On the one hand, the activities of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson are directly related to the liberation movement in America. On the other hand, the Founding Fathers were notorious for holding their slaves without freeing them when the opportunity was presented (Chervinsky, 2020). It cannot be considered hypocrisy because the meaning of freedom during Washington and Jefferson’s activities was different. It is important to note that the Civil War was fought to prevent the secession of the South. The main goal of the northerners was to preserve the Union so that the joint forces would not weaken. Abraham Lincoln was a champion and leader in abolishing slavery and issued a manifesto to that effect (Nicolay, 2018). It was in the Emancipation Proclamation that freedoms and rights were granted to the black population of America.
Lincoln’s action was a military measure through which he hoped to inspire Confederate slaves to support the Union. Because the bar was military, the proclamation of slave emancipation was limited in many ways. It applied only to states that seceded from the Union, but it did not change the situation of slaves in the frontier states (Nicolay, 2018). Although the Emancipation Manifesto did not end slavery, it did fundamentally affect the nature of the war (Nicolay, 2018). From the moment the Manifesto was proclaimed, the advance of Union troops meant expanding freedom territory for slaves.
Based on the above, Washington and Jefferson fought for the freedom of the United States as a nation, not for freedom from slavery. During the Civil War, the term “slavery” should be understood to mean the colonial system and people’s dependence on other nations (Chervinsky, 2020). Since the founding fathers’ entire activity was to oppose empires that wanted to preserve colonies, they cannot be called hypocrites. It should be emphasized again that freeing the black population from slavery was not the primary goal, so there is no contradiction in the activities of Washington and Jefferson.
References
Chervinsky, L. M. (2020). The cabinet. George Washington and the creation of an American Institution. Harvard University Press.
Nicolay, J. G. (2018). A short life of Abraham Lincoln. Outlook Verlag.