Madison and Slavery

Madison and others considered the question of slavery during the drafting of the Constitution; however, the issue was so contentious that it would have derailed the project of creating a new Constitution.

"We have seen the mere distinction of colour made in the most enlightened period of time, a ground of the most oppressive dominion ever exercised by man over man."

— Speech by Madison at the Constitutional Convention, June 1787

Madison acknowledged that slavery was a great evil, but continued to regard his enslaved laborers as property.

"The magnitude of this evil among us is so deeply felt, and so universally acknowledged; that no merit could be greater than that of devising a satisfactory remedy for it."

— Madison to Frances Wright, September 1825

Madison never seized upon that remedy.

Though Madison did contemplate emancipating his slaves, he never did. Madison felt that slaves could not be freed unless "...they are permanently removed beyond the region occupied by, or allotted to a white population." He supported the American Colonization Society's efforts to return freed blacks to Africa, after indemnifying the slave owners. Madison served a term as President of the American Colonization Society, and upon his death left $2,000 in trust to the Society, along with the proceeds from the sale of his grist mill.

An incident that illuminates James Madison's ambivalence toward the issue of slavery is the story of Billey, a body servant who accompanied him to Philadelphia during the Contintental Congress. Madison wrote to his father at Montpelier:

"On a view of all circumstances I have judged it most prudent not to force Billey back to Va. even if it could be done; and have accordingly taken measures for his final separation from me. I am persuaded his mind is too thoroughly tainted to be a fit companion for fellow slave in Virga. The laws here do not admit of his being sold for more than 7 years. 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, and worthy pursuit, of every human being."

— James Madison, Jr., to James Madison, Sr., 8 September 1783

His solution was to sell Billey to a Quaker, knowing that, by Pennsylvania law, Billey could only remain a slave for seven years and then would be freed. Billey was indeed freed, adopted the last name Gardner, and in his occupation as a merchant's agent, was lost at sea a few years later.

Some slaves risked all, because the idea of freedom was so dear. Despite rigid laws, slave catchers seeking rewards exacted severe punishment to runaway slaves. Many failed to reach their goal; others found freedom after several escape attempts.

Slaves cared for Madison while he was sick and Paul Jennings was at his side when he died. Despite these ties and his own reservations about slavery, Madison did not manumit his slaves in his will as did George Washington. This left the fate of black Montpelier in the hands of Dolley and her son John Payne Todd. This tragic dismantling of Montpelier, both in physical and human terms, culminated in its sale in 1844.

Read more...