Alexander Hamilton, Abolitionist

Of all the Founders, Alexander Hamilton is said to be the most consistent abolitionist.  This stems from his upbringing in St. Croix and Nevis, where he witnessed the worst of New World slavery.  Slavery in the West Indies was substantially crueler than in the American South, because of the abolition of the slave trade in 1808 in the United States, diseases in the West Indies, and the steady importation of male slaves into the West Indies, which unbalanced the sex ratio there.  Author Ron Chernow in his fine biography of Hamilton concedes that American slavery was relatively benign compared to slavery in the West Indies.  He also notes that Alexander Hamilton advocated judicial corporal punishment.

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