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  • George Washington on Random Presidents Who Owned Slaves

    (#12) George Washington

    • Dec. at 67 (1732-1799)

    George Washington inherited his family's slaves when his father, Augustine, died in 1743. Washington, only 11 at the time, owned slaves for the rest of his life. By the time Washington died in 1799, there were 317 slaves at his Mount Vernon home. Out of these slaves, Washington owned 123 and his wife, Martha, owned the rest after inheriting them from her first husband.

    In his will, Washington stated that his slaves should be freed when his widow died, but she signed a doument in 1800 to fulfill her husband's wishes sooner, freeing Washington's slaves on January 1, 1801.

  • James Monroe on Random Presidents Who Owned Slaves

    (#9) James Monroe

    • Dec. at 73 (1758-1831)

    James Monroe grew up on a tobacco plantation and owned his first slave at the age of 16. He was governor of Virginia during Gabriel's Rebellion, a slave rebellion that took place in 1800. The event shaped his beliefs that abolition would lead to violence and war. 

    Monroe signed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 into law, mostly to avoid civil war. The Compromise prohibited slavery in new territories in the north except for Missouri. Monroe also supported the American Colonization Society (ACS), an organization that wanted to provide slaves the chance to return to Africa.

    Monroe continued to own slaves, even during his presidency. His estate at Highland had as many as 70 slaves at its height, but later in Monroe's life, the number was about 20. 

  • John Tyler on Random Presidents Who Owned Slaves

    (#5) John Tyler

    • Dec. at 72 (1790-1862)

    According to some reports, John Tyler was physically sickened by the barbaric aspects of slavery. However, this did not stop him from owning about 70 slaves, and he even had slaves during his presidency. Throughout his political career, he faced accusations of fathering children by his female slaves, although the accusations were never proven.

    Tyler's views on the practice are unclear. He disagreed with the Missouri Compromise as he opposed federal regulation. He also advocated extending the practice into regions when it was economically beneficial to do so. However, he also felt the institution would die out on its own and supported prohibiting the slave trade and ceasing to import more slaves into the District of Columbia. 

  • Martin Van Buren on Random Presidents Who Owned Slaves

    (#7) Martin Van Buren

    • Dec. at 80 (1782-1862)

    Martin Van Buren came from a family that owned a few slaves but only owned one of his own. Van Buren's father, Abraham, owned several slaves but Martin's lone slave, Tom, ran away in 1814. When Van Buren found Tom, he sold him for $50 with the stipulation that Tom be taken without the use of violence. 

    Van Buren viewed slave ownership as a threat to the security of the nation but favored limiting its expansion over outlawing it altogether. During his presidency, he blocked the annexation of Texas for fear it would be a slave state. Van Buren became increasingly against the practice later in life and ran for the presidency in 1848 as a third-party candidate for the abolitionist Free Soils Party. 

  • Zachary Taylor on Random Presidents Who Owned Slaves

    (#3) Zachary Taylor

    • Dec. at 66 (1784-1850)

    Zachary Taylor owned no more than 150 slaves and was the last president to keep slaves during his presidency. Taylor had numerous plantations in Kentucky, Mississippi, and Louisiana. However, politically, Taylor had some abolitionist views. He opposed creating more slave states during his presidency. He even tried to push the United States away from the institution by pressing for statehood of California and New Mexico as this would give the North a majority in the Senate. 

  • James K. Polk on Random Presidents Who Owned Slaves

    (#4) James K. Polk

    • Dec. at 54 (1795-1849)

    James K. Polk owned about 25 slaves. As a landowner in Tennessee, Polk had numerous slaves at his disposal. He sold his Tennessee land in 1834 and moved to Mississippi, where he began purchasing more slaves to work his land. Polk brought some of his slaves to Washington, D.C. As president, however, he advocated limiting the spread of the practice. He favored the expansion of the Missouri Compromise line further west, which would widely expand the areas of the United States that prohibited it. 

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About This Tool

The United States may be based on the idea that all human beings are created equal, but in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, slavery was common among politicians who served as president. All in all, there are at least 12 U.S. presidents, which is more than a quarter of all U.S. presidents who have enslaved people. We all know that the founding father of the United States George Washington and Thomas Jefferson also had slaves.

After the Civil War in the 19th century, the United States completely abolished slavery. The public actively maintained the image of the fathers of the country and tried to minimize the history of the slave owners. The random tool lists 12 American presidents who owned slavers.

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