Slavery may have been abolished more than 150 years ago, but its presence can still be felt in our government today. A new report from Reuters reveals that more than 100 political leaders, including legislators, governors, judges, and presidents are descendants of slaveholders. But, “[f]ew are willing to talk about their ties to America’s ‘original sign.’”
After examining “the family ancestries of more than 600 of the country’s leading officeholders,” Reuters determined that “5 living Presidents, 2 Supreme Court Justices, 11 Governors, and 100 legislators descend from ancestors who enslaved Black people.” This equates to almost 20% having familial ties to slavery.
In a somewhat ironic discovery, “every living former U.S. president – except Donald Trump – are direct descendants of slaveholders: Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and – through his white mother’s side – Barack Obama. Trump’s ancestors came to America after slavery was abolished.”
This list encompasses both Democrats and Republicans alike, but there was a higher preponderance of Republicans with slaveholding ancestors at 28% compared to at least 8% of Democrats, according to their findings. This is reflective of the GOP’s Southern political dominance, given that by the time the Civil War had ended, “slavery was almost entirely a Southern enterprise.”
This unique examination exposes just how intricately connected our country is with “the institution of slavery, including through the ‘people who make the laws that govern our country,’” according to Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., who also hosts PBS’ Finding Your Roots television show.
Gates was clear that being a descendant of people who owned slaves is “not another chapter in the blame game. We do not inherit guilt for our ancestors’ actions.” “It’s just to say: Look at how closely linked we are to the institution of slavery, and how it informed the lives of the ancestors of people who represent us in the United States Congress today,” Gates added. “This is a learning opportunity for each individual. It is also a learning opportunity for their constituency…and for the American people as a whole.”
It isn’t just the political elites—many Americans are also in the same boat, but scholars haven’t determined a precise number. So, what remains unclear is “the proportion of leaders who descend from slaveholders compares to that of all Americans.”
This is the first genealogical inquiry of this kind. In their analysis, Reuters went “beyond previous documentation of ancestral ties to slavery by focusing on the most powerful officeholders of today, many of whom have taken stances on race-related policies.”
Reuters did acknowledge “that the records available may not capture the full extent of those connections. Many records have been lost or destroyed over time, leading to the possibility of an undercount.”