Judging The Founders By The Standards Of Their Day
Why They Don't Get A Pass
One of the constant criticisms I receive when discussing the founders' role in promoting slavery in America is that we can't judge people from the past by today's standards. Yes, they founded a nation built on slavery while barely mentioning the word, but following established norms is the argument. Some go as far as to say they laid the groundwork for eradicating slavery, while in the case of Thomas Jefferson, for example, the opposite is true. The truth is that the founders were not all of one mind, and various views on slavery existed. Even at America's inception, slavery wasn't simply the accepted and unquestioned norm. Some founders knew better, but ultimately they either compromised or were outvoted by those who were reaping the benefits of slavery.
I'll start by discussing some of the founders that illustrated that slavery wasn't simply accepted worldwide and in America when it was a fledgling nation. A dozen years before the United States Constitution went into effect in 1789, John Jay, when helping write the first Constitution for the State of New York, tried to abolish slavery but failed. In 1785, he and some friends formed the New York State Society for Promoting the Manumission of Slaves. He helped establish the New York African Free School to educate slaves and personally…
