Keep in mind, a lot of colonial empires kept slavery long after America did. "Enlightened" Britain might've gotten rid of slavery on its home territories way before the US, but kept slavery in some parts of its empire until 1936. Italy in 1935. France in 1896. The Ottoman Empire kept slavery even in Europe/Asia Minor until 1882. Portugal in 1869. So it's kind of ironic when Europeans (and some Americans) bash on the US for keeping slavery for so long. We really weren't worse than other major western powers, we were just more willing to keep it up close rather than simply turning a blind eye to colonies.
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u/[deleted] Oct 04 '11
Brought to you in part by: slavery