Interestingly, the British took advantage of American unwillingness to address the slavery issue, offering black recruits to British colonial forces the opportunity of freedom in exchange for military service. After the British surrender of Yorktown, many of the black soldiers emigrated to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, establishing an African-American presence in what would become Canada.
In addition, there were white indentured servants from Britain and Ireland. Their servitude was caused by failure to pay debt or punishment for crimes, often misdemeanors. Their term of indenture was less than the life sentence imposed on their African descended co-workers. However, their economic value to plantation owners was less than that of the blacks. As a result, white indentured servants were at times more abused than were black slaves.
Had the Founding Fathers in both the middle and Southern colonies (Madison, Jefferson, and Washington included) been farsighted enough to see beyond their personal financial interests, slavery would have been eliminated by the Articles of Confederation or the Constitution. With the development of the cotton gin in the 1790s and the opening of new territory suitable for cotton cultivation, from Alabama to Texas, as a result of American expansion, black slavery became firmly embedded in the Southern economy. At that point, only a war could end it (although Lincoln would have tolerated the continuation of slavery where it existed provided the Southern states rejoined the Union).
Excellent post of the history behind slavery from the colonial days onward, Wallace T., thanks. Y'all go read Post 148 if you missed it.
Those who have been born since the end of apartheid in this country cannot imagine how utterly shameful the behavior of whites towards blacks was. It was utterly wrong, and MLK was martyred for his moral stand against it; but the tide he began could not be turned back.
That said, our legal system has been harmed by an overkill of legislation from the bench, a phenomenon that became entrenched in the Civil Rights dilemma. Had the Founders eliminated slavery from the beginning, we might still have our republic today, instead of this semi-socialist oligarchy. Hopefully, we can push back without harming the fate of persons of color.