How many founding fathers were slave owners

Before we judge too harshly, we must understand that slavery was established long before the Revolutionary War. For centuries, slavery had been a growing part of the economy world-wide, not just in the Colonies.

Our Founding Fathers were born into a world whose economy relied on slave labor — from cotton, tobacco, and sugar cane plantations even to local businesses.

Some believe that since slavery was so commonplace, growing a conscience about it might easily not have happened at all. They suggest that the fact that they opposed slavery at all is incredibly radical for their time. By the quotes, letters, and documents they left behind, it is clear that most of our founding fathers wished to see slavery ended, though they did not believe it possible for it to happen in their lifetimes.

Some of them, most notably Benjamin Franklin , Alexander Hamilton , and John Jay , were very supportive of the rapidly growing abolitionist movement. The year he died, he signed a petition for the abolition of all slavery. He died before he got to see it become a reality. John Jay, as governor of New York, made numerous efforts to push anti-slavery laws.

Alexander Hamilton grew up in the Caribbean islands. The majority of the sugar imported to the Colonies were exported from those islands and were maintained by rented out slaves. Almost everyone, no matter how poor, had several slaves that either worked for their masters or were rented out to make extra money for their masters. Hamilton grew up with a deep rooted hatred of the slave trade that fueled his work as an avid supporter of the abolitionists his entire life. The indispensable man of the Revolution, George Washington owned hundreds of slaves, but during the Revolutionary War, he began to change his views.

Men like Marquis de Lafayette and John Laurens who adamantly opposed the institution urged Washington to work towards the abolition of slavery. Perhaps the most scrutinized of the Founding Fathers with respect to slavery was Thomas Jefferson. He also may have fathered children with one of his slaves, Sally Hemings. Despite this, he still wrote how he believed slavery to be a political and moral evil and how he wished to have the institution abolished. Justice is in one scale, and self-preservation in the other.

When he died in , his estate was in so much debt that his slaves were sold off to the highest bidder. The institution of slavery contributed to the economic, political, and social divide between the North and South. The rise of militant abolitionism in the North provoked heated debates as to the future of the institution of slavery and who had the power to determine its future. Ultimately, these unfinished debates helped lead to the fratricidal Civil War in Rev War Article.

The Founding Fathers Views of Slavery. By Mark Maloy. Library of Congress. Portrait of Thomas Jefferson by Rembrandt Peale in Related Articles. The former commanding general of the Union Army had kept a lone Black enslaved man named William Jones in the years before the Civil War , but gave him his freedom in But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you.

Live TV. This Day In History. History Vault. Recommended for you.