Now if you want to look at the slave owner thing in the context of viewing each person as an equal individual it may have contributed to the reluctance of people in granting human rights to the slaves in this country.

What I mean is that her for people to accept Blacks as non slave or free people they had to accept them, as a part of our culture as being equal with the same rights and chance for success as themselves. Given the attitudes of the day you can see why this was very difficult.

On the other hand European nations with their history of stratified society had an easier time as they already had the cultural framework to accept a people into their culture yet not having to change their way of thought towards them as there is a history of European peoples looking upon even their fellow citizens as lessor creatures, and not as high a quality as those at the top.