The Paradox of Slavery and Freedom

Towards the end of Morgan's "Slavery and Freedom" article, the author writes:
"Thus began the American paradox of slavery and freedom, intertwined and interdependent, the rights of Englishmen supported on the wrongs of Africans.  The American Revolution only made the contradictions more glaring, as the slaveholding colonists proclaimed to a candid world the rights not simply of Englishmen but of all men.  To explain the origin of the contradictions, if the explanation I have suggested is valid, does not eliminate them or make them less ugly.  But it may enable us to understand a little better the strength of the ties that bound freedom to slavery, even in so noble a mind as Jefferson's.  And it may perhaps make us wonder about the ties that bind more devious tyrannies to our own freedoms and give us still today our own American paradox."
     The way the author ends this -- that we still have an American paradox today really highlighted for me the fact that without a government, this paradox probably would not exist.  Furthermore, the only reason that we still have liberty is that the government is strong enough to protect the interests of the people, and the people are strong enough and well informed enough to maintain control over themselves even without the government.  It is sometime said that opposites attract -- that one thing cannot exist without the other.  When applying this to America,  freedom cannot exist without slavery.  If we had not have had slavery as a part of our history we would not have learned its impact on our culture.  We would not appreciate the freedom we have now as much as we do.  The freedom that Americans get to take part in now would not have happened without wars and protests for freedom.  On the other hand, each American is a slave in his or her own way....we obey the government for the most part...we are governed under these laws that make us "slaves" to our government.  But this is a paradox because we also gain freedom from our government.  Without our leaders and soldiers to protect us, our freedom would be lost.  So Morgan  is right -- part of being an American is living with paradoxes -- and one of these paradoxes is between freedom and slavery, all the way from our history until present day today.