More than 100 US political leaders have ancestors who were slaveholders

A fifth of the United States' congressmen, living presidents, Supreme Court justices and governors are direct descendants of ancestors who enslaved Black people. (Photo/Reuters)

As US lawmakers commemorated the end of slavery by celebrating Juneteenth this month, many of them could have looked no further than their own family histories to find a more personal connection to what's often called America's "original sin."

In researching the genealogies of America's political elite, a Reuters news agency examination found that a fifth of the nation's congressmen, living presidents, Supreme Court justices and governors are direct descendants of ancestors who enslaved Black people.

At least 100 members of the last sitting Congress are direct descendants of ancestors who enslaved Black people, representing at least 8 percent of Democrats in Congress and 28 percent of Republicans.

The group includes Republican senators Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Tom Cotton and James Lankford, and Democrats Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Duckworth, Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan.

President Joe Biden and every living former US president except Donald Trump are direct descendants of slaveholders: Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

Governors of 11 of the 50 US states in 2022 were descendants of slaveholders, as were two US Supreme Court justices.

The Congressional slaveholding ancestors were among the richest in America before the Civil War; three-quarters were among the richest 10 percent.

Institution of slavery

In researching America's political elite, Reuters found names of more than 700 people enslaved by ancestors of the leaders.

Some 23 percent of respondents to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll said knowing that a candidate's ancestors enslaved people would make them less likely to vote for that candidate, and white respondents who said they’re aware of having a slaveholding ancestor were more likely than other white people to support paying reparations for slavery.

The Reuters examination reveals how intimately tied America remains to the institution of slavery, including through the "people who make the laws that govern our country," said Henry Louis Gates Jr, a professor at Harvard University who focuses on African and African American research and hosts the popular television genealogy show Finding Your Roots on PBS.

Gates said identifying those familial connections to slaveholders 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 said.

"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."

In addition to the political elite Reuters identified – which include lawmakers representing northern states such as New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts – "there are millions of Americans who are descendants of enslavers as well," said Tony Burroughs, a genealogist who specialises in helping Black Americans trace their ancestries.

In its reporting, Reuters analysed US census records, including antebellum tallies of enslaved people known as "slave schedules," as well as tax documents, estate records, family Bibles, newspaper accounts, and birth and death certificates.

The records – in some cases, family wills that show enslaved human beings bequeathed along with feather beds and farm animals – provide a visceral link between today’s decision makers and slavery.

The Reuters research was then vetted by board-certified genealogists, who reviewed each case linking a contemporary leader to a slaveholding ancestor.

Source: TRT