Reply To: Slavery in the Torah?

I will not say who or where, but there was a major Gadol in the 1860s who, in response to a Shaila about fighting in the Union army in the Civil War, said it was Assur because “Vihi K’na’an Eved Lamo” and that you couldn’t free the American slaves. I’m not saying anyone agreed with him; I just want to point out that it’s not Pashut that an Eved K’na’ani doesn’t match up well with American slavery.