Could we have ended slavery in the late 18th century? We know that will happen and it will cost the lives of over 600,000 people. There will be about 15 million African Americans who live and die in slavery during that 60 to 70 year period. I do not know how we could have changed the way. On a purely economic side it was a soluble problem. But it is a tragedy and a struggle with it.
Joseph Ellis, of Mt. Holyoke College and author of American Creation, talks about the triumphs and tragedies of the founding of the United States. His goal in the book and in this podcast is to tell a story for grownups rather than for children, where the Founders are neither saints nor evil white, patriarchal slave-holding demons. It is a nuanced story of triumph--a military victory over a seemingly unbeatable vastly more experienced army, the creation of the first geographically large republic, a nation without a state religion, a nation that creates a party system with a loyal opposition, a Constitution with the virtues of ambiguous sovereignty, and tragedy--the failure to resolve the slavery issue, and the tragic conflict with the Native Americans. Some of these outcomes were intended by the Founders, others emerged unintended.