Pointing to the math, Clay Travis pontificates that perhaps England should be paying reparations to African Americans

I know this is a contentious issue for many, yet the fact that the United States did not exist prior to a certain date, is really hard to ignore. On the Tuesday broadcast, toward the end of the second hour, Clay said the following:

I've always been fascisnated, Buck, by the reparations argument in the United States in particular, because you know slavery was only legal in the United States for 80 years. A lot of people never actually do the math on it. United States was a country from 1783 until 1863 that allowed slavery to be permitted as an independent nation, 80 years. Most reparations for slavery would actually have to be paid by England because England was in charge of the United States colonies for the vast majority of our history.

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You never hear anybody who advocates for reparations say ok, England is on the hook for 1619 to 1783, which is whatever the math is on that.

The podcast link is here, here, and the direct downloadable option is here. If you do download or listen to the podcast - and I really think you should, start listening around 35:25. Buck of course agreed to some extent, pointing out that in those years, Transatlantic slave trading was an English program and that it was spread by them and other European powers. Historically speaking, all of this commentary is correct. There's a lot more to it and as a citizen historian I would love to give you eighty thousand words on it, but I'm really intent on just saying "Here's what they said on the radio show, let's focus on the math, this is it" and a little knock against the progressives is probably sufficient too.

Now, for the record, I think that Clay is calling out the hypocrisy of progressives on this. I do not think he supports reparations, and so its said I don't support reparations either. But to say that the United States should pay reparations for when The Empire controlled the land and the plantations would make about as much sense to say that the United States should pay reparations to Jamaica in accordance to their leaders' wishes to receive reparation payments. Jamaica is another nation who is also calling for reparations.

Why would the United States pay reparations to Jamaica when the U.S. was not in control? That land was controlled by the Empire. Why should the United States pay reparations for anything prior to 1783? The Empire still claimed the land. That means they also claim the slavery. Even more clear-cut is prior to the Declaration. Everybody was a proud citizen of the British Empire. How is that slavery America's fault when the U.S. doesn't even exist in any way, shape, or form?

Progressives can't have it both ways on this.

Jamaica was wholly-owned by the British Empire. Prior to 1783, the 13 colonies were wholly-owned by the British Empire despite that war that was going on. I don't support reparations, but let's be real with ourselves. This responsibility falls on the Empire. This is very simple math. The United States is just not that old.

While progressives are liars, the math doesn't lie to you on this, just subtract the years and see what you come up with.