Would restriction have finished slavery?

[matthew mckeon]

Dear rbenne,
How can one measure how many slave women were sexually exploited by their masters? I don't know. It's certainly mentioned by many sources, Mary Chesnut's famous quote of course. Thomas Jefferson is very likely to be the father of Sally Hemmings' children, the hunt for an alternative candidate is motivated by the desire to whitewash TJ, more than a disinterested search for truth.

John Quincy Adams presented a petition from "colored ladies" of Fredericksburg, Virginia in 1837 to Congress. The slaveowning representatives totally lost it, as you might expect. One member, also from Fredericksburg, took the petition from Adams desk and declared that these women were no ladies, but "infamous"
Adams asked, "Do you know these women?" And the Virginia representative said he did.
"How do you know them?" Adams asked softly, then "And who made them infamous?" Adams went on to explain that many slave children borne their master's features, a statement that caused; "Great agitation" in the House of Representatives.

[olerebel]

Cotton was still harvested by hand until the early 1960's in many parts of MS and AL. Why did it stop?
Government Agencies proposed that cotton growers sign up at county level for 'cotton allotments', hereby promising to only plant specific acreage. Then when yearly yields exceeded expectation, the following year, the government subsidized the farmers to NOT plant a percentage of their acreage, but to till or clip the land, leaving it idle for the year. The small farmer found that he could graze the land and still collect the subsidy, clipping the land twice yearly. About the same time old age pension was created, as was welfare programs, so the sharecropper moved to town, lived in a housing project and collected welfare. The small farmer who didn't own a cotton picker took the easy way out. Now pine plantations have largely taken the place of the cattle. No work whatsoever, and still, in twenty years or so, collect money from the land. This applies to most of the non-delta region of MS.
Someone insists that we still want slaves. What on earth would I do with them if someone gave me a dozen? I couldn't afford to feed them, and sure as H___ couldn't afford to take them to the doctor.
Original Question: Would restriction have finished slavery?
Not immediately. I think the advent of steam would have declined the price of slaves to the point that they were a liability, not an asset on large plantations. (One operator, one steam tractor, which does the work of 10 mules in a day, vs ten operators, ten mules. The tractor doesn't eat wood or coal when not in use, the slave eats all the time.) In 1900 traction engines costs appx. $1,000.00. In 1860 one good slave cost $1,000.00. Cotton pickers haven't been invented yet, so manpower is still needed to pick cotton. Ideally, a slave family could(and did on some occaisons) be given a plot of land to work on shares, provide the landowner pickin' help, and save money to buy their freedom. In this scenario the owner would get out of the overhead (medical care, food, clothing, shelter) of owning slaves. And still get his initial investment out of the slave.
Concerning interracial relationships, a good example is the entire book"The Free State of Jones" by Victoria Bynum, Chapel Hill Press. I haven't checked on the net, but 'Newton Knight' is the man's name. This book covers from pre- 1860s to about 1960. In the 1950s one of the descendants of Newt and his colored mistress goes to court and proves that he is white, in MS.. Enlightening book, with pictures.