How many of our presidents owned slaves?
-—snip-—
GEORGE WASHINGTON (between 250-350 slaves)
- THOMAS JEFFERSON (about 200)
- JAMES MADISON (more than 100)
- JAMES MONROE (about 75)
- ANDREW JACKSON (fewer than 200)
- Martin Van Buren (one)
- William Henry Harrison (eleven)
- JOHN TYLER (about 70)
- JAMES POLK (about 25)
- ZACHARY TAYLOR (fewer than 150)
- Andrew Johnson (probably eight)
- Ulysses S. Grant (probably five)
It’s a commonplace that Abraham Lincoln never trafficked in slaves, much less owned them – indeed, he “freed the slaves.” But here’s the shocker: Although the slave trade had been abolished in the District of Columbia in 1850, slaves inhabited the capital for another 15 years – till the end of the Civil War. Dwell on that thought: Lincoln fought the Civil War in a slave city – the Great Emancipator inhabited a White House staffed by slaves.
-—snip-—
One final point. Most historians argue that the biggest challenge the founders failed to confront was the existence of slavery on American soil. Our earliest presidents struggled to find solutions. The most radical proposal in the early days of the republic was to ship slaves and other blacks back to Africa. Jefferson was keen on the idea, believing that blacks would eventually have to be removed from the U.S. or else whites would live in perpetual dread that the slaves would rise up in rebellion. Such fears prompted a later president, James Monroe, to support the creation of the American Colonization Society (founded 1816-1817).
The Society was not just well-intentioned. It raised money, acquired lands in what is present-day Liberia, and supported passage of emancipated slaves, former indentured servants, and free blacks across the Atlantic to the west coast of Africa. The Society named the major settlement in the colony Monrovia in honor of our nation’s fifth president.
http://hauensteincenter.org/slaveholding/
Obama owns about 122 million slaves (current estimate of full-time employee Americans).
They were born into a world with many evils different than we face today. They improved some and not others. But the efforts to ban slavery were there for a long time before they were successful. There are many heroes. John Quincy Adams, for example, even though he did not succeed. We can’t really rightly judge those people without waling in their shoes. They knew no other world. The practice had been common around the world from the beginning of time and every race had its tern at both roles.
Prior to the Civil War slavery had been banned in many states.
Since the colony of Connecticut imported and used Irish slaves in the 17th century, should we pull down all the memorials to Congregationalists (who ran the state and forbade Catholics to vote or own land) and dismantle all their old churches in Connecticut?
There is no proof Grant ever owned more than one slave, who he freed in 1859, at a time when his family was in severe financial difficulty.
Julia Grant may have owned several slaves, or they may have belonged to her father, who lent them to her.
Another interesting aspect is that southern slaveholders could come north and reclaim slaves for a finders fee. I don't know that all states allowed it, but at least some did. OH was one that did. So, should we take down the flags of all states that allowed this practice?
This is one reason why Cleveland has such a large, long-established black community. Slaves would follow the Cuyahoga River freedom trail, hiding, with the goal of reaching Canada. They'd get as far as Cleveland, but not have the means to cross Lake Erie to get to Canada.
This whole thing about removing any remnants of our history is deeply disturbing. First of all, because diverting attention to the Confederate flag took away a moment when US citizens were coming together in grief and outrage. Secondly, this is what is done when an entity wants to take over the hearts and minds of the people and destroy their freedoms....it erases all reference to their historic and cultural heritage.