Article on Democrats/Slaves
“Of 4 million slaves in America in 1860, fewer than 10 – not 10%, the number 10-were owned by Republicans. More than 90% of the slaves were owned by Democrats. This crushing fact is left out of the textbooks, unreported by NPR, PBS and the History Channel. Yet it’s undeniably true.
This Facebook post intends to send a negative image of Democrats. The post, although mostly true lacks the background information of the 1860’s. Historians agree that most slaveholding politicians were Democrats, largely because the Democratic Party dominated the slaveholding South. The Republican Party was not formed until 1854 and its goal was to stop the expansion of slavery into new territories. The Republican Party had almost no presence in the South.
The” only 10 Republicans owned slaves” claim is questionable. Historians do not have a definitive list proving exactly 10 Republicans owned slaves; the number 10 comes from selective lists of Republican politicians who had slaveholding histories, not a full account of Republicans as a group.
But all that does not really mean much because the Republican Party of today and the Democratic Party of today are not the same as those parties in 1860.
Over the 20th Century, the Democratic Party became more associated with civil rights and federal social policy, while the Republican Party became more associated with free-market economics and limited government.