But then wouldn’t he be required to house, cloth and feed them? Who would pay for that? Or would his plantation devolve to something like the company towns the coal industry became (in)famous for.
My point being, once slavery was accepted, it became like holding a tiger by the tail. I believe this was the reason slave holders would free their slaves upon death. It was now someone else’s problem.
Yes, I think it would have turned out something very like a company town.
My point being, once slavery was accepted, it became like holding a tiger by the tail. I believe this was the reason slave holders would free their slaves upon death. It was now someone else’s problem.
I think most of the desire to hang on to the slaves was because of the money produced by their labor. I don't think the prime motivation for emancipation upon the owners death was to make it "someone else's problem", it was because they recognized that they would have no further need for money because they were dead.
Rest assured, had they been able to wring another scrap of value for themselves from the labor of slaves, they would have continued doing it till that point as well.
And yes, I have a very cynical nature about people giving up money from other people's work.