Hamilton College

Hamilton’s position on slavery is more complex than his biographers’ suggest. Hamilton was not an advocate of slavery, but when the issue of slavery came into conflict with his personal ambitions, his belief in property rights, or his belief of what would promote America’s interests, Hamilton chose those goals over opposing slaveryHamilton’s involvement in the selling of slaves suggests that his position against slavery was not absolute.

Besides marrying into a slaveholding family, Hamilton conducted transactions for the purchase and transfer of slaves on behalf of his in-laws and as part of his assignment in the Continental Army. In 1777, before he married Elizabeth, he had written a formal letter to Colonel Elias Dayton, relaying Washington’s request that Dayton return a “Negro lately taken by a party of militia belonging to Mr. Caleb Wheeler. Join the conversation!