Final answer:
During the Revolutionary War, Americans struggled to reconcile the rhetoric of liberty with the existence of slavery. African-Americans fought for their freedom, while some Americans in the North embraced emancipation. However, slavery persisted in the South despite the revolutionary ideals.
Step-by-step explanation:
During the time of the Revolutionary War, many Americans grappled with the contradiction between the rhetoric of liberty and the widespread system of slavery. African-Americans used the language of natural rights and liberty to demand their freedom from slavery and fought on both sides of the war in the hopes of securing their freedom. Some Americans, especially in the North, embraced emancipation and worked to end slavery within their borders, while others in the South resisted the shift towards statewide emancipation.