fleet and thousands of reinforcements?”
“They will never make it to an American Port,” said Arcadia, “We’re going to sink their ships.”
“Amazing,” said Washington.
“As a matter of fact, it’s not the war with the British we are worried about, or the war with the French or the Spanish. The problem is the American people themselves. Events must unfold as history records it for the next six years. In that time, the people of this new country will have mostly developed an identity of their own and will support a break with England to establish an American nation. You don’t have a majority who thinks that right now. Moreover, when the war with England is won, we need to have the real Constitution ready to go and approved by all states, and not waste ten years with the unworkable Articles of Confederation. This is going to be a tall order. The biggest obstacle will be convincing the southern states to give up slavery.”
“How do you propose to do that,” said John Adams speaking up for the first time, “Washington and Jefferson are from Virginia, and both of them hold slaves.”
“All right,” said Arcadia, “Let’s deal with that right now. “Why do you men hold slaves?”
“Cheap labor,” said Jefferson, “I’m personally appalled by the idea of one man owning another, but it’s simply a matter of economics. If we didn’t have the manpower to work the fields we wouldn’t show a profit on our crops.”
“Do you provide housing, and food for your slaves?”
“Of course.”
“How much money would you save if you didn’t have that expense, or the expense of buying more slaves?”
“I would have to do the numbers, but I doubt that the difference would mean a profit.”
“Well, we have done the numbers,” said Arcadia. “If we were to found a company, purchase all your slaves, emancipate them, and then offer them a paid job to work right in the same place they are currently living, don’t you suppose that most of them would take the offer of freedom AND a job for which they received money.”
“Possibly,” said Jefferson, “maybe even probably, but you still haven’t solved the problem of room and board.”
“Sell them their homes, set the price, and then let them make monthly payments against their wages. Our new company will open a grocery store and sell them whatever they need from their wages. The people will not have a lot of money left over at the end of the month, but they don’t need much. However, the smart ones will save their money for things they want in the future. You should also open a school and teach them to write and read and do arithmetic. If you don’t have to pay for the school because the state is supporting education with property taxes our company is giving to the state, you’re still the hero. I’ll tell you what. I’ll purchase all your slaves with gold right now. You keep the considerable amount of money from that, and we’ll come in and set up the exact system I’ve just described. At the end of five years, we will run the books and see if our little company is making any money. I’m betting it will. You can use the example to convince all your other southern colleagues that they can do the right thing, clear their consciences, and still make a profit.”
“I will accept your offer,” said Washington.
“I will too,” said Jefferson.
John Adams jumped up enthusiastically, “That is the most innovative idea for eliminating slavery I’ve ever heard. My
“They will never make it to an American Port,” said Arcadia, “We’re going to sink their ships.”
“Amazing,” said Washington.
“As a matter of fact, it’s not the war with the British we are worried about, or the war with the French or the Spanish. The problem is the American people themselves. Events must unfold as history records it for the next six years. In that time, the people of this new country will have mostly developed an identity of their own and will support a break with England to establish an American nation. You don’t have a majority who thinks that right now. Moreover, when the war with England is won, we need to have the real Constitution ready to go and approved by all states, and not waste ten years with the unworkable Articles of Confederation. This is going to be a tall order. The biggest obstacle will be convincing the southern states to give up slavery.”
“How do you propose to do that,” said John Adams speaking up for the first time, “Washington and Jefferson are from Virginia, and both of them hold slaves.”
“All right,” said Arcadia, “Let’s deal with that right now. “Why do you men hold slaves?”
“Cheap labor,” said Jefferson, “I’m personally appalled by the idea of one man owning another, but it’s simply a matter of economics. If we didn’t have the manpower to work the fields we wouldn’t show a profit on our crops.”
“Do you provide housing, and food for your slaves?”
“Of course.”
“How much money would you save if you didn’t have that expense, or the expense of buying more slaves?”
“I would have to do the numbers, but I doubt that the difference would mean a profit.”
“Well, we have done the numbers,” said Arcadia. “If we were to found a company, purchase all your slaves, emancipate them, and then offer them a paid job to work right in the same place they are currently living, don’t you suppose that most of them would take the offer of freedom AND a job for which they received money.”
“Possibly,” said Jefferson, “maybe even probably, but you still haven’t solved the problem of room and board.”
“Sell them their homes, set the price, and then let them make monthly payments against their wages. Our new company will open a grocery store and sell them whatever they need from their wages. The people will not have a lot of money left over at the end of the month, but they don’t need much. However, the smart ones will save their money for things they want in the future. You should also open a school and teach them to write and read and do arithmetic. If you don’t have to pay for the school because the state is supporting education with property taxes our company is giving to the state, you’re still the hero. I’ll tell you what. I’ll purchase all your slaves with gold right now. You keep the considerable amount of money from that, and we’ll come in and set up the exact system I’ve just described. At the end of five years, we will run the books and see if our little company is making any money. I’m betting it will. You can use the example to convince all your other southern colleagues that they can do the right thing, clear their consciences, and still make a profit.”
“I will accept your offer,” said Washington.
“I will too,” said Jefferson.
John Adams jumped up enthusiastically, “That is the most innovative idea for eliminating slavery I’ve ever heard. My
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