Debate and delay on slavery most clearly show which structural limit of the Revolution?

Correct answer: Political ideals were limited by colonial economic interests

The direct answer is A: political ideals were limited by colonial economic interests. Start with the central idea. The Revolution used powerful words such as liberty and equality. Yet France and other European groups had economic interests in colonial plantations, where enslaved labour produced profitable goods. Step by step: revolutionary thinkers declared liberty; slavery contradicted liberty; plantation wealth encouraged powerful groups to resist immediate abolition; debate and delay therefore revealed a structural limit, meaning a problem built into the political and economic system. A is correct because it explains why noble ideals did not immediately become reality everywhere. B is wrong because the Revolution did have important liberty ideals. C is false because slave labour existed extensively in the colonies. D is false because enslaved people did not immediately receive political power. The exam lesson is that a revolution may proclaim universal principles while economic interests restrict their application. The supplied answer is accurate.