Delaware’s Signers and Slavery: It’s Complicated
Upcoming Events
February 13 | Delaware’s Signers and Slavery: It’s Complicated Milton Public Library |
May 13 | Delaware’s Signers and Slavery: It’s Complicated Delaware City Library |
Speaker: Eric Mease
Suitable for Schools · Grades 9–12
History • Civics • Delaware
When Delaware’s 3 signers of the Declaration of Independence stepped up to sign over “our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor” on the document, 2 of them were enslavers. However, by 1787, when it was time to sign the new U.S. Constitution, only one of Delaware’s 5 signers was an enslaver. So, what happened? This presentation broadens our understanding of Delaware during the American Revolutionary period by telling the complicated relationship between Delaware’s signers and enslavement and the impact of that relationship on Delaware’s struggling abolitionist movement.