[HPforGrownups] Re: Golden statue in MoM - foreshadowing? (SPEW forever!)

[T.M. Sommers]

No: HPFGUIDX 71354

tigerpatronus wrote:
> 
> That leaves House Elves. The House Elf Liberation Front is near and 
> dear to my heart. I posted a long essay (C/C) comparing the House Elf 
> predicament to American slavery and to the breeding of dogs (#69124). 
> I think it's closer to slavery, and I worry about this in the 
> Potterverse. This issue may confound Americans more because we only 
> abolished slavery here about 150 years ago, while in England, y'all 
> were far more civilized and did away with it long before. Thus, y'all 
> Brits feel less cultural culpability than we Yanks do. 

Britain abolished the slave trade in 1808, the same year as the 
constitutional ban on the importation of slaves became effective 
in the US (and note that the US ban was enacted in 1787). 
Slavery was abolished in the Empire in 1832.  So there is only 
about a 30 year difference between Britain and the US.  Since the 
British brought African slavery to North America in the first 
place, they don't have much cause to feel less culpable.