Opinion on the Founders and Slavery Debate

There seems to have always been a debate with the subject of the Founding Fathers of the United States, slavery and the Declaration of Independence. Walter E. Williams makes some interesting points in his article titled “Slavery Is Neither Strange Nor Peculiar” written in 2019. In the article Willams makes some valid points about the ignorance of people’s perceptions as well as the fact that it was estimated that at the beginning of the nineteenth century it is estimated that three quarters of people who were alive were living in bondage (Williams, 2019). This means slavery was not only common but it certainly was not a unique principal in the United States. It should also be considered that since conception, the United States was populated by people from Europe and other countries who would be continuing to live in the way they were accustomed to when landing in North America. Williams also poses the question that had the North not compromised to ensure the union of states and the Southern states not wanted to count slaves for the Electoral College would the Declaration of Independence been formed as it is today? (Williams, 2019). These are not only valid questions but a realistic perspective as power given in politics has influenced decision making in recent years and it would make sense that it influenced decisions going back in history as well. In the Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln states that the nation was built on the “proposition that all men are created equal” (Lincoln, 1863). If this was the case why would there have been any compromise from the North at the Constitution Convention rather than for them to hold their ground and insist slavery be abolished? Eventually the country ended up in a civil war and to this day equality is not something that is a true experience in any nation.

Understanding why people would condemn the Founding Fathers and why slavery seems to be the go-to issue in our era would assist in finding discovering what the actual issues are in society. The hypothesis given by Williams on people that use slavery to attack the Founding Fathers is “They have contempt for our constitutional guarantees of Liberty” (Williams, 2019). This is a valid argument as it has been philosophized that people are not actually in search of equality when it comes to issues such as economics, but rather fairness (Bloom, 2018). By attacking the Founding Fathers over slavery people are actually attacking the lack of fairness in society and attempting to put blame and accountability on our founders. Instead, what they should be considering is what is happening today, how that can be resolved and what exactly they are attempting to achieve in fighting for equity. Our want for inequity does not stem from slavery but has been studied and proven human nature dictates we value having more than others right from childhood (Bloom, 2018). Rather than trying to blame the past and make everything appear to be resolved and equitable it would be in the best interest everyone to stop blaming issues on those who can not defend themselves, accept that some things are based in human nature and try to find a resolution that actually resolves hard set issues while still valuing those who wish to achieve more than average.

Sources

Bloom, P. (2018, May 3). People Don’t Actually Want Equality. They Want Fairness. Evonomics. https://evonomics.com/people-dont-actually-want-equality-want-fairness/

Lincoln, A. (1863, November 19). The Gettysburg Address | A Lincoln Anthology | Abraham Lincoln | Lit2Go ETC. Etc.Usf.Edu. https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/184/a-lincoln-anthology/4822/the-gettysburg-address/

Williams, W.E. (2019, May 29) Slavery Is Neither Strange Nor Peculiar. http://walterewilliams.com/slavery-is-neither-strange-nor-peculiar/

Cover Image

Ak, Ece. “Person Wearing Black T-Shirt · Free Stock Photo.” Pexels, 2 Nov. 2019, www.pexels.com/photo/person-wearing-black-t-shirt-3130372.