Because fundamentally they knew right from wrong, and although I'm not holding them to the standard of a person today, I do hold them to a general standard of humanity that isn't specific to any time frame.
So you do believe there is some universal, objective moral standard that just exist within the mind of an individual regardless of a person's nature and nurture???
The founding fathers weren't the solution to the oppression of black people, so they have to be part of the problem. Maybe if some of them spoke out against slavery (i.e. the Quakers), then I would have a different opinion.
This is completely separate from our convo, actually, slavery in general is separate from the convo since I was discussing the FFs in respect to their beliefs about race&gender differences. However, I see that you'r not going to stop forcing it into the conversation, so I might aswell correct some falsehoods and incorrect assumptions you're making here and in other places. First, the concept and practice of slavery had existed centuries before the FFs were born, every where around the world, that's a fact. Second, the FF's were not gods, they exist and operated in the constraints of the real world not the cartoon-like world you're describing.
Thomas Jefferson, John Jay, Patrick Henry and others were highly critical of slavery, describing it as a "
disease of ignorance," "
an inconsistency not to be excused" and a "
lamentable evil." But again, these are humans, not perfect beings, they can't snap their figures and get what they want, they had to make trade-offs. And as they attempted to create a uninon, the delegates at the Constitutional Convention had to negotiate on many difficult matters to get the South on board. Slavery was the most important issue at hand.
Southern states made it clear that they would not vote to ratify a constitution that abolished slavery or ended the slave trade. Northern delegates wanted to end slave trading and did not want slaves counted at all for congressional apportionment.
Now of-course, the North could of made the trade-off of "
fukk you, slavery is an abomination and a gross violation of human rights". But, if they use their morality as the guide in their decision making process there, the consequence would have been no Union, and no Constitution, and the South could continue to engage in slavery to their heart's content. But hey, fukk the conditions of real life, flesh and blood black people as long as I look morally superior, right?
No, the founding fathers had more forethought than that and realized there was no fantasy catch-all solution like in some Children story that would make everybody happy, they had to make a tough trade-off. And imo, I don't think black Americans, in the past or today, would have been better off if the Constitution had not been ratified and if Northern states and Southern states went their own way.
At this attempt at moral relativism. Only works with some things breh. Pretty sure slavery rape and murder have been considered wrong by all cultures throughout history.
