SUPPORT FOR A PROGRAM TO PAY REPARATIONS TO DESCENDANTS OF SLAVES IS GAINING MOMENTUM, BUT COULD COME WITH A $12 TRILLION PRICE TAG. Reparations for slavery has been fiercely discussed in the United States since Union Army Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman promised 40 acres and a mule to 4 million freed slaves in 1865. While Americans don’t generally support a reparations program paid by taxpayers, this summer’s events have shifted the once overlooked topic into the national debate.