How can I edit this sentence to make the tone more conversational? "Never before has the black race of central Africa from the dawn of history to...

This statement is taken from an 1837 speech by John C. Calhoun. Calhoun was a Democratic United States politician from South Carolina. He served in a variety of capacities in the US government, such as representative, senator, and secretary of state. He also served as the vice-president under both John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson. Although Calhoun died before the start of the Civil War, he was a huge proponent of succession and slavery.

Calhoun vehemently opposed the abolition movement, which desired both to stop the spread of slavery and to free existing slaves. This speech by Calhoun argues that slavery is a “positive good.” In this particular statement, Calhoun argues that Africans taken as slaves are better off than they ever were at any point in their history. Calhoun states that slavery has made them civilized. He also states that the institution of slavery has improved their moral and their physical condition. Calhoun implies that Africans have experienced improvement due to their enslavement that they otherwise would not have experienced.