Economic History Topic Report Name: ______Alberto de la Garza__________ECO 3183 Prof. WeiherTopic Title: Profitability of SlaveryBriefly state the two opposing views.A. Slavery stunted SouthB's economic growth. Slavery was very productive in the South and describes in detail the most traditional view. Where does it come from? What was it based on? One of the oldest disputes between economists and historians revolves around whether slavery was economically profitable. More than 200 years ago, Adam Smith said slavery was unprofitable because it lacked adequate incentives. the wealth consumed by a slave could be lower than that of a free worker, since his rate of production was very low, the cost of labor per unit of production would be higher in a slave system than in a free society, even if the Work done by slaves appeared to be cheap, Smith said, "in the long run it is the most expensive of all." Smith explained the persistence of slavery by the idiosyncrasies of the slave owner "to dominate and subdue him who was a source of pride." Smith also rejected inferiority as a justification for racial slavery and said that enslaved Africans in America were likely higher than slave owners. Adam Smith's position, with his total rejection of slavery, both morally and economically, was supported by classical economists like. Ricardo, JS Mill and JE Cairnes who developed these themes in his book "The Slave Power", written in 1862. One of his main arguments was that slave workers had no interest in learning new techniques and therefore, compared to free workers in the North, they were paid to learn and maintain better standards on farms, so Growi...... middle of document ...... specifically looked at profitability. There is obviously a need for further investigation in this direction, which would help explain fluctuations in slave importation, slave prices, and investment in slave regions. But more importantly, as Fogel and Engerman have shown, the establishment of profitability also helps determine and explain the structure of slave society. The main obstacle to investigating the profitability of slavery in America has been the lack of available records in some areas. and the difficulty of collecting the material from others.________________________________________________STOPPlease read and sign the following pledge of honor.I give my word of honor that, although I was able to discuss the matters with others, I have independently prepared and drafted my own responses.Signature ___________________________________________