James Madison's View On Slavery Essay

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The President’s Views on Slavery
James Madison, one of the United States founding fathers, believed slaves deserved rights even though they were seen as inferior to the white population. Because James Madison owed a slave work force, he was more likely to believe whites were superior to blacks. However, Madison did believe every man has inalienable rights, as he agreed to in the Declaration Of Independence. Madison viewed slaves as property, but saw the humane value in letting them be free. In a letter to his father about his own Slave named Billy, James writes, I am persuaded his mind is too thoroughly tainted to be a fit companion for fellow slaves in [Virginia]. . . . I do not expect to get near the worth of him; but cannot think of punishing him by transportation merely for coveting that liberty for which we have paid the price of so much blood, and have proclaimed so often to be the right, & worthy the …show more content…
James Madison was not against slaves, for he had his own, but he did not like the mistreatment of slaves as he was one of the Founding Fathers who fought for unalienable rights.
Similarly with James Madison, James Monroe was a slaveholder who saw the need for slaves, but sought to gradually end slavery. When Monroe was younger his father owned a tobacco farm in Virginia, however at the death of his father he inherited his father's slaves and land. Over the course of his lifetime, as James Monroe was a supporter of slavery, he showed patterns of racism. When documenting James Monroe's life it states,
Throughout his life, Monroe’s relationships with slaves revealed a pattern of paternalistic racism. While he never advocated for equal rights for the enslaved population, Monroe sought a gradual end to slavery and promoted the re-settling of freed slaves either in the Caribbean or in Africa. (“James Monroe
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