> Recd of Judge S. Williams six hundred Dollars in full payment for Jane, a negro woman 18 years old and henry her child, about one year old, together with her future increase if any which negroes I warrant to be sound in body and mind and slaves for life witness my hand and seal this 20th day of Decr 1849.
> The conditions of the above instrument are such that if the undersigned shall pay or cause to be paid to Judge S. Williams by the 1st Jan 1851 the sum of six hundred Dollars good and lawful money the property as above described to revert to the undersigned and the Instrument to be void, otherwise to remain in full force and virtue this Day and Date above written, signed, sealed, and delivered in presents of J. M. Lamply, John Williams seal
$600 in 1849 is equivalent to ~$27,000 today. But since that doesn't tell us much...
In the same year, cows sold for $10 and horses for 80$ [1]. I'm not sure what to think of it. Sounds like a lot, but also way too little.
Yes, societies that placed a higher monetary value on slaves almost certainly treated them better.
Slavery is bad, but not all forms of it are equally bad. We have to acknowledge that because there's a whole spectrum of coerced labor between "literally in chains" and "my employer paid for school and I can't afford to leave."
Again, none of it is good, but it's important context.
I was a law clerk at the Multnomah County Courthouse in Portland, Ore. I’d run to work and the showers were in the ancient basement where all the court records were archived. Occasionally, I would route through the records because I found old law stuff interesting. One day I came across a court order for a man to be hanged in the public square. It was from the 1920s. He was black and had married a white woman. Our history is horrific.
There were a few cases of racially motivated lynchings of Black men by private mobs around the same era but those weren't officially sanctioned by the court system.
99% sure. I have a picture of it somewhere. This was back in 2011 so who knows what device it’s on. And I showed it to multiple people, including the Presiding Judge that I worked for, who had it in her office. I may have the decade wrong, but it was definitely the 1900s.
Slavery is placed next to other wicked acts (and conversely, helping to free slaves is seen as the morally upright high road) across plenty of texts. It's more productive to condemn those who selectively live their faith in the ways that most convenience them and harm others, rather than making blanket attacks on faith or religion in general.
> And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
> Neither have I suffered that ye should be confined in dungeons, nor that ye should make slaves one of another, nor that ye should murder, or plunder, or steal, or commit adultery; nor even have I suffered that ye should commit any manner of wickedness, and have taught you that ye should keep the commandments of the Lord, in all things which he hath commanded you
> Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is [in] one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves
Chattel slavery is a particular kind of slavery that is especially egregious. One who is interested in the topic will find that there are many kinds of slavery, and that it exists on a spectrum.
Transcription:
> Recd of Judge S. Williams six hundred Dollars in full payment for Jane, a negro woman 18 years old and henry her child, about one year old, together with her future increase if any which negroes I warrant to be sound in body and mind and slaves for life witness my hand and seal this 20th day of Decr 1849.
> The conditions of the above instrument are such that if the undersigned shall pay or cause to be paid to Judge S. Williams by the 1st Jan 1851 the sum of six hundred Dollars good and lawful money the property as above described to revert to the undersigned and the Instrument to be void, otherwise to remain in full force and virtue this Day and Date above written, signed, sealed, and delivered in presents of J. M. Lamply, John Williams seal
$600 in 1849 is equivalent to ~$27,000 today. But since that doesn't tell us much...
In the same year, cows sold for $10 and horses for 80$ [1]. I'm not sure what to think of it. Sounds like a lot, but also way too little.
[1] https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015008282264&se...
Rich people can afford slaves. Abhorrent practice.
Same as it is today?
[dead]
Why does the number amount matter, does it change the inhumanity of the practice ?
Yes, societies that placed a higher monetary value on slaves almost certainly treated them better.
Slavery is bad, but not all forms of it are equally bad. We have to acknowledge that because there's a whole spectrum of coerced labor between "literally in chains" and "my employer paid for school and I can't afford to leave."
Again, none of it is good, but it's important context.
No, but it adds important context
Why does humanity matter though?
I was a law clerk at the Multnomah County Courthouse in Portland, Ore. I’d run to work and the showers were in the ancient basement where all the court records were archived. Occasionally, I would route through the records because I found old law stuff interesting. One day I came across a court order for a man to be hanged in the public square. It was from the 1920s. He was black and had married a white woman. Our history is horrific.
Are you certain the hanging order was for the marriage? Oregon did used to ban interracial marriages but it wasn't a capital offense.
https://www.oregonhistoryproject.org/articles/historical-rec...
There were a few cases of racially motivated lynchings of Black men by private mobs around the same era but those weren't officially sanctioned by the court system.
99% sure. I have a picture of it somewhere. This was back in 2011 so who knows what device it’s on. And I showed it to multiple people, including the Presiding Judge that I worked for, who had it in her office. I may have the decade wrong, but it was definitely the 1900s.
Just for marrying a white woman and that alone? Wow!
This might be a bold and controversial opinion for Hacker News, but I'll say it anyway: Slavery is wrong.
I'll show you "controversial". *Ahem:
> Slavery is wrong.
But not according to any religious texts.
Happy long weekend, everyone.
Slavery is placed next to other wicked acts (and conversely, helping to free slaves is seen as the morally upright high road) across plenty of texts. It's more productive to condemn those who selectively live their faith in the ways that most convenience them and harm others, rather than making blanket attacks on faith or religion in general.
> And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
> Neither have I suffered that ye should be confined in dungeons, nor that ye should make slaves one of another, nor that ye should murder, or plunder, or steal, or commit adultery; nor even have I suffered that ye should commit any manner of wickedness, and have taught you that ye should keep the commandments of the Lord, in all things which he hath commanded you
> Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is [in] one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves
Chattel slavery is a particular kind of slavery that is especially egregious. One who is interested in the topic will find that there are many kinds of slavery, and that it exists on a spectrum.
Stunning and brave.