<human>:  Why did the US government not pay reparations to slave owners?
<bot>: The US government paid reparations to former slaves, but not to slave owners. The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, which ended slavery, states that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." The US government was not able to provide compensation to slave owners because it was not possible to identify them.