Slavery was a beneficial institution for both blacks and whites in the south.

The issue we are debating is not whether slavery was morally right or wrong-- it is whether slavery benefited both blacks and whites in the south. We can assume the slave system benefited whites because of the prosperity of agricultural south. How did it benefit Blacks. Let's compare aspects of black life during slavery... with those of Africans before slavery, and African Americans after slavery. 1. We know that Black slaves lived much longer than their African counterparts, and had a higher birth rate.Life expectancy of a slave in the South in 1850: 32yrs.http://wiki.answers.com...Life expectancy of an African from 1850: less than 25yrs.http://krusekronicle.typepad.com... rates and population growth were also much higher among slaves, than among free Africans. So we can conclude that as slaves, Africans had longer lives, were healthier, and their populations grew more rapidly than those in Africa. This benefits Blacks. 2. After Slavery ended, African American population fell, as did life expectancy. In 1850 during slavery, the Black population was 14% of the total US population, by 1940, it went down to 9% of total population. http://blackdemographics.com...Once slavery was abolished- the Black population declined in number, showing that Black population thrived under slavery.3. EducationAfrican American slaves learned farming, agriculture, and craftsman trades. This knowledge gave them value and the ability to survive. Africans in Africa did not know farming, or craftsman trades. They relied on hunting and gathering. Their lives were nomadic and unpredictable. We can conclude that African American slaves were much more educated and able to work than Africans.4. Slavery vs. Indentured servitudeDuring slavery, an black slave was guaranteed food, clothing and shelter in exchange for work. After Slavery ended, Blacks were poorer than they were as slaves. Many became indentured servants, who suffered without as much food clothing and shelter. Indentured servants were treated worse than slaves. http://en.wikipedia.org...Slavery guaranteed a life for every Black person and a place for every Black person. This benefited Blacks.5. The percentage of married Blacks during slavery was higher than it was before or after slavery... Roughly 66% of Black slaves were married. http://www.mountvernon.org...After slavery ended that number steadily decreased.Today less than 33% of Black people are married. Proportionally, less Blacks are married and living together now than they were as slaves. 6. Black first person interviews and opinion. Probably the most convincing argument is the one given by former Black slaves themselves, as recorded in the 30s by the WPA 60 years after slavery ended. In which hundreds are interviewed to compare their lives during and after slavery. There is a clear common theme in these interviews that life under slavery was beneficial to Blacks.: " I haven't anything to say against slavery. My old folks put clothes on me when I was a boy. They gave me shoes and stockings and put them on me when I was a little boy. I loved them, and can't go against them in anything. I was teated good... It's a pity that these younguns nowadays don't know the value of work like we did. The young generation ain't going to get nothing out of life. It was better when folks lived together. Their loafin gets them into trouble, makes them bad husbands." http://www.amazon.com...Conclusion:Regardless of whether slavery is seen as right or wrong morally, the statistics and opinions show very clearly that slavery was a beneficial institution to both Blacks and Whites in the South.