Final answer:
Around one-quarter of the American population owned slaves during the American Revolution. Slave ownership was spread across northern and southern colonies, influencing the economy and society.
Step-by-step explanation:
During the time of the American Revolution, slavery was a national institution, not merely a Southern one. Although exact numbers can be difficult to ascertain, historical records indicate that about one-quarter of the population owned slaves. This indicates that a significant portion of American society at the time, which included individuals from both the North and the South, was involved in the ownership of enslaved people. As of 1760, around 350,000 Africans were enslaved in the colonies. The distribution included approximately 145,000 in Virginia and Maryland, and 40,000 in South Carolina and Georgia, with others in northern colonies like New York and New Jersey. The presence of slavery helped bolster the emerging American economy significantly, with slaveholders finding it to be the most effective form of labor. In addition to those who owned slaves directly, many other Americans, such as merchants and shipbuilders, profited from the wider business of the international slave trade.