave labor played a significant role in the economic development of the United States. During the 18th century the major consumer goods that were the basis of world trade were: cotton, coffee, tobacco and sugar. These crops were produced on slave plantations in the south, thus making southern states completely dependent on slave labor. Cotton was extremely profitable and fostered trade between Europe and the United States. It was the leading American export from 1807-1937 (National Geographic Society, 2012). The invention of the cotton gin created a higher demand for slaves in the south because plantations could produce more and do it faster. Everyone was profiting off of slave labor except slaves. My point here is that slaves made the US rich for free and never got paid back for any of their hard work. Sure, we’ve paid them back for civil rights and liberties that they weren’t entitled to before through the 13th, 14th and 15th Constitutional amendments where: slavery was abolished, citizenship was…show more content…
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