So, you picked up a little slip hinting at what you should be writing down in your notes while I go through the lecture Atlantic Slave Trade Slides. (Perkins' classes had no projector this AM, so they went through them on their iPads).
We covered the African Slave Trade to the Americas. Some things in history amaze, inspire, sadden, and/or embarrass me. Slavery is one of the saddest, most ridiculous things that has existed throughout history (and even through today). It goes against the basic concepts of economics (which is basically the study of choice and how resources are allocated), while also an ethical wrong.
But can we judge the past using today's standards? That is always an interesting question. So, use that, as well as your economic reasoning, to explore who or what deserves to be blamed for the horror of slavery, specifically forced African migration to the Americas. Do we blame the suppliers of slave labor? The users of slave labor? What about the people who purchase items derived from slave labor? What about the institutions (government and/or church) or the culture itself?
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