The third charge [by the English] against the Founders was that they failed to abolish slavery. Our answer, to this point, has been: they limited and eventually outlawed the importation of slaves from abroad; they abolished slavery in a majority of the original states; they forbade the expansion of slavery into areas where it had not been previously permitted; they made laws regulating slavery more humane; individual owners in most states freed slaves in large numbers. In light of all this, it is a gross exaggeration to speak…of “the unfree origin of the United States.” Freedom was secured for the large majority of Americans, and important actions were undertaken in the service of the rest.
Thomas G. West, Vindicating the Founders: Race, Sex, Class, and Justice in the Origins of America, pg.14
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