Slavery's economics: from the Civil War to Congo's cobalt mines
Gary Gallagher shows slavery caused the Civil War, Siddharth Kara ties the Atlantic trade to modern forced labor in Congo, and Darryl Cooper links industrialization to slavery. Following the money explains both historical and present-day exploitation.
What pattern links the Civil War to Congo's cobalt mines? Show answer
Forced labor lasts as long as it is profitable, and it is hidden from the people who benefit from it.
Why does Gary Gallagher say slavery was not dying out in 1860? Show answer
It was thriving and moving from cash crops into industrial uses, and it was the most valuable property in the country.
What did the 1860 census show about the value of slavery? Show answer
Enslaved people were valued at about $3 billion, more than all American industries and railroads combined at under $2.5 billion.
What was the political flashpoint before the Civil War, per Gallagher? Show answer
Not abolition, a small minority cause, but the Republican pledge to block slavery's expansion into federal territories.
What distinction does Gallagher draw between cause and motivation? Show answer
Slavery caused the war, but most white Union soldiers fought for the Union, not for emancipation.
Why was the Emancipation Proclamation partly a military strategy? Show answer
Enslaved labor kept the Southern economy running and freed most white men to fight, so removing it struck at the South's ability to wage war.
What happened on the slave ship Zorg? Show answer
The crew threw 130 to 140 Africans overboard after running short of water, and the owner filed an insurance claim for lost cargo.
How did Britain's 1833 abolition follow the money? Show answer
The government paid slave owners £20 million, about 40 percent of the budget, while the enslaved served five more years unpaid.
What does Siddharth Kara's report estimate about cobalt mining in Congo? Show answer
At least 300,000 people dig by hand each day, about 37 percent in conditions of absolute slavery and nearly 10 percent children.
What is the resource curse, as Kara describes it? Show answer
Treasure attracts looters, and war and corruption leave people with no alternative but to work for almost nothing.
What is Darryl Cooper's game-theory view of the Atlantic slave trade? Show answer
Any ruler who refused to take part would be overpowered by one who did, so it ended only when Britain could enforce abolition at sea.
How do the three differ on what ends forced labor? Show answer
Kara stresses acts of conscience, Cooper stresses enforcing power, and Gallagher points to war as the mechanism in the United States.