What Is The Earliest Slavery Could Be Abolished In The USA?

With a POD sometime after the end of the American Revolution, what is the earliest that slavery could be abolished in America, and is it possible to do so, withour starting a civil war?
 
The practice was starting to slide nation-wide before the cotton gin was invented. It would have to be abolished before King Cotton came around. Afterwards... slaveholders weren't so eager about manumission.
 
As already mentioned Slavery was on the way out prior to the invention of the cotton gin as the process was more costly then profitable. If you can prevent the invention or simply delay it enough then slavery will become unprofitable and you can expect slavery to end by the 1840's at the latest I'd wager.
 
When I was writing my Senior Thesis, I came across some research on Hamilton that pointed to him believing that the only legititmate way to end slavery was to buy them and then free them. Obviously the org. big enough to do it would be the fed. govt. It was this researchers contention that Hamilton was working on a plan to do it. I unfortunately am unable to remember his name (I think his last name was Chu). I am in the category of believing that you would need to buy the slaves in order to end the practice. Simply manumitting them or setting a date and anyone born on the date or after is free; probably wouldn't work. Remember the Constitution was founded on the idea of Life, Liberty and Property. Hamilton and most constitutional men of the time believed the right to property of all kinds (including the human kind) was enshrined in the constitution. If you want to end slavery without a war, rebellion, secession or any sort of armed conflict; you need to find a way to end it which doesn't restrict the right of property.

I am writing a TL (see sig) where exactly this happens. I haven't posted the update for that section yet but it is in the works.
 
I can think of a couple of problems that the Feds buying the slaves' freedom can cause. 1) It does nothing to eliminate the demand. Hey, the Feds are paying big bucks for slaves, then why not go to Africa and bring some more over to sell to them. 2) It is going to be seen by the poor and middle class whites as similar to tax relief for the rich is seen today. Of course, early enough on when only land owners could vote, this might not be a big problem for politicians and their reelection campaigns.

It would be more effective to simply kill King Cotton, or at least delay his rise to power long enough for the slave holders to give up their chattel.
 
Kiat I never said it was right or if it would be effective; but you have to deal with the property issue. Hamilton, IIR the research correctly, believed that if you were going to outlaw a particular kind of property you needed to provide a monetary solution.
 
Ah well if you're outlawing slavery at the same time rather than just buying up slaves then that's really more compensation that anything, which is what I was going to suggest similar to the UK's Slavery Abolition Act 1833.

Out of interest how profitable after the civil war was it to use freed blacks as opposed to slaves on the plantations? I know large customers such as Great Britain moved over to production in alternate countries like Egypt and India but if you got rid of that would it still have been profitable for the South to use free labour?
 
the 1790s-1800s in this time the New England and Mid-Atlantic states outlawed slavery and the slave trade in every state during that time, if the cotton boom doesn't happen or is held off for 10 years, there is no slavery in the US or every state is fazing it out
 
There was a proposal that Jefferson made which would have banned slavery from all the new states. It would probably have to make compromises for places like Alabama and Mississippi due to how relatively easy it is to grow cotton there.
 
There was a proposal that Jefferson made which would have banned slavery from all the new states. It would probably have to make compromises for places like Alabama and Mississippi due to how relatively easy it is to grow cotton there.

Didn't it only fail by like one vote?:(:mad:

THat would have certainly butterflied away the Civil War, IMO. Why get all hot and bothered over a limited and dying institution? (I know evilness and all, but it would greatly lessen tensions).

WIth Southern knowledge that it is only a matter of time until slave states will be outnumbered, and then outvoted, I would think they would be more open to various possible restrictions.

Still, might delay the actually end of an increasingly smaller and isolated slavery.

Raises the likely hood that they would investigate differant responses. Embrace industry? Plan for sharecropping? Immigrate to Central American to set up rival plantation system outside US?
 

Dragozord

Banned
You could conciveably end slavery at the birth of the Republic. If Oglethorpe (The Founder and first Governor of what is now known as Georiga) were to have been totally won over to the cause of the revolution.
 
If attempted during the 18th century, the nation would have been divided. The had a large fight over ending the slave TRADE, with the affected nations threatening to leave the Union if it were immediate. Then you have the expansion of slavery, the cotton gin, etc.

All in all, it is likely that the 1880's would have been our best bet. It would not have been a matter of the institution dying out, but international relations and the way it is looked upon by the populace. Strength would have grown greatly in the border states and likely have grown significant in the Upper South; the Deep South would be the holdout. Even then, it would not be the immediate freedom we gave them. The government would have to compensate the master of every slave (though hopefully the price would be set by the government rather than every individual state) before they are allowed their basic rights.

And despite all of this, we still would have developed some form of the Jim Crow laws. African American political and social rights would be suppressed, often by the very people who sought to have them freed.
 
All in all, it is likely that the 1880's would have been our best bet.
Given that the OP says 'is it possible to do so, without starting a civil war?' not 'Without a civil war', that seems an odd 'earliest date of abolishment of slavery', given that it obviously can't be the earliest possible abolishment of slavery in the USA, what with it happening earlier in OTL.
 
well I believe that that Constitution was limited in being able to do anything about slavery until 1808. in order for it to get passed that's probably not going to be able to be changed much. however the gin was invented in 1793 so if he's injured or killed in 1793 on his way to South Carolina or goes there to tutor instead of going to Georgia then the Gin isn't invented

then in 1809 a law is passed that slowly phases out slavery and bans the importation of new slaves as slavery is seen as a dieing institution.

as the War of 1812 approaches and more and more New Englander's are pressed into service with the British Navy, many blacks go to port cities looking for work. (in OTL many escaped slaves and free blacks went to work in the Whaling industry) the influx of more sailors may push the British to either impress more Americans or it lessens the impact it has on American Shipping.

As the US Navy starts to expand when the War of 1812 starts, experienced Sailors are needed and since many former slaves are now free and working in merchant shipping, the Navy allows blacks to join, starting Integration...though Army and Marines don't allow blacks to join for several decades.
 
Whe need a POD that keeps Georgia as a Free State post 1754. [Lord Orglethorp remains involved. and the Board of trustee can't muster the votes to change the Law.]

The NW ordinance provision to ban Slavery in the territories passes. [Failed OTL by 1 vote.] [ITTL free Georgia]
The 1803 lousina territory bill contains a anti Slavery clause, as does the 1820 Florida Territory Bill.
1820's Virginia passes a emancipation Bill, leaving only the Carolinas, as the only remaining slave states.

in the 1830's the Carolinas bow to the inevitable and pass emancipation bills.
 
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