8.H.2.1 - Explain the impact of economic, political, social, and military conflicts on the development of North Carolina and the United States.

8.H.2.3 - Summarize the role of debate, compromise, and negotiation during significant periods in the history of North Carolina and the United States.

I Standard 1.6 Construct claims and counterclaims using evidence while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both based on multiple sources.

So far, the issue of Slavery in the United States has been ignored by Government. Since the Founding Fathers declared independence from England, the mere mention of slavery has been left out of important documents. Slavery was seen as a necessary evil. Cheap labor for economic gain. Slaves had been considered property, & the number of slave one owned as a symbol of status. Many of our Founding Fathers were Slave owners. The concept of slavery went against the core American Revolutionary ideal of liberty. However, they too knew that this would be a topic that would need to be addressed. They chose to protect private property rights & principles of limited government. To not alienate the South (Many of whom footed the bill for the Revolution) prevented them from making a bold move against slavery. This left the issue to be determine by future generations.

A big part of the States Rights Argument is the ability to govern the selves and to own slaves.