Most college students think america invented slavery

[OperationFerret]

Current presidential race tells us something different

So you're saying that my grandparents actually did invent the Cheeseburger?

Well damn.

[Nfinitii]

Huh, that explains a lot.

I never felt like slavery was much of a thing anyways. I don't know y it keeps getting discussed.

[Khadgar]

Most college students haven't seen the movie Gladiator?

What a shame

[Belize]

Oh god. This is going to end up like the rape statistics survey isn't it?

[Kalis]

American slavery was significantly different from the slavery practiced by, say, the Jews of the Bible. Their slavery was a largely voluntary process that was to last no longer than 6 years. At the six year mark, the slave was to be given the option to remain a slave or be set free with what we today would call a "severance package." The emphasis was more on owning someone's labor than the actual person... unlike the kind of slavery eventually practiced in the United States and elsewhere.

That's not quite right.

What you are saying is true of male Jewish slaves, but was not true of female Jewish slaves or non-Jewish ones, who could be owned permanently. Their laws changed over time as well, iirc at one point owning of any Jewish slave was forbidden, though not non-Jewish ones.

[Paranoid Android]

Shit survey. Horrible thread. Try harder

[Deleted]

Well, as I said, it take a remarkable degree of self-inflicted delusions to come to the conclusion, that, for instance, the CSA was not about slavery, since, y'know, the leaders flat out said ''we are seceding for slavery''.

Indeed, which places opinions like this into a somewhat questionable light:

On a side note, slavery in america was on its way out after the invention of the cotton gin. Technology made slavery obsolete. The slave owners were businessmen, and whatever would produce more profits won out. I'm sure there were a few who tried to hold on to tradition, if that even existed. Those are the ones who went broke. Never think for a moment that lincoln, or some war, is what ended the slave trade in America. It was technology and good business sense. If the south would have held on a few more years, they could have industrialized their farms and had the ability to fund a war that may have ended quite differently.

There was no intention to industrialize the business. They wanted to keep slaves, for one reason or another, and wouldn't have abolished slavery without the war.

However claiming that "America invented slavery", or denying the role of the Western (and only Western, others didn't give a shit) civilization in abolishing it, is on a whole different level of ignorance, stupidity and dishonesty.

[Paranoid Android]

On a side note, slavery in america was on its way out after the invention of the cotton gin. Technology made slavery obsolete. The slave owners were businessmen, and whatever would produce more profits won out. I'm sure there were a few who tried to hold on to tradition, if that even existed. Those are the ones who went broke. Never think for a moment that lincoln, or some war, is what ended the slave trade in America. It was technology and good business sense. If the south would have held on a few more years, they could have industrialized their farms and had the ability to fund a war that may have ended quite differently. But hindsight is always 20/20

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You're splitting hairs to be right. Don't play the semantics game. You know damn well that calling 1500-25k people to get a "representative sample" is no where near accurate for a nation of 320 million. I stand by my original statement. It's the same thing.

Wow! You don't know your history.

The invention of the cotton gin increased the number of slaves. It took less people to pick out the seeds but made cotton more profitable and thus larger cotton fields. Actually the opposite could have been stated. If the cotton gin was not invented, slavery might have died out.

Dig Deeper: Why did the invention of the cotton gin increase the number of slaves?
http://www.tn4me.org/sapage.cfm/sa_id/234/era_id/3

How the Cotton Gin Contributed to the Civil War
http://www.civilwar.org/resources/ci...y-how-the.html

I learned this in high school. It is scary when people talk about history and do not know the history they are speaking on.

[Mister Cheese]

Why would it matter in the context of modern-day US? What, are you another "woke" person who thinks the effects and consequences of slavery don't exist anymore?

Because this study says people don't know otherwise? That's pretty fucking sad.

[Dhrizzle]

Sultan's mother was also a "sexual slave" having the title of Sultan. Do you know what that means? The slaves become the part of monarchy and are second to emperor only. Hurrem Sultan (a sexual slave) is probably the most famous and controversial example of "sexual slaves" having high influence in state matters. Another sexual slave that de-facto ruled the Ottoman Empire is Kosem Sultan. Some sexual slaves Ottoman Empire had.

"Slavery" outside of palace in Ottoman Empire wasn't a thing, saving for some nobles. This isn't Roman Empire which most had one or two slaves.

"Sexual slavery in Ottoman Empire" is a Western-centric buzzword to "balance" shitty and barbarous parts of their history.

Funnily enough my girlfriend is in the middle of watching Magnificent Century (Muhteşem Yüzyıl) so I recognise the names and terms you are using.

[May90]

Most college students haven't seen the movie Gladiator?

What a shame

Not all gladiators were slaves though. But yeah, Maximus was. Then again, the movie is essentially an alternative history, so maybe some people who have seen it thought that slavery was made up there as well...

[josykay]

Or that Hitler killed the Jews because of Atheism even though he was a Christian who had "God with us" printed on the Nazi's belt buckles.

lel.

Well, "God with us" was the slogan of the German Empire and was used by the Imperial Army, the Reichswehr, the Wehrmacht, and later the Bundeswehr. It is a traditional symbol, like having the Iron Cross as an army symbol.
The Nazis opposed christianity since it had jewish origins and loyalty to a "god" or religion would undermine the loyalty to the party, the race...

[Synadrasa]

Not being able to name a country that sponsored slavery is not the same as believing America invented slavery.

[jakeic]

People don't know things that they are unfamiliar with, it's shocking I know.

We don't talk much about slavery in the United States, there's a unit on slavery in some social studies class in 3rd grade, you may or may not spend a week of a two week unit watching Roots, and then we're done. Slavery in the United States is a rather large national disgrace, it cost hundreds of thousands of lives in one single war as well as the unknown number associated with the practice itself and lead to ruin in half the United States. Most people don't want to discuss complex issues like that but rather push land of the free and home of the brave.

Here's another shocker for you, most people don't know why there are seasons.

[rayden54]

What the fuck? Just name another country that's a superpower right now. Literally you can't get a wrong answer.

Considering how many times the map's been shaken up over the years...

I dunno.

School makes it seem like the pilgrims fought in the American Revolution though so I wouldn't be surprised.

[Kraenen]

Not all gladiators were slaves though.

I don't see your point. "Not all black people were slaves though" isn't much of a counter-point.

[Queen of Hamsters]

They didn't invent it, they just made it their own and it worked pretty swimmingly for them for a while at least.

We still have grown ups believing in angels and ghosts in our world. I'd say it's pretty harmless for young people to be a bit stupid and ignorant. I find it far more shocking how the whole thing with how "bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki was necessary!!" is being pushed still...

[Kraenen]

Not being able to name a country that sponsored slavery is not the same as believing America invented slavery.

It is, in effect. If you can't think of any other country, the space in your brain for "slavery" will only have "America" in it. People aren't really rational enough to say "well even though I only know of American slavery there could've been more", this is especially worse for people with any bent critical towards America.

[Dhrizzle]

It is, in effect. If you can't think of any other country, the space in your brain for "slavery" will only have "America" in it. People aren't really rational enough to say "well even though I only know of American slavery there could've been more", this is especially worse for people with any bent critical towards America.

You can't imagine what a person might think and pretend it's what many people actually think. Well clearly you can, but it doesn't make for a very strong argument.

Now if this college professor had the foresight to ask the question "do you think any other countries held slaves throughout history?" then maybe we would get a clearer answer.

[Matchles]

Coming to the conclusion that a person who cannot name another country with slavery means they believe the U.S. invented it is every bit as stupid as the ideas they are claiming these college students hold.