Reparations for African Americans: Does it Make Sense?
Introduction
The idea of reparations in general has been around for a significant period of time. Multiple countries have given reparations to groups of people for atrocities committed in the past. For example, in 1952 Germany paid $822 million to Holocaust survivors in the German Jewish Settlement. Austria, Canada, and the United States have also all given reparations to groups of people in different settlements and treaties (History of Reparations Payments). The idea of reparations to African Americans is a debated topic that may never be solved, but an issue that nonetheless deserves to be looked at. To understand the theories and opinions behind reparations, the history surrounding …show more content…
The first use of African American slave labor in what would later become the United States was in the American colony of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619 (Slavery in America ). Since this occurred before the United States government was established, it is hard to argue that slavery from 1619 to 1776 is the fault of the United States government. But, when the U.S. gained their independence from Britain, they made a conscious choice to have slavery as a part of their culture until 1865 when it was abolished. Inequality towards African Americans did not end there, though. After slavery, jim crow laws were widely used in the south to discriminate against African Americans. The idea of ¨separate but equal” was a piece of the jim crow philosophy that was established by the Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 (Separate But Equal: The Laws of the Land). Although freed from the chains of slavery, African Americans still did not have …show more content…
Reparations for these wrongs is a complex issue with many parts and aspects. Although reparations may seem like a necessary step in fixing the wrongs of slavery, racism, and segregation in the United States, the practicality of enacting it is difficult. Reparations would cost a significant amount of money, perhaps even an amount too large for the government to possibly pay. It also wouldn’t help the socio-economic situation of African Americans today, as a lump sum of money for every African American or African American family won’t fix the poverty and segregation in the
Introduction
The idea of reparations in general has been around for a significant period of time. Multiple countries have given reparations to groups of people for atrocities committed in the past. For example, in 1952 Germany paid $822 million to Holocaust survivors in the German Jewish Settlement. Austria, Canada, and the United States have also all given reparations to groups of people in different settlements and treaties (History of Reparations Payments). The idea of reparations to African Americans is a debated topic that may never be solved, but an issue that nonetheless deserves to be looked at. To understand the theories and opinions behind reparations, the history surrounding …show more content…
The first use of African American slave labor in what would later become the United States was in the American colony of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619 (Slavery in America ). Since this occurred before the United States government was established, it is hard to argue that slavery from 1619 to 1776 is the fault of the United States government. But, when the U.S. gained their independence from Britain, they made a conscious choice to have slavery as a part of their culture until 1865 when it was abolished. Inequality towards African Americans did not end there, though. After slavery, jim crow laws were widely used in the south to discriminate against African Americans. The idea of ¨separate but equal” was a piece of the jim crow philosophy that was established by the Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 (Separate But Equal: The Laws of the Land). Although freed from the chains of slavery, African Americans still did not have …show more content…
Reparations for these wrongs is a complex issue with many parts and aspects. Although reparations may seem like a necessary step in fixing the wrongs of slavery, racism, and segregation in the United States, the practicality of enacting it is difficult. Reparations would cost a significant amount of money, perhaps even an amount too large for the government to possibly pay. It also wouldn’t help the socio-economic situation of African Americans today, as a lump sum of money for every African American or African American family won’t fix the poverty and segregation in the