Blacks fought with whites in the American War for Independence against England. In fact, without the aid of these black soldiers, one wonders if the Americans would have won the war. These blacks were never considered equal to whites but a great number died for a country that looked upon them as being inferior and unworthy of total freedom. After the American War for Independence, many whites in the North felt guilty about holding slaves. A vast number of blacks were freed as a humane gesture. Blacks were also freed because slavery as an economic institution in the North was dead and industrialization was steadily taking its place. These blacks were semi-free because they did not really enjoy the same rights or privileges as whites did.