"I would never have drawn my sword in the cause of America, if I could have conceived that thereby I was founding a land of slavery." — Marquis de Lafayette, French military leader who was instrumental in enlisting French support for the colonists in the American War of Independence.
Historians have long grappled with the contradiction of a revolution under the banner of "all men are created equal" being largely led by slave owners. Once free of England, the U.S. grew over the next 89 years to be the largest slave-owning republic in history.