Thomas Jefferson, himself a slave-holder, became convinced of the evil of that “peculiar institution”. In his will, he freed Monticello’s slaves, as he would no longer be there to care for them.
Thinking about slavery, and what it was doing to America, he pondered:
“Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that they are a gift of God? Indeed, I tremble for my countrymen when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever.”