Richard B. Morris in 1973 identified the following seven figures as the key Founding Fathers: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington.

In order to understand history, one must study all of it… the good, the bad, and the ugly part of it. Although many of the Founding Fathers acknowledged that slavery violated the core American Revolutionary ideal of liberty, their simultaneous commitment to private property rights, principles of limited government, and intersectional harmony prevented them from making a bold move against slavery. The considerable investment of Southern Founders in slave-based staple agriculture, combined with their deep-seated racial prejudice, posed additional obstacles to emancipation.

Slaveholders among prominent Founding Fathers

As with some of our founding fathers, some of us are the problem rather than the solution. While slavery is no longer a problem in the United States, we are still dealing with some of the remnants of slavery. Racial discrimination, prejudice, racial strife, and social injustices are but a few of the remnants of slavery that we as a nation must eradicate if we are to prosper and be blessed as a nation.