http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2014/11/1...conomy-baptist

Back in 1965, when I was 10 years old, I remember picking cotton (after school) for ten cents a pound. It was tough, tough, work. I only worked (maybe) 2-3 hours a day picking cotton. I can't imagine doing that (under a hot sun) for 8-10 hours day after day.

Mods change the thread title to: Without WWII, Would The US Be The Leading Economic Power tia.

More questions about slavery and its relative economic impact on a nation should be asked:

Slavery was a worldwide phenomena in the 18th and 19th centuries. (and earlier)

Did it have economic benefits for each country using it, and which countries benefited more? Which suffered negative consequences more?

The English established it in their colonies around the world, including those that ended up as part of the US. Other nations established it in their colonies as well.

The abolishing of slavery was also a worldwide phenomena. Each country has its own procedures and timetable so abolishment occurred over a period of years worldwide. (similar to the period of years the legalization of gay marriage is taking now to extend over many jurisdictions)

What was the economic impact of abolishing earlier or later than other countries?

Serfdom and impressment of sailors are legitimately considered a form of slavery.

The US fought at least two wars against slavery starting with the War of 1812 (slavery and impressment may not have been the only or the official reason but were clearly a strong underlying cause of these wars)

What was the economic impact of a nation ending slavery by means of war, instead of being fortunate to end it without major conflict as other nations were able to do?

Depending on how you define it, the US took almost a century after the abolishment of slavery to become the leading economic power.

How much credit or hindrance can be assigned to slavery when it ended a long time before the achievement of leading economic power status?

Well this should turn interesting. lock it up.

Consider the example of Brazil.

You mean where 35% of the Atlantic slave trade went as opposed to the Colonies/US figure of 5%? (and outlawed slavery 23 years after the US did).

If by almost a century you mean 1-2 decades, then yes.

We likely become the dominate economy regardless. Slavery or lack of had little to do with northern growth from 1870-1900(or post WW2 growth). It was the discovery and use of natural resources(coal, oil, iron) and expansion of railroads that made the US the largest economy. These industries would have grown with or without slavery, not to mention all the new machines(subindustries) that came with the use of oil/coal and high carbon steel.

Add to that, we were competing with China at the time, and their economy was decimated in the late 1800s.

As far as the OP goes, the US probably doesn't look the same without slavery, so it's really hard to say who would own what the US doesn't, but if the US was still located in the Penn to Texas/LA area, then we would have eventually become the largest economy in the world, if for nothing else other than isolation and endless Euro/Asian wars.

Too bad we already had that title in like 1900.

OP, we aren't currently. China is. So, the real question is if China would be the world's leading economic power without its own history of slavery.

What about if Hitler liked Jews (but still wanted to rule the world)?

The US would be stronger.

I'm not sure slavery played a significant role one way or the other. The North didn't have slavery, The South did. The North was a bigger economic power than the agrarian South prior to the Civil War right?

Yes, the South relied on Slavery but the North, which was much larger in terms of population and economic size, did not.

Yeah...nope.

Germany still loses

I think the argument is based on foreign trade, where cotton was a major factor.

Better off without slavery...what if we kept it and all these years later we had an agriculture based economy instead of whatever it is now....

Also agree with WW2 guy.... prob would have lost war with agro economy instead of manufacturing

Even if they had the bomb in 1943?

"Without Slavery, Would The U.S. Be The Leading Economic Power?"

First US is not the leading economic power, the U.S. is sh*t now, there are tunes of countries with an economy running way better than U.S.
And the once greatness of the USA had little to do with slavery, in fact many economists and historians believe it was the opposite. Freedom was what made America great, not slavery. Even in slave times, non-slave states were doing better than slave states.
People sometimes over-value the profit of slavery. Slave owners had to give food, clothes, provide shelter, etc. so is not exactly free labor. Also they had to spend time and resources managing their work and securing they don't run away.

Stopped at US is not the leading economic power cause someone other economies are currently running better.

So what are the factors that made a country "the leading economy"?
Cuze it already happened bro, the U.S. is gone. I'm from a country of emigrants and from the countries people go to search for a better life U.S. is one of the worst. In fact there are very few people migrating from here to there and the ones I know are almost exclusively people that went or family went long time ago.

The world has waked up already to your fiat currency scam. And no fake war gonna prevent dollar from collapse any much longer.

You do realize that if the dollar collapses, the entire world is ****ed, tight?

You stated that the US is not the leading economic power (better defubed than the reframe of "leading economy). I recognize that it is not a defined term but a combination of size, wealth, and the ability to innovate seems like the pertinent factors. How do you define economic power? Surely not the number of immigrants gained during the last calendar year. I think Jordan wins with that criteria.
Where are your fellow countrymen going? I might head to my ancestral home of Norway but they are not letting me in!

Lol I wish I would have read this nonsense before replying sincerely. What non fiat currency you using? You live in goldland or bitcoiniberia?