Final answer:
Slavery was a national institution in the British American colonies by the late eighteenth century, fundamental to both northern and southern economies and integral to the wealth and political power of the colonial ruling class. It was not only a southern institution but was also present in the northern colonies. The labor of enslaved Africans was crucial to the colonies' prosperity and the institution of slavery shaped the rhetoric around liberty and freedom during the American Revolution.
Step-by-step explanation:
Slavery was an institution that permeated all the British American colonies, not just a southern phenomenon. By the late eighteenth century, racial slavery had become deeply embedded in the economy and legal systems of colonies from New England to Georgia. The labor of Africans and African-Americans was pivotal in producing immense wealth for white plantation owners, leading to an economic and political aristocracy. This, in turn, influenced the colonial rhetoric of liberty and freedom during the American Revolution.
In 1760, it is estimated that there were approximately 350,000 enslaved blacks in the colonies, with a significant number in the northern colonies such as New York and New Jersey, alongside the more recognizable large populations in Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina, and Georgia. The institution of slavery was intertwined with various sectors of the economy beyond agriculture, including merchants, shipbuilders, and urban labor, making it a national rather than a regional institution.
In the middle colonies, slavery differed from the other colonies; a larger percentage of the population owned slaves, mostly for domestic work and skilled labor, suggesting a view of slavery as a labor arrangement among others, despite its critical role in the regional economy. The unique character of New World slavery, with its racial underpinnings and permanent hereditary status, had profound impacts on its perpetuation and the formation of American society.