Also, in early days, it was Africans who sold the most slaves off, not "White people"...

Very good! I would give this a B+. Not enough room here for the full story on American slavery.

The first slaves in the new world were, of course, the indigenous people, as were there owners. Slaves were treated a bit differently by them, eventually becoming full members of the tribe.

Europeans came along and captured or bartered for slaves. Different rules for being owned by a white man. Natives said "€@©® this" and headed home. Might be hundreds of miles, but they could do it.

Since they couldn't keep their slaves, different sources were needed. This was done by the importation of political prisoners, mostly from Ireland. In the Caribbean, they often rioted, but on the mainland, if they escaped, they tried to drop their accents. Sound Brit and steal

The day after I was born, American Bandstand went national after being a local mainstay of Philadelphia broadcasting for 5 years. The day I turned 2 months old, the USSR launched Sputnik.

I got a red tricycle for my fourth birthday, while Obama was being born.

I was old enough to remember when JFK was assassinated, and still niave enough of the civil rights movement to say, "who" when MLK was killed. I didn't say that a few months later when RFK was killed.

Sputnik wasn't the only piece of space history I experienced. I remember John Glenn orbiting the Earth, of the probes we sent to the moon, the Apollo 1 tragedy as I was home from school with the measles.

A lot of history in that short span, and the current events of the time got me interested in times past.

There used to be a documentary show called the Twentieth Century, hosted by Walter Cronkite. I'd sit on Dad's lap and watch it with him. Much had to do with WWII but I started my interest at an early age.

My kids know history and current events as well, if not better, than me, and now I'm teaching my grandkids.

I learned a lot listening to my elders, as well. Story tellers? Sure, and that's what made it come alive!

Ok then.

A decent set of clothes, and you could blend into society 200 miles away with no problem. Getting home to Ireland was a problem. Many Irish became mountain men and even married into some of the tribes. The political prisoner slaves didnt didn't work out so well. that's when the African imports started. While we were raised to believe great white hunters swarmed into the dark continent to hunt slaves, truth was, they usually bought them from slave dealers along the coast. These were men and women who became slaves either through capture in tribal wars or who owed debts and lost their free status.

Knowledge is power.

I would argue that America was one of the first countries to end the slave trade. They definitely led the push in that direction. The Middle East, parts of Africa, and Asia never abolished slavery. It continues to this day. Great meme though.

Do me a favor and check this out.
https://imgflip.com/i/1bafqf