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Double take: Abolition and the size of transferred property rights

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  • Jenny Bourne

Abstract

Objective Abolition is sometimes portrayed as a taking of property rights from former masters. If we consider freedom as the baseline, slavery could instead represent a taking of property rights from slaves. To gauge pecuniary losses to slaves, I estimate foregone wages to former U.S. slaves alive at the time of emancipation. Method I use slave hire rates and values from colonial times to the 1860s to calculate lost compensation to former slaves. Results Estimated pecuniary losses to former slaves at the time of their emancipation are nearly $7 billion in 1860 dollars, or about $200 billion in today's dollars. Conclusions Today's calls for reparations to U.S. blacks appeal to a sense of justice but encounter legal problems because potential plaintiffs cannot show direct harm from slavery. Former slaves, however, arguably possessed legal standing at the time of emancipation to request reimbursement for past wages. Because our nation failed to compensate newly freed persons for lost wages, they and their descendants have suffered a financial disadvantage for generations.

Suggested Citation

  • Jenny Bourne, 2022. "Double take: Abolition and the size of transferred property rights," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 103(7), pages 1706-1718, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:103:y:2022:i:7:p:1706-1718
    DOI: 10.1111/ssqu.13226
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