"How foolish it was in us to go to war for slavery.
We get labor cheaper now than when we owned
the slaves.' How do they get it cheaper? Why, in
the shape of rents they take more of the labor of
the negro than they could under slavery, for then
they were compelled to return him sufficient food,
clothing and medical attendance to keep him well,
and were compelled by conscience and public opinion,
as well as by law, to keep him when he could no longer
work. Now their interest and responsibility cease when
they have got all the work out of him they can."
- Told to Henry George by George M. Jackson, who heard it from a former slave owned by his father, who overheard it from plantation owners (who said it within the hearing of a former slave), which former slave was then able to articulate it in a way that just happened to align perfectly with Henry George's theories.
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