ABSTRACT
One of the most interesting developments of political theory in the United States is that which arose out of the controversy over slavery in the years between 1830 and i860. During the period of the Revolution and the early days of the Republic the general sentiment was unfriendly to slavery. 1 The existence of the custom was lamented by such men as Washington, Jefferson, Monroe, and Adams. There was general regret that the institution had ever been planted in America, and it was hoped that it would in time be abandoned. In the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 the anti-slavery principle was recognized, and later in the abolition of the slave trade. Slavery was gradually abolished in the Northern states, and the Colonization Society represented the desire to put an end to it in the South. No effort was made to defend the institution or to present it as an ideal basis for 204the political and economic structure of a society. At best, slavery was regarded as a necessary evil.
