Some dumb guy on the Internet is saying that it reminds him of a time when he was actually happy. Now, he’s obviously racially dogwhistling, but it really occurred to me that I don’t really know what life was like for a non-slave, non-rich person back then. Obviously, it was hell on earth for slaves, and probably pretty good for the super rich (just like every other time). Was it better or worse for a free, working class person than the northern states? Better or worse than the US right now?
when i taught antebellum us history, a core point i repeated was that slavery was bad for EVERYONE except slave-owners (and even then, it was bad for them on a moral level). poor southern whites couldn’t compete with their neighbors who don’t have to pay laborers, and always missed out on the best opportunities. tell this guy to try to start up his own version of walmart next to a walmart and see how that goes.
