Founding Fathers Influence On Slavery In The United States
How did a country that was founded on the idea of freedom become a place where people’s freedom was rejected and where a person was not even thought of as a whole person? Slavery, although it is a terrible part of the history of the United States that we cannot get rid of, was justified by some Founding Fathers and philosophical thinkers. It is seen in some readings that the thinkers who had such a great influence on the forming of our country, actually thought of slavery as something that was okay. These views and ideas may have influenced some of the Founding Fathers to support slavery, and may have helped lead some to even participate in slavery.
Slavery has always been around, although it was not always as prominent as it was in the early …show more content…
He points out that slavery is a natural thing that occurs, he even goes on to talk about master-slave as a typical relationship. He mentions that some people are born to be slaves, while others were born to be natural rulers over those slaves. He justified this by saying that those who were meant to be slaves did not have the ability to think properly for themselves, therefore they needed masters to tell them what to do. This justification is just one of many that were made to make slavery seem like it was okay and just.
Out of all the Founding Fathers Jefferson and Washington were probably the most famous for owning slaves. Jefferson himself owned 225 slaves, but was known to talk like he did not support slavery. His actions of owning slaves are the opposite of the beliefs he was trying to portray. Washington was also known for having slaves. The accounts of how he treated his slaves did vary depending on who it was from, but it is known that he did give out harsh punishments to his …show more content…
He says that slaves could not make their own decisions to live their own lives, which justifies the idea of owning slaves. Slaves, not being able to think for themselves, also backs up his idea that some people were naturally born to be slaves. If someone is not able to think and fulfill their life on their own, that justified making them a slave in his mind. This idea may even be seen as a way of making owning slaves look like the good and right thing to do, making it look like slave owners were helping these “inferior” people be able to
Slavery has always been around, although it was not always as prominent as it was in the early …show more content…
He points out that slavery is a natural thing that occurs, he even goes on to talk about master-slave as a typical relationship. He mentions that some people are born to be slaves, while others were born to be natural rulers over those slaves. He justified this by saying that those who were meant to be slaves did not have the ability to think properly for themselves, therefore they needed masters to tell them what to do. This justification is just one of many that were made to make slavery seem like it was okay and just.
Out of all the Founding Fathers Jefferson and Washington were probably the most famous for owning slaves. Jefferson himself owned 225 slaves, but was known to talk like he did not support slavery. His actions of owning slaves are the opposite of the beliefs he was trying to portray. Washington was also known for having slaves. The accounts of how he treated his slaves did vary depending on who it was from, but it is known that he did give out harsh punishments to his …show more content…
He says that slaves could not make their own decisions to live their own lives, which justifies the idea of owning slaves. Slaves, not being able to think for themselves, also backs up his idea that some people were naturally born to be slaves. If someone is not able to think and fulfill their life on their own, that justified making them a slave in his mind. This idea may even be seen as a way of making owning slaves look like the good and right thing to do, making it look like slave owners were helping these “inferior” people be able to