(U-WIRE) STILLWATER, Okla. - “Forty acres and a mule” — it is not necessarily the sort of poetic phrase marketing whizzes dream up. Yet it is a phrase with loaded significance in the textbooks of American history. “Forty acres and a mule” became the common phrase referring to what former slaves were promised by the American government directly following the Civil War.
Specifically, Special Field Order No. 15, issued by Gen. William T. Sherman in January 1865, promised slaves “a plot of not more than forty acres of tillable ground.” Yet President Andrew Johnson repealed the order only three months later and the government seized land it had already given to 40,000 blacks in Florida and South Carolina.
The above is only one example of the injustices that blacks have endured under the auspices of our government. The legacy of American slavery is a blight that no historical revisionist could minimize. Millions of Africans were forcibly brought to this country, beginning in the early 1600s. Auctioned off like mere farm animals and often enduring intolerable conditions, slaves were, simply, kept in captivity. Some academics estimate that as many as 25 million lives may have been lost during what could easily be termed an American holocaust.
In 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Lincoln to formally end slavery (although some historians maintain the Proclamation had no true impact at the time as seceded states did not recognize it). By the end of the Civil War in 1865, more than four million men, women and children were freed without any compensation.
And that appears to be the crux of a modern controversy: reparations for slavery. One modern argument is simply that the mighty American economy would not be what it is today had slaves not toiled for many years, contributing to various means of production.
Perhaps most importantly, pro-reparations academics claim that a “breach of contract” occurred when the government promised 40 acres to eligible slaves and then withdrew its promise.
Charles J. Ogletree, Jr., Harvard Law School professor and legal theorist, maintains that the legacy of slavery has influenced nearly every contemporary aspect of black life, from economic standing to educational access. He contends reparations would be a means of redressing a past wrong.
While he believes many minorities have been victimized in our country throughout history, he states that in the case of African-Americans it was written and enforced law. Ogletree does not believe the federal government should write out individual checks. Rather, he believes a trust fund should be established to distribute money to the most impoverished members of the black community. He contends reparations would have most direct and positive consequences this way.
The argument against reparations is strong as well. Allowing payment for past grievances could possibly open up a floodgate of historically oppressed minorities. Nonetheless, it appears that reparations have gained some strong support. Congress passed legislation in 1988 to pay Japanese Americans $20,000 who were interned during World War II. The U.S. government recently agreed to compensate more than 20,000 black farmers for decades of discrimination by the Department of Agriculture. More locally, reparations were recently the subject of controversy concerning the 1921 Tulsa race riot.
Obviously, the past cannot be changed. Yet to ignore the injustices of history is as wrong as having been a part of the injustice originally. In the almost 140 years since slavery ended, the United States has not even truly issued a formal apology, despite the need for one. Nothing would be lost by doing so.
It is true that some in favor of reparations seek direct compensation from the government via litigation. Nonetheless, I tend to agree with some arguments proposed by Ogletree — writing individual checks is not the answer.
However, the United States should not shoulder an overwhelming financial burden for something that occurred so long ago. A compromise would perhaps be either voluntarily establishing trust funds or donating money to worthwhile charities.
Whatever action is taken, I sincerely hope at least some responsibility is finally admitted for what is perhaps one of the most tragic events in our common history. We owe it to our ourselves and to the 25 million individuals who perished while in American captivity.
C.W. Coley is s student at Oklahoma State University. This column orignally appeared in the September 20, 2002 issue of The Daily O’Collegian
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