Dear Students,
We are rarely taught that many of the founding fathers who championed freedom were also slave owners. Two very interesting examples are George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. For example, Jefferson was the one who wrote the Declaration of Independence:
We hold these truths to be [sacred and undeniable] selfevident, that all men are created equal and independent; that from that equal creation they derive in rights inherent and inalienables, among which are the preservation of life, and liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these ends, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed;
Washington and Jefferson's investment in slavery offers a lot of insight on how entrenched slavery was in the early American economy.
If your last name starts A-J Read the introduction onlyto this Wikipedia entry on George Washington's relationship to slaveryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_and_slaveryWrite a gut reaction and also include what the founding father's position was on slavery and whether or not he freed his slaves and why or why not. Please explain clearly so that your classmates who didn't read about the same founding father, get the picture.At the top, label your post Washington or Jefferson so that your classmate can quickly identify the posts they want to read. Keep it to one paragraph or two short ones.
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