I'm going to throw this in as a bonus. The Empire had its chance to abolish slavery here in the colonies, knowing full well that abolition was what we desired. We were putting the bills on their desks. They knew. They chose to do the opposite. Britain willingly chose to veto our abolitionist bills after giving themselves abolition.
Benjamin Franklin called out the Empire for its blatant hypocrisy, and we have this letter from Franklin as a reminder forever that on slavery America was correct and the Empire was wrong.
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3940983/posts
The Sommersett Case and the Slave Trade1 - Printed in The London Chronicle, June 18–20, 1772It is said that some generous humane persons subscribed to the expence of obtaining liberty by law for Somerset the Negro.2 It is to be wished that the same humanity may extend itself among numbers; if not to the procuring liberty for those that remain in our Colonies, at least to obtain a law for abolishing the African commerce in Slaves, and declaring the children of present Slaves free after they become of age.
By a late computation made in America, it appears that there are now eight hundred and fifty thousand Negroes in the English Islands and Colonies; and that the yearly importation is about one hundred thousand, of which number about one third perish by the gaol distemper on the passage, and in the sickness called the seasoning before they are set to labour. The remnant makes up the deficiencies continually occurring among the main body of those unhappy people, through the distempers occasioned by excessive labour, bad nourishment, uncomfortable accommodation, and broken spirits.3 Can sweetening our tea, &c. with sugar, be a circumstance of such absolute necessity? Can the petty pleasure thence arising to the taste, compensate for so much misery produced among our fellow creatures, and such a constant butchery of the human species by this pestilential detestable traffic in the bodies and souls of men? Pharisaical Britain! to pride thyself in setting free a single Slave that happens to land on thy coasts, while thy Merchants in all thy ports are encouraged by thy laws to continue a commerce whereby so many hundreds of thousands are dragged into a slavery that can scarce be said to end with their lives, since it is entailed on their posterity!
Our guys, Americans, were the good guys. The Empire screwed up. Benjamin Franklin is correct here as he usually was. This case was blatant and utter hypocrisy. They knew what we wanted and what we wanted was what they gave to themselves while they kept it all to themselves.
Britain could have abolished slavery totally in 1772 instead of only at home. Why did they choose not to?
“knowing full well that abolition was what we desired”
Only true to a certain point. If they really wanted abolition, then they could have written it into the Articles of Confederation. They did not. Though the Congress under those articles did forbid slavery in the North West Territory.
They could have abolished slavery in the Constitution of the United States, but had to compromise with those states that wanted the institution made legal in the new Constitution.
They even refused to use the term slave in the new Constitution, referring to them as 3/5s of all other persons, or persons held to service or labor. At least the Confederate Constitution called a spade a spade, they were not ashamed to call it negro slavery.
As a Nation, we passed on the opportunity to outlaw slavery after our Independence from the British Crown.
Several states took that action, by 1808 slavery was illegal in the States north of the Mason Dixon line except Delaware. But these laws used gradual emancipation rather than grant out right freedom.
The last of New York slaves were not freed by legislation until 1827.
In Pennsylvania the last slaves were not freed until 1843.
In New Jersey, there were still two “apprentices for life” in 1860 slave census
Delaware, never freed their slave population. They didn’t even ratify the XIII Amendment. Slavery ended there with the adoption of the XIII Amendment.