Leonidas W. Spratt Quotes


Our slaves are still drawn oft by higher prices to the West. There is still foreign pauper labor ready to supply their place.


Context

The Southeastern states were in a triple bind regarding slavery. The slave trade was ended so new slaves could not be imported. The existing slaves commanded much higher prices in the West and were sold to those destinations. Meanwhile, the European abject poverty provided a ready source of immigrants who would work for wages that were not much more than the cost of keeping and amortizing a slave. At the beginning of the Civil War, the death knell of Southeastern slavery had already been ringing.


Citations

Leonidas W. Spratt, 19th Century, Editor of The Charleston Mercury, February 13, 1861

Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations

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