Jonah Patel
The United States Constitution, which was signed by the Founding Fathers, has had a complex and controversial relationship with slavery. While some Founding Fathers, such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, owned numerous slaves, others, like Benjamin Franklin, owned just a few. Despite expressing a desire for the gradual abolition of slavery, the Founding Fathers failed to address the issue in the Constitution, prioritizing the support of southern delegates for a strong central government. This compromise temporarily strengthened slavery, but it also established a central government with the power to eventually abolish the institution. The Constitution included provisions such as the Three-Fifths Compromise and the fugitive slave clause, which had significant implications for slavery and the nation's history.
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What You'll Learn
- George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison were slave-owning Founding Fathers
- Benjamin Franklin was a former slaveholder who became an abolitionist
- Alexander Hamilton was born into slavery and later became an abolitionist
- Luther Martin of Maryland was a slaveholder who supported federal regulation of the slave trade
- George Mason, a Virginia delegate who owned hundreds of slaves, spoke out against slavery
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison were slave-owning Founding Fathers
The Founding Fathers of the United States are the signers of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, or otherwise played a key role in the nation's formation. Of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention, about 25 owned slaves. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison were three of the most prominent Founding Fathers who owned slaves.
George Washington, the first President of the United States, was a slave owner for 56 years. He inherited his first slaves at the age of 11 when his father passed away in 1743. Washington purchased several more slaves throughout his life, including a carpenter named Kitt. In total, he owned about 123 slaves, with another 153 enslaved people owned by the Custis estate, which Washington gained control over when he married Martha Dandridge Custis in 1759. Washington struggled with the institution of slavery and wrote of his desire to end the practice. In his 1799 will, he stipulated that all the enslaved people he owned would be freed, and that elderly or sick slaves would be supported by his estate in perpetuity.
Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, enslaved over 600 people throughout his life. About 400 people were enslaved at Monticello, with another 200 held on his other properties. Jefferson wrote that slavery was evil, yet he only freed two people during his lifetime. He sold more than 110 slaves, including chronic runaways, and "gifted" 85 people to family members. Jefferson's views on race were influenced by the racist ideas of European Enlightenment philosophers, and he rationalized his ownership of slaves through paternalistic racism, claiming that freeing them would be like "abandoning children".
James Madison, the fourth President of the United States, also held contradictory views on slavery. He argued that slavery was incompatible with Revolutionary principles, yet he owned over 100 slaves on his Virginia plantation and brought slaves to the White House. Madison was born into a wealthy plantation family and inherited his slaves from his father. Despite his antislavery thinking, he failed to act on these views when he had the opportunity to influence policy as President. Instead, he sold slaves for personal profit.
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Benjamin Franklin was a former slaveholder who became an abolitionist
Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and the only person to have signed the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Alliance with France, the Treaty of Paris, and the Constitution. He was also a slaveholder and beneficiary of the slave trade. The Franklin household owned slaves as early as 1735, and Franklin himself owned slaves until 1781 or the late 1750s, according to different sources. He also ran "for sale" ads for slaves and published notices of runaways in his newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette.
However, Franklin's views on slavery evolved over time. By the 1780s, he had become a vocal abolitionist, condemning slavery and urging Congress to act. He is known to have published numerous Quaker pamphlets against slavery and expressed similar sentiments in his private correspondence. In 1787, he helped write a new constitution for the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, and that same year, he became the President of the organization. In 1789, he wrote and published several essays supporting the abolition of slavery.
Franklin's last public act was to send a petition to Congress on behalf of the Society, asking for the abolition of slavery and an end to the slave trade. The petition, signed on February 3, 1790, appealed to Congress to "devise means for removing the Inconsistency from the Character of the American People" and to "promote mercy and justice toward this distressed Race." Unfortunately, Franklin did not live to see the outcome of his efforts, as he passed away just two months after signing the petition, at the age of 84.
In conclusion, Benjamin Franklin's journey from a slaveholder to an abolitionist demonstrates the complexity of his character and his willingness to challenge his own beliefs. Despite his initial complicity in the slave trade, he ultimately recognized the inhumane nature of slavery and dedicated his later years to advocating for the freedom and dignity of enslaved people.
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Alexander Hamilton was born into slavery and later became an abolitionist
The life of Alexander Hamilton was entwined with slavery from the moment he was born out of wedlock near a Caribbean waterfront frequented by ships transporting enslaved Africans. Growing up on the island of Nevis, Hamilton walked past slave auction blocks and witnessed the cruelty of slavery firsthand. Hamilton's humble beginnings and subsequent desire to climb the social ladder influenced his complicated relationship with slavery. While he abhorred slavery and worked to limit it at certain points in his life, he also allowed or used slavery to advance his social and political ambitions.
Hamilton's membership in the New York Manumission Society and the Society for the Promotion of the Manumission of Slaves in New York has led historians to believe that he was an abolitionist. He played an important role in the establishment of the American government and the creation of its economic institutions, including Wall Street and a central bank. Hamilton served as the first Secretary of the Treasury and was a trusted aide to General George Washington during the Revolution. Despite his proximity to Washington, who enslaved more than 100 people, Hamilton was reluctant to broach the topic with the general.
Hamilton's connection to slavery was complex. He often acted as a legal arbiter for others in the transactions of enslaved people, leading some to argue that he was effectively a slave trader. At the same time, Hamilton's biographers praise him for his anti-slavery stance, with some claiming that he never wavered in his abolitionist beliefs. However, others argue that Hamilton's stance on slavery was more nuanced, and he chose his personal ambitions over opposing slavery when the two came into conflict.
While there is no clear consensus on whether Hamilton was born into slavery, his life was undoubtedly influenced by the institution. He grew up surrounded by slavery in the British West Indies, and his experiences shaped his attitudes about race and slavery. Hamilton's legacy regarding slavery remains a subject of debate among historians, with some emphasizing his role as an abolitionist and others highlighting his complicity in the slave trade.
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Luther Martin of Maryland was a slaveholder who supported federal regulation of the slave trade
Luther Martin, a Founding Father of the United States, lawyer, and politician, was a slaveholder who supported federal regulation of the slave trade. Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in 1748, Martin moved to Maryland after receiving his degree and began his career as a teacher. He later studied law and was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1771.
In the lead-up to the American Revolution, Martin served on the Somerset County Committee of Observation, advocating for American independence from Great Britain. He was appointed Attorney General of Maryland in 1778 and vigorously prosecuted Loyalists. In 1787, Martin was elected as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, where he played a significant role in shaping the United States Constitution. However, he left the convention early and did not sign the document due to his concerns about states' rights.
As a slaveholder himself, owning six slaves, Martin's views on slavery were complex and contradictory. While he opposed the inclusion of slaves in determining representation, believing it threatened individual rights, he also denounced slavery as "an odious bargain with sin" and inconsistent with the principles of the American Revolution. In an August 1787 debate, Martin argued that the slave trade was contrary to the country's "republican ideals" and dishonored the American character. He supported federal regulation of the slave trade, stating that slavery "lessens the sense of equal rights of mankind and habituates us to tyranny and oppression."
Martin continued to be an active opponent of the Constitution and a leading Anti-Federalist after the convention. He fought against its ratification, believing that the national government would have too much power over the states and that there would be unequal representation in Congress. Despite his efforts, Maryland became the seventh state to ratify the Constitution in 1788. Martin's complex relationship with slavery and his role as a slaveholder himself reflect the moral contradictions of the Founding Fathers regarding slavery.
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George Mason, a Virginia delegate who owned hundreds of slaves, spoke out against slavery
George Mason, a Virginia delegate and a major Founding Father, inherited his father's large estate at the age of 21. This included thousands of acres of farmland in Virginia and Maryland, thousands of acres of uncleared land in the western country, and about three hundred slaves. Although Mason owned hundreds of slaves, he hated slavery and spoke out against it. He believed that slavery discouraged arts and manufactures and that it corrupted slaveholders. He also believed that slavery threatened the country with divine punishment, stating that "every master of slaves is born a petty tyrant. They bring the judgment of heaven on a country."
Mason was an active delegate at the Virginia Ratification Convention in Richmond on June 2, 1788. He moved that the convention consider the Constitution clause by clause, as he believed this would highlight the defects of the Constitution. However, this tactic gave an advantage to James Madison and young John Marshall, who were Federalists. Mason raised several issues during the debates, including his fear that a federal tax on slaves would disproportionately burden the South. He also opposed any mention of slavery in the Constitution, believing it to be degrading to the document.
Mason's views on slavery were complex and sometimes contradictory. While he opposed the slave trade and is said to have agreed to free his slaves, he also wanted protection for slave property. He supported a proposal to require freed slaves to leave Virginia within a year or be sold at auction. Additionally, he refused to sign the Constitution because it did not abolish slavery or provide for its gradual extinction.
The controversy over the Atlantic slave trade was ultimately settled by compromise. Southern delegates agreed to a 20-year ban on any restrictions on the slave trade in exchange for removing a clause that restricted the national government's power to enact laws requiring goods to be shipped on American vessels. This compromise, along with the fugitive slave clause requiring the return of runaway slaves to their owners, strengthened slavery and laid the foundation for future conflict.
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Frequently asked questions
Many of the Founding Fathers owned slaves, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin.
George Washington owned hundreds of slaves. He inherited them at age 11 after his father died and left him the Virginia family farm, and he bought more as an adult.
Yes, Thomas Jefferson owned hundreds of slaves throughout his life. He also may have fathered children with one of his slaves, Sally Hemings.
Yes, George Washington freed his slaves in his will, the only Founding Father to do so. Benjamin Franklin also became president of the first abolitionist society in the United States.
