Slavery was deemed immoral by Webster

In Webster's view, white Americans had a duty to put a stop to abolition for the sake of the country's moral and economic well-being. In Connecticut, he played a key role in the foundation of the Hartford Anti-Slavery Society in 1791, which is one of the interesting facts about Noah Webster. He believed freemen were considerably more productive, as they were in his own Connecticut, and found all kinds of slavery repugnant. He was chosen as the Hartford Society's secretary in 1792, where he delivered talks on the subject. Effects of Slavery, on Morals and Industry, was the title of a subsequent publication of the lectures. He believed that liberation should happen gradually.

But by the 1830s, he had rejected the new abolitionist rhetoric emphasizing the sinfulness of those Americans who allowed slavery. Webster warned his daughter Eliza about her ardent abolitionist sympathies in 1837. Webster claimed, "Although it may prove to be a dreadful tragedy for us in the north, slavery is a big sign and a worldwide calamity; nonetheless, it is not our fault. However, we are unable to lawfully sway the South's position." The preachers of abolitionism "deserve the prison," he said, "for coming north to preach and thus to disturb our quiet, although we can legally do nothing to achieve this purpose."