The US Constitution was ratified in 1788. Seventeen of the 55 Constitutional Convention delegates—the "Founding Fathers"—owned approximately 1,400 human beings.

They wrote eloquently about liberty while human chattel served their meals and cleaned their chamber pots. Eight of the first 12 presidents committed this crime against humanity. The nation's highest office was built on a foundation of stolen lives.

Modern Americans often retreat into historical relativism when confronted with these facts about the foundations of their nation. "We can't judge them by contemporary standards. Everyone owned slaves back then. They didn't know any better. It was just the way things were."

This argument isn't just morally bankrupt—it's factually false. Abolitionism was already a powerful force when the Constitution was ratified in 1788. The moral knowledge existed. The philosophical framework was available. The political precedents were being set.

Consider the evidence: Adam Smith, often called the Father of Capitalism, argued forcefully for slavery's abolition in The Wealth of Nations (1776). His economic arguments against unpaid labor were widely read and discussed among the educated classes—including America's Founding Fathers.

Northern states had already begun abolition: Vermont's constitution banned slavery in 1777, Pennsylvania followed in 1780. The moral and practical blueprints for emancipation existed within America itself.

The Age of Reason philosophers had systematically demolished slavery's intellectual justifications: Montesquieu in The Spirit of the Laws (1748), Denis Diderot in the Encyclopédie (1751), Voltaire in Candide (1759), Jean-Jacques Rousseau in The Social Contract (1762), plus Gershom Carmichael, George Wallace, and Francis Hutcheson—all writing decades before the American Revolution.


British courts were already challenging slavery's legality as early as 1755. By 1783, a full abolitionist movement sought to banish the institution throughout the British Empire.

Most damning of all: multiple Founding Fathers chose not to own slaves. Robert Carter, Oliver Ellsworth, Robert Treat Paine, and Roger Sherman were joined by John Adams, Samuel Adams, Thomas Paine, William Ellery, Gouverneur Morris, and John Laurens in refusing to participate in human trafficking.

Robert Carter went further: In 1791, he freed all 452 people he had inherited, providing them with land and resources for independent life. He proved that immediate emancipation was not only morally necessary but practically possible.

These men faced the same economic pressures, the same social expectations, the same cultural conditioning as their slave-owning contemporaries. They simply chose principle over profit, consistency over comfort.

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Additional Evidence That Abolitionism Was a Powerful Force in 1788

1. Early Abolition Societies and Organized Movements

• Pennsylvania Abolition Society (Founded 1775): The first anti-slavery society in North America began meeting before Independence, led in part by Quakers and later joined by Benjamin Franklin as president. Its founding predates the Constitutional Convention and signifies collective anti-slavery activism within the United States.

• Other State Abolition Societies: New York (1785), Rhode Island (1786), Connecticut (1790), Maryland (1789), Virginia (1791), and New Jersey (1792) all established formal abolition societies within or shortly after the Founding era. These societies held annual conventions and collectively advanced abolitionist efforts well before the 19th century.

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2. Revolutionary-Era Legislation and Court Decisions

• Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Decision (1783): The case of Commonwealth v. Jennison, interpreting the 1780 state constitution, declared slavery unconstitutional and freed all remaining enslaved people in Massachusetts. It didn’t require legislation; it was a judicial recognition of inherent human rights.

• Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery (Pennsylvania, 1780): Pennsylvania’s pioneering law became a model for other states, and gradual emancipation acts quickly followed in New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire during the Founding period.

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3. International Abolitionist Precursors
• Somersett Case (England, 1772): Lord Mansfield’s decision in the Somersett case established that slavery had no support under English common law, galvanizing anti-slavery sentiment in England and North America.

• Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade (Britain, 1787): Major British abolitionist group formed, mobilizing mass boycotts and distributing widely recognized abolitionist imagery like Josiah Wedgwood’s “Am I Not a Man and a Brother?” medallion.

• Legal Bans in the British Empire: The Province of Georgia initially banned slavery at its founding in 1732. Upper Canada (modern Ontario) banned further importation of slaves in 179354.

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4. Role of Enslaved and Free Black Activism

• 1780s Black Petitions and Legal Challenges: In New England, free Black people and formerly enslaved individuals submitted petitions demanding liberty and legal equality. Their activism influenced legislative and judicial victories like the Massachusetts court decisions.

• International Uprisings: The Stono Rebellion (1739) and maroon communities in the Caribbean and South America demonstrated global Black resistance, further fueling the abolitionist debate in the 18th century.

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5. Religious Leadership and Public Campaigns

• Quaker Leadership: Quakers publicly condemned slavery as early as 1688 (Germantown Petition) and continued leading abolitionist efforts through meetings, publications, and legal activism throughout the 18th century.

The Great Awakening and Abolition: The Great Awakening (1730s-1770s), a religious revivalist movement, played an important role in the abolitionist cause. Preachers like John Wesley in England condemned slavery as morally abhorrent.

Many abolitionists, like Elias Hicks and Anthony Benezet, were deeply rooted in religious communities that saw slavery as a sin.

• Women in Abolition: In Britain, women organized boycotts of slave-grown sugar and wrote pamphlets denouncing the slave trade as early as the 1780s.

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6. Legislative Milestones in the U.S. Congress
• Northwest Ordinance (1787): The Confederation Congress banned slavery in all territories north of the Ohio River. This act, passed one year before the Constitution was ratified, showed federal legislative support for curtailing the spread of slavery.

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7. Impact of the Revolutionary War on Slavery: The Revolutionary War (1775-1783) undermined slavery. Many Black Americans served in the war, some on the side of the patriots, others on the side of the British, who offered freedom to slaves who fought for them. This disrupted the accepted system of enslaved labor and contributed to the momentum of abolitionist sentiment in the U.S.

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8. Renowned philosopher Immanuel Kant's work on ethics emphasized autonomy and freedom as central moral values. These ideas were taken up by abolitionists who argued that slavery was not only an injustice but a violation of fundamental human rights.

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Although Founding Father Robert Carter III inherited and owned hundreds of slaves, he eventually became one of America’s largest private emancipators. In 1791, he executed a sweeping deed of emancipation for over 500 enslaved people—an act unprecedented among his peers and unmatched until the Civil War.

Moral Conviction: Carter was guided by deepening religious beliefs and personal opposition to slavery later in life. His actions were both radical for the era and courageous, considering the resistance he faced from family, neighbors, and Virginia society.

Robert Carter III faced significant social isolation because of his decision to free over 500 enslaved people through his “Deed of Gift” in 1791. Carter’s act was radical for his time, met with strong opposition from neighbors, white tenants, and even members of his Baptist church.

He was shunned by his local community, and there is evidence that mob action—possibly including threats of violence or tar-and-feathering—forced him to flee Virginia for Baltimore with his daughters and two Black companions.
The community's rejection was so severe that the meetinghouse used by the local Baptist church burned down six months after Carter left, a fact Carter connected to his emancipation activities.

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Economic Consequences

Carter willingly risked and ultimately suffered economic losses as a result of emancipating the source of his family's wealth—enslaved labor.
He gave up the economic advantages of owning one of the largest slaveholdings in Virginia, forfeiting future profits from labor, production, and the sale of enslaved people.

He also actively provided wages and land opportunities to the people he freed, further diminishing his estate’s value.

Carter’s estates faced increased difficulties due to opposition from overseers and white tenants, making it even more difficult to maintain his plantations profitably after emancipation.

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Family Rejection

Carter’s own family was divided or openly hostile regarding his anti-slavery actions. Some family members, like his son-in-law and various overseers, resisted his manumission plans.

The alienation extended to Carter’s children, who experienced internal family rifts over inheritance and the legacy of free labor versus slaveholding.

Many regarded Carter’s decision as inexplicable or extreme, resulting in Carter’s emotional and physical separation from his family during his years in Baltimore.

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Robert Carter III paid a steep price for his anti-slavery ideals:

• He was ostracized by his community.
• He lost much of his wealth and economic stability.
• He suffered lasting rifts and outright rejection from members of his own family.

His story powerfully illustrates the true costs borne by abolitionist pioneers in an era and society dominated by slavery.