Did Benjamin Franklin own slaves

Answer 1

Benjamin Franklin owned at least two slaves, George and King, before becoming an avid abolitionist in the years following the Revolutionary War.

I would add Peter and Jemima who are mentioned in his will to be freed but had already died before Franklin. There was also Othello who died at a young age. So that makes five and he had two slaves long after he became an abolitionist.

Answer 2

It was very common during his era for colonist to own African slaves. Many considered Africans to be an inferior (not as smart) race compared to whites. Franklin used his two slaves to help him in his newspaper business. He did eventually change his mind on slavery and not only freed his slaves, but became a dedicated abolishionist (someone who fights against slavery).

Answer 3

Franklin owned two slaves, George and King, who worked as personal servants, and his newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette, commonly ran notices involving the sale or purchase of slaves and contracts for indentured laborers.

After Franklin returned from France in 1785, he joined and eventually became president of an abolitionist group founded a decade earlier by the Pennsylvania Quakers. The group was called the Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery and the Relief of Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage. Franklin was convinced that not only the slave trade, but slavery itself should be eliminated. He eventually freed his own two slaves.

Answer 4

Yes, he owned slaves -- at one time seven of them.

Slaves were sold in his store.

His publications included ads for slaves, as well as rewards for runaway slaves.

He explicitly criticized those who escaped slavery by joining the British military.

By the 1750s, Franklin became an abolitionist, and by 1758 was advocating the education of slaves. He became increasingly anti-slavery over the years; openly denouncing it just before his death.

Answer 5

No, he did not. Benjamin Franklin lived in a time where slaves where kept but only in certain southern states. Ol' Ben lived in Pennsylvania.

Answer 6

Franklin owned two slaves during his life, both of whom worked as household servants, but in his old age he came to view slavery as a vile institution that ran counter to the principles of the American Revolution.

Answer 7

Yes

Answer 8

Ues

Answer 9

Yes

Answer 10

No