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Our founding fathers
abhorred slavery
Some writers have highlighted that our first few presidents owned slaves. True, but...
(From Britannica) Although many of the Founding Fathers acknowledged that slavery violated the core American Revolutionary ideal of liberty, their simultaneous commitment to private property rights, principles of limited government, and "intersectional harmony" prevented them from making a bold move against slavery. The time wasn't right! Having just won their independence from England, they could not risk a civil war between Northern and Southern states by declaring slave emancipation. However, when the last remaining Founders died in the 1830s, they had succeeded in abolishing slavery in the Northern states and Northwestern territories but permitted its expansion in the South and Southwest. They had enacted a federal ban on the importation of foreign slaves in 1808.
Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton served as officers in their respective state antislavery societies. By 1781, Franklin had divested himself of slaves and signed a petition to the First Federal Congress in 1790 for the abolition of slavery. Jay and Hamilton founded the New York Manumission Society (free the slaves) in 1785, which established the New York African Free School in 1787. During debate on the Constitution, one of the most-vocal opponents of slavery among the Founding Fathers, Gouverneur Morris, called slavery a "nefarious institution" and "the curse of heaven on the States where it prevailed."
Our first 6 presidents abhorred slavery although 4 owned slaves. George Washington freed all his slaves, but could not get his wife to release hers handed down by her family. Jefferson advocated for a gradual emancipation of all slaves and the colonization of Africa by freed African Americans. In the original draft of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson inserted a clause condemning King George III for forcing the slave trade onto the American colonies and inciting enslaved African Americans to \"rise in arms\" against their masters. In 1778 with Jefferson's leadership and probably authorship, the Virginia General Assembly "banned importing slaves" into Virginia. In 1808, Jefferson consistently spoke out against the international slave trade and "outlawed It" as president. Historian John Chester Miller rated the abolition of the international slave trade as just one of Jefferson's presidential achievements. James Madison favored "an immediate end to the importation of enslaved people". Madison served as the president of the American Colonization Society which founded a settlement in Africa called Liberia for former slaves. James Monroe, like Thomas Jefferson, condemned the institution of slavery as evil and advocated its gradual end. Monroe was also in the American Colonization Society; Liberia's capital, Monrovia, was named after President Monroe. John Adams, our 2nd president, did not approve of slavery and never had slaves. John Quincy Adams, 6th president, his son was also a lifelong opponent of slavery.
History shows slavery was embedded in our young nation's fabric, particularly the southern states. But our early presidents did what they could without risking a civil war which would have destroyed our young nation.
Arthur Keller, Beavertown
Reply to Clare Flynn
In reply to Clare Flynn's letter published on July 15. Every single time that a letter gets published from the right that has to do with the economy, they only ever mention the middle class. What's wrong? Can't write the words poor or working poor? In fact, all the GOP ever worries about is making the middle and rich even richer, and all of the hard work that the working poor and poor do. Let me put it simply: if it were not for the poor and working poor working in low income jobs, the middle class and the rich would not have the money they do. Why is it that the GOP doesn't care about helping the poor out of poverty, yet will let the rich have tax break after tax break – which, by the way, will be paid for by taking money away from programs that are there to help the poor. In her letter, Clare Flynn claims that the middle class "lost on average $33,000." I have to ask, how much did the poor lose then? Or is that figure claimed by Mrs. Flynn plucked out of thin air? She then mentions gas prices. The cost of gas has absolutely nothing to do with the administration in power; it is all to do with three things: supply and demand, OPEC and corporate greed. The first part – supply and demand – can be explained quite easily. Before Biden became president, the country was in lockdown due to a pandemic which meant no one should have been out and about unless they were either going to an essential job or a medical appointment. When the pandemic ended, everyone was out and about, meaning that demand went up. The prices both then and now were controlled by the next two points: OPEC and corporate greed. OPEC sets the prices, not the governing body of the country. I know, mind-blowing, right? So, Mrs. Flynn, all I am going to say in conclusion is.. please get your facts straight, and if you decide to quote figures, back them up with actual facts, because without facts, those figures you stated do not mean anything.
George Fisher, Lewistown