The date 1775 for Somersett’s Case is incorrect: it was 1772.
An argument that protecting slavery was one motivation for the Revolution in Virginia receives substantial support from Woody Holton’s FORCED FOUNDERS. Tying it so closely to Somersett seems dubious to me. In fact, the entire enterprise does, in light of the long-standing dispute between Virginia and the mother country by 1775 (or 1772).
