I agree Danny. You don't get a race horse to run faster by whipping him. These whipping marks could have been present before he was brought to America. Just another political statement in favor of Lincoln's War. Most slaves in the South were considered part of the family. The were fed and housed for their labors. Nothing like today's welfare or food stamp system. Lincoln was a self admitted white supremasist. Read the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Slavery was on the way out with industrialization. But it was not a light switch that could be turned off. Economies unfortunately depended on it. Lower class whites would have to compete with free blacks in the north and south. It was MONEY. It always is. The South was paying 75% of the Federal Government's budget with tarriffs and no return on investment. Slaves were "property" and legal according to our Constitution. And almost every state had them. Call them servants or slaves, they were here. Now the blacks get the Federal dole because we are supposed to be sorry for slavery. My family never owned a single slave. But they fought the Federal invaders. Here's a good example.....why should I be subject to local, state, and Federal taxes for schools if I don't have any children or if I do, I pay for their private education? That turned into a rant. Sorry.

Keith