[BroJoeK]

DiogenesLamp: "They had mouthed a bunch of formalities and passed a bunch of laws that said they would abolish it at some point in the future.
I tend to be an absolutist, and I don't consider stating intentions to be the same thing as doing the deed.
My measure of the abolition of slavery is that it no longer exists in any form within a state that has abolished it."

That's only because you loathe the United States and want to accuse Northerners of being evil slavers while you praise Southerners for their "care" and "concern" over their beloved "servants", right?

You don't care if that's all a lie, but it just makes you feel better to think it and say it, so you do.

Here are the facts regarding Northern gradual abolition:

1. 1790 --
   • 30,000 Northern freed blacks total
     
   • 40,000 Northern slaves total

2. 1810 --
   • 80,000 Northern freed blacks total = 166% increase
     
   • 30,000 Northern slaves total = 25% reduction

3. 1830 --
   • 130,000 Northern freed blacks total = 333% increase since 1790
     
   • ....4,000 Northern slaves total = 87% reduction from 1790

4. 1850 --
   • 200,000 Northern freed blacks total = 567% increase since 1790
     
   • .....200 individuals, Northern slaves total = 99.5% reduction (all remaining in New Jersey, Wisconsin and Utah).

5. 1860 --
   • 230,000 Northern freed blacks total = 667% increase since 1790
     
   • ......64 individuals, Northern slaves total = 99.94% reduction (all remaining in New Jersey, Nebraska and Utah)

[DiogenesLamp]

That's only because you loathe the United States and want to accuse Northerners of being evil slavers while you praise Southerners for their "care" and "concern" over their beloved "servants", right?

No, it's because during my life I have learned that "talk is cheap" and doing the right thing is always the hard part.

We have seen the congress year after year promising to balance the budget, or do this or that sometime in the future, (like repealing Obamacare) but never quite getting around to actually doing it.

Only when someone does something that actually hurts them do I take them seriously. Anyone can talk, and people often substitute talk for action.

Such was the case with all the Northern states that passed laws declaring that they would abolish slavery at some point in the future.

Let me know when you've actually done it, and stop telling me you are gonna do it sometime in the future.