...According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary reparations are “the act of making amends, offering expiation, or giving satisfaction for a wrong or injury; it is something done or given as amends or satisfaction; the payment of damages compensation in money or materials payable by a defeated nation for damages to or expenditures sustained by another nation as a result of hostilities with the defeated nation” (merriam-webster.com). “The paying of descendants of enslaved Africans for free labor of their ancestors. Supporters argue that the government of the United States at one time sanctioned enslavement and now it should try to remedy the effects of it by paying the descendants of the enslaved for their work” (Asante, Molefi Kete 486). I interviewed a diverse group and asked if they felt that due to the long stretch of years of oppression and torture African Americans have gone through in this country should they be given reparations and if so how. The group I interviewed included family, friends and co-workers: my son a seventeen year old African American male who is Baptist, a co-worker a twenty-five year old Caucasian female who is Catholic, a co-worker a forty-four year old Latin American male who is Catholic, and a good friend a thirty-five year old African American female who is Muslim. The twenty-five year old Caucasian female believes that there is no price for compensation applicable to those today that had their enslaved ancestors suffer. Even if compensation were...
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...As a kid I took a trip with my grandparents to Virginia and Washing D.C., I have always thought that this trip was one of the best I ever could have gone on. My Grandparents made sure to educate me that these men that represented our country and known as our four fathers were not always what they seemed or what the history books portrayed. The most memorable part of this trip was visiting Mt. Vernon and seeing George Washington’s home. I know you thinking after what you just read what do you mean and the truth is it was. The trip took you around the whole grounds and the part that was hardest to see was the slave quarters. I have seen better accommodations for horses. These people were packed in like sardines and lived like the live stock that Washington ate. They were not treated any better than an animal and the comments from the presentation didn’t shock me at all. George Washington bought, sold, inherited, and otherwise acquired hundreds of slaves over his lifetime, at one point even helping to manage a lottery in which slave children were "prizes.” (Wiencek, 2003). This man owned 317 slaves over his lifetime and was ashamed at times and tried to cover it up. In a letter to William Pearce on March 22, 1795, Washington offered to secretly join in the expense of recapturing a runaway slave but said "I would not have my name appear in any advertisement, or other measure, leading to it."(Fitzpatrick,1940 P 154). As American people we always want to believe that we are a...
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...Protests against the Treaty of Versailles in Germany. Protests against the Treaty of Versailles in Germany. Question: What were ‘reparations’, and what changes were made to the Treaty of Versailles over this issue between 1919 and 1932? Question: What were ‘reparations’, and what changes were made to the Treaty of Versailles over this issue between 1919 and 1932? Versailles Treaty Reparations on Germany Versailles Treaty Reparations on Germany Word Count: 1,101 Word Count: 1,101 2014 2014 Joel Joel Versailles Treaty Reparations on Germany Versailles Treaty Reparations on Germany What were ‘reparations’, and what changes were made to the Treaty of Versailles over this issue between 1919 and 1932? After WWI, following the defeat of the Central Powers, the Treaty of Versailles, designed chiefly by France, Britain, and USA, was signed by Germany. The treaty was intended to suppress Germany under the reins of a ‘harsh peace’. The conditions of the treaty subjugated Germany in many ways: Germany had to accept guilt for starting the war, had land taken in what is known as the Territorial Clauses, had limits put on their military power in what is known as disarmament, and were excluded from the League Of Nations; but worst of all the terms, Germany had to pay reparations – the bill to compensate for war damages. Article 232 of the Versailles Treaty read, “The Allied and Associated Governments, however, require, and Germany undertakes, that she will make...
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...A Consideration for Reparations Harriet Bailey had just given birth to her son, the product of a rape committed by her white master, when she was separated from him at birth. Harriet had to travel 12 miles at night to see her infant son and spend a a few hours with him, only to journey back early the following morning to her reality as a slave. This woman, the mother of Frederick Douglass, represented many of the victims of a common slave practice: Separation, arranged by slave owners in order to “hinder the development of the child’s affection toward its mother, and to blunt and destroy the natural affection of the mother for the child” (Douglass 2). Douglass presents such inhumane treatments done to him, his family, and others in his autobiography,...
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...Slavery was abolished in America 150 years ago, however, the color line it created is still very much alive. From the overtly racist Jim Crow laws to the discriminatory covert practices within the housing industry of today, there is a clear division of white versus black, superior versus inferior, that divides the nation. In her article “The Case for Reparations,” Ta-Nehisi Coates makes the case for why African Americans should be paid back for all of the injustices they had to, and continue to, endure. Granting reparations would be more than just handing out money to blacks to make up for the astronomical wealth gap certain discriminatory actions and policies have created, though. Coates said that making “reparations to those on whose labor...
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...Ja’Breona Mackie English 119 CRN 38395 March 30, 2014 African American Reparations 149 years ago slavery was said to have been “abolished.” From 1620-1865 our ancestors were raped, killed, tortured, and demoralized. That was for 245 years. Yet African Americans are supposed to just forget about it. What they don’t let you forget is the incarcerated Japanese Americans in internment camps during World War II, the Holocaust, and running the Native Americans out of their own land. Those thousands of Japanese Americans, Native Americans and Jews all were compensated due to their victimization. They too lost their property and liberty just as our people did. One group of people that has not yet received anything thing as means of amends for the wrong doings against them are African Americans. It is my opinion just like that of many other thousands of African Americans that we as a group should be given some type of reparation. People give many reasons and justifications for why blacks shouldn’t be given any reparations. Coming from an opposing side some say black Americans are not owed anything for the fact that our ancestors were slaves. We were not directly affected by it nor hurt. It is true that we are not the only culture that was enslaved. The government can’t hand out money to every group that was done wrong. That would be making out a check to all of America. “Being given welfare, food stamps, W.I.C, and Medicaid are more than enough handouts they need” said an anonymous...
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...Ta-Nehisi Coates's article, “The Case for Reparations,” describes the extent of the oppression and racism of the American government towards its black citizens and how the nation could repay them. The underlying notions of racism have roots deep into the history of America. Dating back to slavery, black people in America have been abused politically, socially, and economically. We as a country have tried several times to make amends for these damages, only to have them to drive the divide further. The government created laws and bills that have been disguised to socially and economically benefit the disadvantaged of society. However, it did not work in favor of black citizens. It created a biased system, one that disproportionately benefitted...
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...Throughout all of the various issues being explored and debated in today’s society, one that has become very prevalent in the past few years is the matter of slavery reparations in America. Advocates of this cause have begun to raise awareness in an effort to make reparations to African Americans affected by the crime of slavery in the United States. This is an extremely controversial subject, especially since there are so many different considerations and opinions surrounding the issue. Anthony Gifford’s article, “The Legal Basis of the Claim for Slavery Reparations”, Ta-Nehisi Coates’ “The Case for Reparations”, and chapter nine of Michael Sandel’s book, Justice: What’s The Right Thing To Do? all dig deeper into this issue and take a look at the idea of slavery reparations from various different angles. One of the big questions to reflect on while considering the possibility of slavery reparations in America is: What can be done in order to begin resolving the issue of slavery reparations? The...
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...Reparations for Former Slaves Shaylee McCammon COM-150 January 17, 2010 Julia L.G. Kressig Throughout history there have been a number of instances in which people of a different race, religion, or cultural background were discriminated against, and it is time that the government repays those who have suffered. When someone makes public the belief that his or her race or beliefs are of more importance, he or she makes those who are of another race or have other beliefs think they are not important themselves. Those of the mistreated cultures, including former slaves and the aboriginal children of the stolen generation, are entitled to reparations for their mistreatment. These people were not only forced to believe they were not important but also that they could not believe in what their culture suggests they should. These people were forced to leave their homes and brought to strange environments, treated as if they were similar to the dirt on the ground, and forced to serve others for the extent of their lives. The treatment these cultures suffered entitles them to reparations for their mistreatment and removal from their homes and cultural beliefs. African Americans were taking from their homes around the world and brought to America to serve the white population as slaves. Slave traders often brought ships full of hundreds of slaves to this country by keeping them in such close quarters, they could hardly move around. They would put 150 to 200...
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...“Calculating Reparations” by William Raspberry, is an online newspaper article, obviously about reparations. Reparations are a debt that is repaid to a certain group and in this article, it focuses on the reparations that “White America” owes “Black America”. It can be easily understood that black Americans have gone through a plethora of things while in this country: slavery, segregation, endless discrimination, etc. Richard America (this is his actual name) is a professor at Georgetown University School of Business has stated that reparations must be acknowledged; that the acknowledgement will help Americans get past ceaseless debates over “set-asides”, enforced diversity, and affirmative action. While the professor doesn’t believe that the costs of these...
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...The article, “Reparations for Slavery?” it’s about the history and the meaning of reparation and how it will affect America with African Americans. The author of this article has three separate parts of the reparations, the idea that comes from it, explaining about the Conyers bill, and the positives and negatives of reparations. For the idea that comes from it, the article explains that it started before the civil war where a General ordered 40 acres of land and a mule for each family that were slaves, however it was rejected twice. There were several other reparations over time, with one the author points out mostly; and that was the second part of the article, Conyers bill. It was in November 1989, where a representative of state named Conyers have created his bill and according to the article the bill’s purpose is, “to acknowledge the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slaver in the United States and the 13 American colonies between 1619 and 1865 and to establish a Commission to examine that institution slavery, subsequent de jure and de facto and economic discrimination against African-Americans, and the impact of these forces on living African-Americans, to make recommendations to the Congress on appropriate remedies, and for other purposes” (Costly)....
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...It has been thirteen years since Brooks wrote his book and things have changed since then, but for the worse. There has still not been a reparation for slavery in the United States, and racism has reached a frightening level recently after Trump became the president. Ancestors of the slaves should not expect much help from the government in the coming years to resolve this injustice. It does not seem like there will be compensation for the African American families affected because the greatest conflict about this reparation is who is going to pay for it. Some arguments have been made that the companies who benefitted the most from slave labor should pay these families, but the problem with that is that many of those companies do not exist...
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...Dustin Westmoreland Utah Valley University – Weimar Republic Spring 2014 The Weimar years were marked by extraordinary and unrivaled economic, political, and social struggles and crises, one occurring after another, like a hammer decimating an already weakened rock. Its beginning was especially difficult in that Germany was weary and devastated after four years of unprecedented warfare. By 1918 the world had been shocked with over 8.5 million killed on both the Allies and Axis sides (WWI Casualty and Death Tables) with many more severely mangled and scarred – body, mind and spirit. This shows evident through the experiences of German Soldier, Ernst Simmel; he writes, “when I speak about the war as an event, as the cause of illness, I anticipate something has revealed... namely that it is not only the bloody war which leaves such devastating traces in those who took part in it. Rather, it is also the difficult conflict in which the individual finds himself in his fight against a world transformed by war. Either in the trenches or at home can befall a single organ, or it may encompass the entire person” (Simmel, 1918). For Ernst, and millions of other participants, the war had forever changed their world, including the foundation of their country. An armistice was finally signed on November 11, 1918. Allied nations didn’t hesitate to execute their idea of justice for Germany. By January 1919, hundreds...
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...Reparations has long been an issue of contention. In an article published in “The Atlantic” Coates makes arguments in support for reparations, while telling the story of Clyde Ross. Coates major arguments for reparations included the wealth inequality, segregation and racism. Housing and home ownership for African Americans once was extremely limited. Local banks and poorly written government policies permitted segregation and discrimination against African Americans. They were taken advantage of by the system, absence of traditional home loans left African Americans with limited options. Including overpayment for housing while purchasing on contract. Black employee wages were lower than that of white employees and the cost of living was higher for the African Americans. Money was a major contributor to the inequality of the races. Coates argues that America’s wealth was made of the backs of the black slaves. It was the labor that the slaves provided that generated profits for white Americans. Slave trade was yet another means for the white race to increase their wealth off the backs of the African Americans. Closing wealth gaps is a particularly difficult task when the gap in education continues to widen. Segregation of housing and limited educational opportunities contributed to...
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...The terms of the treaty itself, while not that harsh, had devastating economical and psychological effects on Germany. One major term of the treaty had to do with war reparations. Germany had to pay the winning powers, most notably France, over $300 billion. The other countries on the side of the Allies were largely exempt from paying war reparations because their economies were deemed to be insufficient enough to pay the war reparations. Because the reparations had to be paid in hard currency, one of Germany’s strategies was to mass print German marks in order to buy foreign currencies or gold, which could be used to pay the reparations. This caused massive inflation of the German mark, to the point where it became completely worthless. In...
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