In 1860, the average value of a slave was about $450. Inflation takes that to $14,000 in 2020.
In 1860, there were just under 4,000,000 slaves.In 2017 there were 41,000,000 blacks.
This suggests that the value in 1860 be used to compensate in 2020. That would be a little under $1400 per black in 2020. So, yeah, one big screen TV just about covers it.
Of course, that is only one way to measure the value. We might want to consider the value of a slave’s labor over a lifetime. That is likely to be considerably more than $450. Consider that a farm laborer might get paid from 30 cents to perhaps a dollar a day. At the lower rate, that’s $100 per year. multiply by 40 years and now the value is $4000. Now we would be talking closer to $10,000 in compensation in 2020 per black.
In 1860, the average value of a slave was about $450. Inflation takes that to $14,000 in 2020.
In 1860, there were just under 4,000,000 slaves.In 2017 there were 41,000,000 blacks.
This suggests that the value in 1860 be used to compensate in 2020. That would be a little under $1400 per black in 2020. So, yeah, one big screen TV just about covers it.
Of course, that is only one way to measure the value. We might want to consider the value of a slave’s labor over a lifetime. That is likely to be considerably more than $450. Consider that a farm laborer might get paid from 30 cents to perhaps a dollar a day. At the lower rate, that’s $100 per year. multiply by 40 years and now the value is $4000. Now we would be talking closer to $10,000 in compensation in 2020 per black.
Numbers matter.