[Corin Stormhands]

They were incredibly valuable and the South wouldn't give them up without a fight.

And, while we all admit it was morally wrong, the slaves were their property, legally bought and sold. Of course it was an horrid institution.

Hey, I'm fully willing to admit that slavery was an important issue. It wasn't the only one.

Tell me. Are you willing to have someone march in and destroy your entire way of life without offering any solution for change? Just end slavery. Turn em all out in the streets with no education and nowhere to go.

Where were they going? Was the North welcoming them with open arms? Don't be absurd.

The South may have treated the slaves as property. But they saw them fed, clothed and housed. The North didn't want them to be property.

They just didn't want them.

[The Person]

I appreciate your reasoned response.

One should end slavery as soon as possible. Would a phase-out have worked better? It was sort of tried by the Constitution restricting importation after a particular date. It didn't work to phase it out.

Yes, it should have ended ASAP. Lots of people died the way it worked out, including tens of thousands of former slaves murdered in the South during Reconstruction. Obviously, the North's attitude toward former slaves was better, but not good.

[weikel]

People are not legitimate property unless enslaved for crimes or via provisions in a contract( such as a loan where somebody puts themselves up for collateral) in no case is it legitimate for someone to be born into slavery.