Could You List the Positive Aspects of Slavery? A Teacher Asked 8th-Graders to Do So

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22. There must have been many positive aspects - slavery lasted for several thousand years

It probably began around 10,000 years ago in the Middle East with agriculture, which involves a lot of hard, dreary work when done with hand tools. It is easier to make others do the work, than do it yourself.

Once civilization, i.e the building of cities, began, there was a lot of other dreary work constructing city walls, aqueducts, canals, ports, etc. that people wouldn't do unless compelled. But it was agriculture that enabled cities, since hunting/gathering produced too few calories per square mile to support more than villages.

Manufacturing and industrialization made slavery obsolete, since it was inefficient to have to feed, clothe, and house slaves during periods when work wasn't available. It was more efficient to hire people by the hour and then lay them off when not needed. The capital no longer tied up in slaves could also be devoted to the more valuable buildings and machinery.