sentences:  Large numbers of unemployed poor, of whatever color, was a cause for concern in 18th-century America, to the extent that expulsion and foreign resettlement was often part of the discourse on emancipation.A sudden end to slavery would also have caused a significant financial loss to slaveowners whose human property represented a valuable asset.Gradual emancipation was seen as a way of mitigating against such a loss and reducing opposition from those with a financial self-interest in maintaining slavery.