Thomas Jefferson, a slaveholder, refused to recognize Haiti after the Haitian Revolution and imposed a trade embargo on them to ensure their economic failure, for fear that a successful slave revolt in the West Indies would inspire slaves in the US
James Buchanan regularly bought slaves with his own money in Washington, D.C. and quietly freed them in Pennsylvania
Benjamin Franklin was president of an abolitionist society and required his daughter to free her slave in order to get her inheritance.
Slavery was largely a South or Middle American phenomenon. Only 388k slaves out of a total 12.5 million that crossed the Atlantic were sold in the US. The rest (10.7 million) went to Mexico and South America
Benjamin Franklin was a slaveowner for much of his life until he visited a school for black children and discovered that African ignorance was not inherently natural but come from lack of education, slavery and negative environments.
Slavery was no small business --- In 1860, there were an estimated four million people living in slavery in the United States.
Slavery is still one of the biggest profiting trades in the world; there are an estimated 40.3 million slaves worldwide.
Slavery almost ended in 1784 when Thomas Jefferson proposed ending it. His bill lost in Congress by a single vote.
The pyramids were built by paid laborers, not slaves, which was a myth by propagated by the Greek historian Herodotus.
Harriet Tubman is believed to have helped around 350 slaves escape their bondage during her time with the underground railroad in the 1850s and 1860s.
Jefferson’s first draft of the Declaration of Independence criticized King George III for enslaving Africans, and for over-ruling Virginia’s attempt to ban Slavery. In it, Jefferson called slavery a “cruel war against human nature".
There are more people in slavery today than at any other time in human history. One in every 200 people around the world is a slave - Women and girls make up 71 % of all modern slavery victims; kids make up 25%.
George Washington moved his slaves in and out of Pennsylvania every 6 months to avoid them taking advantage of a law that meant slaves residing in the state longer than half a year could claim freedom
Maple syrup was promoted in the 1800s as a slavery-free alternative to cane sugar: "Suffer not your cup to be sweetened by the blood of slaves".
Slavery was a huge industry in the US --- There were an estimated four million people living in slavery in the United States in 1860.
Many chocolate companies source their chocolate from farms that use slavery and child trafficking to keep production costs low.