George Washington, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison on Slavery

George Washington, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison on Slavery – Reprinted from The U.S. Constitution, A Reader, Published by Hillsdale College

Classics that Inspired the Constitution, Daily Reading 2013, George Washington, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison on Slavery, The Original Documents 4. The Classics that Inspired the Constitution, George Washington, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison on Slavery

None of the leading Founders ever declared slavery to be a just or beneficial institution. In fact, they hoped to see the slave trade eradicated, and eventually the entire institution of slavery made illegal.

George Washington
Letter to Robert Morris ¹April 12, 1786

“…[T]here is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do, to see a plan adopted for the abolition of it….” Read more

April 12, 2013/0 Comments/by Janine Turner and Cathy Gillespie