Why did the ideals of liberty and equality conflict with slavery after the American Revolution?

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American Revolution *The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis* (at Yorktown, Virginia, on October 19, 1781), oil on canvas by John Trumbull, completed in 1820; in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, Washington, D.C. The painting captures the moment when major fighting during the American Revolution ended and the colonies achieved independence.

The conflict between the American Revolutionary ideals of liberty and equality and the reality of slavery arose because the Founding Fathers prioritized national unity, private property rights, and limited government over the immediate abolition of the institution.1

While many Founders acknowledged that slavery violated the core principles of the American Revolution, they were constrained by several factors:

Economic and Political Interests: Southern Founders were deeply invested in slave-based agriculture. To maintain sectional harmony and secure the Constitution, they negotiated compromises, such as the three-fifths compromise, which granted slaveholding states increased political power in the House of Representatives.1
Racial Prejudice: Deep-seated racial prejudices led many, including Thomas Jefferson, to fear that emancipation would degrade the republic or lead to violence, causing them to reject the possibility of a biracial free society.1
Limited Federal Authority: Consistent with their belief in limited government, the Founders generally avoided granting the federal government the power to interfere with the institution of slavery within the states.1

Ultimately, while Northern states moved toward gradual abolition, the Founders left an ambiguous legacy that permitted the expansion of slavery in the South and Southwest.1