[DiogenesLamp]

Slavery was a major issue at the 1787 Constitutional Convention, but both sides were willing to compromise because they all agreed that slavery was wrong and should be gradually abolished.

How many slave states were there in 1787? Wasn't it everyone but Massachusetts? (Massachusetts used judicial activism and a "living constitution" to abolish slavery by a legal trick.)

So 12 slave states in 1787?

[BroJoeK]

DiogenesLamp: "How many slave states were there in 1787? Wasn't it everyone but Massachusetts? (Massachusetts used judicial activism and a "living constitution" to abolish slavery by a legal trick.)
So 12 slave states in 1787?"

Here is the timeline of US abolition laws passed, with black populations in 1790:

1. 1777 Vermont -- 0 slaves, 269 freed blacks in 1790 = 100% freed.
2. 1780 Pennsylvania -- ~3,000 slaves, 6,500 freed blacks in 1790 = ~2/3 freed.
3. 1783 Massachusetts -- 0 slaves, 5,400 freed blacks = 100% freed.
4. 1783 New Hampshire -- 8 slaves, 630 freed = 99% freed
5. 1785 Connecticut -- 2,650 slaves, 2,800 freed = ~1/2 freed.
6. 1785 Rhode Island -- 960 slaves, 3,500 freed = 80% freed.
7. 1787 Northwest Territories -- Ohio admitted in 1803 with zero slaves = 100% freed
8. 1794 First Slave Trade Act abolishing international imports or exports of slaves. Others in 1800 and 1808.
9. 1799 New York -- 21,193 slaves, 4,622 freed = ~20% freed.
10. 1804 New Jersey -- 11,422 slaves, 2,760 freed in 1790 = 20% freed.
11. 1820-Compromise outlaws slavery in Territories north of 36^o 30', except Missouri.

In 1790 Northern slave populations were declining roughly 3% per year, while freed black populations grew about 3% per year.
In Southern states, slave populations were growing at 3% per year, while freed black populations averaged ~4% growth per year.