People of the United States, the time has come to unify this great nation under the a single name. This will not be easy; I am sure we are all aware of the difficulties we will encounter along the way. Questions such as How will states be re-admitted? and How will war debts be repaid? are no doubt on your minds and must be answered to progress. Fortunately, I have planned on how to solve these crises and hope to restore prosperity to these lands by the end of the century. One pressing concern is what to do with the states that participated in the Confederacy. I propose we act with mercy, and do not impose harsh reparations. Even though many state leaders supported the war, they should not be feared, as more revellions seem unlikely. Currently,
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After the war, many slaves have been freed to repay their work in the war. Slaves may see these free men and attempt to run away or become less productive. The easiest solution to this is to free all slaves and pay for their labor. However, much needs to change to lower the South’s reliance on slave labor and let this transition happen smoothly. To alleviate the use of slavery, I propose a slave tax. Henceforth, all goods created by using slave labor will be taxed 5%, and will increase to 200% over the next four years, with the goal of making hiring free men more profitable than using slaves. Anything made by freed men are not to be taxed. At random times, an inspector will check to see if slave labor is being used. Funds collected from this tax will pay for the inspections, infrastructure repairs for damages caused by the war, and war debts for both sides. While this tax may seem unfair to many Southern states, it helps them by letting slave owners choose when to switch to paying free men for labor instead of forcing them to switch before they are prepared to. An abrupt van on slavery may be detrimental and slow production in the South, hurting the entire nation’s …show more content…
However, this is the exact reason why the reparations should not be too harsh. Hard-to-meet conditions will breed animosity within the South and encourage more rebellions. By giving lenient terms, it gives the South a chance to rebuild and calm down. Although lenient terms may make it take longer to pay off debts, prosperity in the South is a much more important long-term benefit. Giving the ex-Confederate states a chance to keep their current governors and representatives will let the people feel well-represented and unlikely to
After the war, many slaves have been freed to repay their work in the war. Slaves may see these free men and attempt to run away or become less productive. The easiest solution to this is to free all slaves and pay for their labor. However, much needs to change to lower the South’s reliance on slave labor and let this transition happen smoothly. To alleviate the use of slavery, I propose a slave tax. Henceforth, all goods created by using slave labor will be taxed 5%, and will increase to 200% over the next four years, with the goal of making hiring free men more profitable than using slaves. Anything made by freed men are not to be taxed. At random times, an inspector will check to see if slave labor is being used. Funds collected from this tax will pay for the inspections, infrastructure repairs for damages caused by the war, and war debts for both sides. While this tax may seem unfair to many Southern states, it helps them by letting slave owners choose when to switch to paying free men for labor instead of forcing them to switch before they are prepared to. An abrupt van on slavery may be detrimental and slow production in the South, hurting the entire nation’s …show more content…
However, this is the exact reason why the reparations should not be too harsh. Hard-to-meet conditions will breed animosity within the South and encourage more rebellions. By giving lenient terms, it gives the South a chance to rebuild and calm down. Although lenient terms may make it take longer to pay off debts, prosperity in the South is a much more important long-term benefit. Giving the ex-Confederate states a chance to keep their current governors and representatives will let the people feel well-represented and unlikely to