[jodrellblank]

The US was historically built on the idea that slavery was fantastic. The colonists rebelled against the UK because the UK was freeing slaves. They fought the civil war over states rights - the rights to own slaves - and proceeded to have the largest prison population on the planet, for-profit prisons with forced manufacturing labour. Along with historic megaprojects like railways and dams which killed a lot of immigrant labourers. And poor employee protection, unions, minimum wages, social safety nets, social health care. And is currently forcing women back to being mothers by blocking alternatives, and lowering the ages children can be sent to work.

The USA doesn't think free enterprise is great, it thinks 'free' enterprise is great for the elite.

> "The US doesn't have a history of oppressive governments"

Unless you're black. Or a woman. Or poor. Or Mexican. Or disabled. Or smoking the wrong plant. Or a criminal. Or prescribed opioids by a doctor bribed by the pharmaceutical reps and it went wrong for you.

[Amezarak]

Much of this comment could sort of be true if you put a really heavy spin on cherry-picked facts and poured some salt on them, but there’s no way to substantiate the claim the US revolted because the UK was freeing slaves.

For example, that’d be hard to square with Thomas Jefferson, in his capacity as governor of Virginia, banning the slave trade (not slavery) and freeing all slaves imported despite the ban two years after the Declaration of Independence- literally during the Revolutionary War. There was always an abolitionist streak in America, driven mostly by the same elements as on the UK and developing at the same time.

[jodrellblank]

> "there’s no way to substantiate the claim the US revolted because the UK was freeing slaves."

Not the only reason, things rarely have a single reason; but there's more than nothing to it. Certainly the OP claiming the USA was built on the spirit of free enterprise when it looks more like it was built on the backs of slaves and downtrodden labourers isn't going to pass unremarked[1]; some quotes from https://history.stackexchange.com/questions/37986/was-the-so...

"He's not 100% wrong that the desire of slaveholders in the States to protect their "property" and the institution itself has been drastically underplayed by Americans in talking about their own history (and really, can you blame them?) For a good historical perspective on this, I highly recommend Slavery and the Founders, by Paul Finkelman."

----

"I think that there were probably a great many factors that led to the American Revolution. Concerns about the growing anti-slavery movement in the UK were undoubtedly among them.

Although it is true that the case of Somerset v Stewart in 1772 was a landmark in the campaign against slavery, I suspect that an earlier case would probably have caused greater alarm to slave-owners in British colonies.

In the case of Shanley v Harvey (1763), the Lord Chancellor, Lord Henley stated " ... as soon as a man sets foot on English ground he is free". He further observed that, in his learned opinion, a negro could take his master to court for cruel treatment. Now, these comments were only obiter dictum, and so not binding on subsequent courts, but they would have caused huge concern to slave owners anywhere in the world who considered themselves to be British subjects."

----

Then Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somerset_v_Stewart#Influence_i...

"The Somerset case was reported in detail by the American colonial press.[citation needed] In Massachusetts, several slaves filed freedom suits in 1773–1774 based on Mansfield's ruling; these were supported by the colony's General Court (for freedom of the slaves), but vetoed by successive Royal governors. As a result,[citation needed] some individuals in pro-slavery and anti-slavery colonies, for opposite reasons, desired a distinct break from English law in order to achieve their goals with regard to slavery.[47]"

[1] yes yes British Empire had slaves, genocides, cruelty, poverty, &c.

[Amezarak]

I’ve personally perused the primary source material: hundreds of newspapers and the letters of revolutionary leaders. There is no sense in which this was a motivating factor for almost anyone. I can’t even recall it mentioned.

I’m also in puzzlement about this alleged American denial of slavery. In US K12 in the South my curriculum and that of everyone I know was: here’s the bad things we did to the Indians, Revolutionary War, here’s the evils of slavery, Civil War, World War II and the Holocaust and we didn’t do enough, then the heroes of the Civil Rights era. This all got harped on for 12 years. Almost nothing else got covered at all. It’s very self flagellating.

[elevation]

> The colonists rebelled against the UK because the UK was freeing slaves

The Declaration of Independence predates legal abolition in England by 30+ years.

Influential US founders knew from the beginning that slavery was a moral blight and worked to permanently undermine it. 20 years after the revolution, congress outlawed the importation of slaves -- an act that was forecast by the constitution itself and which also predated English abolition legislation.