Current Events > If slavery never came to America, how would our economic development change?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Would it have been more or less the same or is our entire superpower empire founded on slavery and its effects are felt to this day?

Would we have even still grown into what we are or just be a low/mid-tier country with a shitload of land?
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Things would look different. How different, no way to tell.

Cotton was the chief US export for like 100 years. In 1800 ~20% of exports by $ was cotton, even though it was only about 5% of the GDP.

Without the cotton the US would have industrialized a bit later. My wild conjecture is by WW1 I think US would be maybe only like 2/3 as powerful as they were. US would have still come out of WW2 as the global force for the west, though.

The whole world would be different. If Britain, and other European nations, never partook in the transatlantic slave trade then that would be a massive chain reaction for everything.
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He didnt say the Atlantic slave trade didnt happen, just didnt happen in the US. Only like 3-4% of African slaves were sent the US, most were sent to Brazil and the Caribbean.

The_Critic posted...

He didnt say the Atlantic slave trade didnt happen, just didnt happen in the US. Only like 3-4% of African slaves were sent the US, most were sent to Brazil and the Caribbean.

I guess. I just presumed the whole area was included.
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The_Critic posted...

My wild conjecture is by WW1 I think US would be maybe only like 2/3 as powerful as they were. US would have still come out of WW2 as the global force for the west, though.

i don't think the US would have gotten involved in WWI at all. without the civil war, there's no major push for DC to take power away from the governors.

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The_Critic posted...

Cotton was the chief US export for like 100 years. In 1800 ~20% of exports by $ was cotton, even though it was only about 5% of the GDP.

Without the cotton the US would have industrialized a bit later. My wild conjecture is by WW1 I think US would be maybe only like 2/3 as powerful as they were. US would have still come out of WW2 as the global force for the west, though.

this seems reasonable if you're only including cotton. cotton wasn't the only part of the economy that depended on slave labour though

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In all of world history? Unrecognizably different, but I cant think of a possible way of virtually all past cultures to not have slaves.

In the United States? Not much. The industrial revolution was going to happen no matter what.

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It was a huge part of the souths economy for a 100 years, and without it they would probably have had alot of trouble in that regard for a good while then and afterward.

It was also the main cause of the Civil War, and without that the federal goverment may not have had to increase its hold over the states to prevent such a thing from ever happening again.

Although The industrial age would have happaned regardless so long term I doubt it'd have had any longer lasting implications to today.

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Also this means no Civil War, so I wonder how that affects the make-up of America.

Also does modern day racism/race relations still happen the same way? How many black people are even in America?

It would be assumed that any black person in America is an immigrant like anyone that comes from India, China etc. for their career and/or to build a life for their family.
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