Profitability of Slavery
Economic History Topic Report
ECO 3183
Topic title: Profitability of Slavery
Briefly state the two opposing views.
A. Abolitionists condemned slavery based on moral, social, and economic reasons. Many believed that slaves were mistreated and were often subjected to corporal punishment. Others argued that the forced labor of blacks was inefficient and unproductive for various racial and economic reasons. Ulrich Phillip’s studies from the antebellum slavery in the south claimed that although plantation slavery produced great wealth, even without the civil war, slavery was economically on a dead end due to the rising cost of factor prices (slaves) increasing faster than the product prices (cotton).
B. Economists approached slavery as a business matter and tested its profitability. They perceived slaves as a capital investment and argued it was not in an owner’s interest to enforce severe corporal punishment because it would lower their rates of return. Alfred Conrad and John Meyer calculated the price of a slave along with their rates of return to determine profitability. They concluded that the rapid increase of factor prices (slaves) was mainly due to the fact that output per slave was also increasing.
Outline in some detail the more traditional view. Where did it come from? What was it based upon? In 1905, historian Ulrich Phillips wrote a study based primarily on slave prices relative to cotton prices. Ulrich claims that American-born slaves were sold at a higher cost than fresh African slaves, because of their training in plantation labor and domestic service. Slave prices were low in the late 1780’s and early 90’s until Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin came in 1793. Due to the increasing demand for labor, slave prices steadily increased and spiked after the prohibition of the African trade in 1807. Despite prohibition, between 1800 and 1860, the slave growth rate averaged about 2.4 percent per year (W.R. 222). Based on Phillip’s
ECO 3183
Topic title: Profitability of Slavery
Briefly state the two opposing views.
A. Abolitionists condemned slavery based on moral, social, and economic reasons. Many believed that slaves were mistreated and were often subjected to corporal punishment. Others argued that the forced labor of blacks was inefficient and unproductive for various racial and economic reasons. Ulrich Phillip’s studies from the antebellum slavery in the south claimed that although plantation slavery produced great wealth, even without the civil war, slavery was economically on a dead end due to the rising cost of factor prices (slaves) increasing faster than the product prices (cotton).
B. Economists approached slavery as a business matter and tested its profitability. They perceived slaves as a capital investment and argued it was not in an owner’s interest to enforce severe corporal punishment because it would lower their rates of return. Alfred Conrad and John Meyer calculated the price of a slave along with their rates of return to determine profitability. They concluded that the rapid increase of factor prices (slaves) was mainly due to the fact that output per slave was also increasing.
Outline in some detail the more traditional view. Where did it come from? What was it based upon? In 1905, historian Ulrich Phillips wrote a study based primarily on slave prices relative to cotton prices. Ulrich claims that American-born slaves were sold at a higher cost than fresh African slaves, because of their training in plantation labor and domestic service. Slave prices were low in the late 1780’s and early 90’s until Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin came in 1793. Due to the increasing demand for labor, slave prices steadily increased and spiked after the prohibition of the African trade in 1807. Despite prohibition, between 1800 and 1860, the slave growth rate averaged about 2.4 percent per year (W.R. 222). Based on Phillip’s