Slavery Among The Presidents of the United States of America. Thomas Jefferson vs. Abraham Lincoln

Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the US, who wrote the Declaration of Independence, and founder of the University of Virginia. He was one of twelve of the first eighteen American presidents who owned slaves. Jefferson "called slavery an "abominable crime", but was a long life slave owner". He even wrote "All men are created equal", but the founders of the Declaration did not include 1/5 of the American population enslaved men , women, and children in "free and Independent States". Jefferson wanted to end slavery, but could not because he and many like him depended on it to support their lifestyles. However, Jefferson was conflicted with ending slavery, he couldn't see slaves as equal because he saw them as inferior to whites. He did in fact make laws that prohibit the importation of slaves and he also proposed many other things to help the cause. But to no avail nothing came of it. After, his first wife died, he took Sally Hemings a slave as his mistress and produce four children with her on his Monticello plantation in Virginia. As a result, he inherited slaves from his father and father-in law, which resulted in him owning families of slaves. They were the Hemings, Gillettes, Grangers, Herns, and Hubbards. In his will the only family to be freed were the Hemings, most if not all of the remaining families were sold off.