[quote=squat300]Was not slavery and the years subsequent a far greater disgrace than internment during wartime?
Have we as a nation ever done anything to redress the wrong?
Affirmative action, I guess…not much of an apology.[/quote]
Scaredy: The issue is complicated by a couple key facts. The Union forces were fighting against slavery (among other issues), and over 300,000 Union soldiers died in the American Civil War. The Confederate States of America were economically devastated by the war.
So, how does one assess reparations? Who pays? Does the US Government pay? The same government that expended huge amounts of blood (the Civil War remains the bloodiest in American history, with casualties exceeding ALL other wars combined) and treasure restoring the Union?
Do you levy the Southern states that comprised the Confederacy? Who gets paid (how does one assess the validity of a claim)? On this last one, the recent Pigford fiasco is instructive. If you haven’t heard about this debacle, it’s worth your time to read up on it. The road to hell and good intentions and all.
