Same Marx letter: “While the workingmen, the true political powers of the North, allowed slavery to defile their own republic, while before the Negro, mastered and sold without his concurrence, they boasted it the highest prerogative of the white-skinned laborer to sell himself and choose his own master, they were unable to attain the true freedom of labor, or to support their European brethren in their struggle for emancipation; but this barrier to progress has been swept off by the red sea of civil war.”
Unfortunately it wasn’t actually swept off, instead of “at least we aren’t slaves” it’s “at least we aren’t the periphery” that became the boasted prerogative making core country labor feel like it has more investment in the system and more to lose than it actually does, and keeping them demanding anti-immigration and anti-trade and bombs to maintain hegemony.
Same Marx letter: “While the workingmen, the true political powers of the North, allowed slavery to defile their own republic, while before the Negro, mastered and sold without his concurrence, they boasted it the highest prerogative of the white-skinned laborer to sell himself and choose his own master, they were unable to attain the true freedom of labor, or to support their European brethren in their struggle for emancipation; but this barrier to progress has been swept off by the red sea of civil war.”
Unfortunately it wasn’t actually swept off, instead of “at least we aren’t slaves” it’s “at least we aren’t the periphery” that became the boasted prerogative making core country labor feel like it has more investment in the system and more to lose than it actually does, and keeping them demanding anti-immigration and anti-trade and bombs to maintain hegemony.