And the slaves they owned. The Founding Fathers And the slaves they owned.

The united states of America The US was founded on the concept of the shared right to freedom and representative government, and says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” And yet, many of the founding fathers of our nation owned slaves, including Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence.

Who were the Founding Fathers? John Adams Charles Carroll Benjamin Franklin Samuel Chase Alexander Hamilton Patrick Henry George Washington Benjamin Rush John Jay Richard Henry Lee Thomas Jefferson Button Gwinnett James Madison Samuel Adams James Monroe Thomas Paine John Hancock Charles Pinckney

George Washington and slavery "List of taxable property belonging to General Washington in Truro Parish [Virginia], April 1788." Document then lists the names of George Washington's slaves under the heading "Blacks above 12 years of age."  He had slaves his whole life. He inherited ten slaves when his father died when he was eleven. By the time he died at 67 he owned 123. He freed them all in his will, but Martha Washington herself owned 155 slaves that she passed on to her grandchildren when she died.

Harry Washington Harry was a West African purchased by George Washington in 1763. He ran away and joined the British “Black Pioneer” force in 1775. He moved to Nova Scotia in Canada after the Revolutionary War, and eventually made his way back to Sierra Leone after the War.

Hercules Hercules was born as a slave belonging to either Washington’s family or his wife’s family. He was a famous chef, known as a gourmet. The Washingtons brought him to their first presidential home in Philadelphia in 1790. They let him cater and sell food in his free time, and he made as much as $200 a year. (about $3000 now) The Washingtons brought 8 other slaves to Philadelphia with them.

Philadelphia Pennsylvania was trying to stop slavery in the state, and had passed a series of laws trying to gradually abolish slavery. In 1780 they passed an act that said that slaves from another state could only be in Pennsylvania for 6 months before they would become subject to Pennsylvania state law and freed. Washington and his wife tried to get around that by rotating their slaves from Mount Vernon to Philadelphia. IN 1788 PA made that illegal.

Ona Judge Hercules took advantage and escaped from Mount Vernon while the Washingtons were in Philadelphia. He was never caught. Another slave, Ona, escaped from Philadelphia. She was a favorite of Martha Washington, and brought to Philadelphia, but found out she was going to be a gift to Martha’s granddaughter, Elizabeth, who was famously difficult, and Ona took off one day during dinner, and blended into Philadelphia. She lived into her 70s in New Hampshire.

William Lee William was Washington’s valet and accompanied him to the Revolutionary War. He rode with him and aided him throughout the whole campaign. After the war ended, he injured both of his knees badly and ended up having to be replaced by his nephew. He was sent back to Mount Vernon where he worked as a shoe maker. Washington freed him in his will.

Christopher Sheels Sheels was William’s brother Frank Lee’s nephew. He replaced William when he couldn’t walk or ride easily anymore. He belonged to Martha’s first husband and was a “dower slave” which meant he belonged to Martha through her first marriage and George couldn’t legally free him. George caught him trying to escape a few months before he died, and Christopher was stopped from escape. He was never freed.

Nancy and Sukey Sukey Bey and Nancy Quander were enslaved by George Washington. They lived at River Farm, which was one of Washington’s plantations. Sukey was a field hand and Nancy was one of her children. When Washington died, he freed all of his own slaves. Nancy married a free man, Charles Quander. The Quanders were from one of the first families to come here from Ghana. The first member of their family to be enslaved was named Amkwandoh, but the slavers misheard it as “I am Quando” and that became the last name for the family. It got changed to Quander, and Quando. They lived as free people of color in Virginia.