Former President Donald John Trump, a Republican contender for the White House in 2024, stands apart as the only living president without a family history of slave owning, according to a thorough research by Reuters. The ancestry of several American politicians, including lawmakers, governors, and Supreme Court justices, was investigated by researchers. According to the data, “a fifth of the nation’s congressmen, living presidents, Supreme Court justices and governors are direct descendants of ancestors who enslaved Black people.”
The article mentioned that nearly all previous presidents who are still alive, including the current president, Joe Biden, have ancestors who held African slaves. The exception to this pattern was Donald Trump, whose “ancestors came to America after slavery was abolished.” Trump is of German descent. Many German liberals migrated to America before the Civil War in quest of freedom and opportunity as a result of the unsuccessful 1848 revolution in Germany. There were some notable members of these German exile groups who campaigned to end slavery in the United States. Some of these, including Carl Schurz, would rise to prominence as Republican politicians.
WATCH: Church Leaders PRAYED you’d never see this…
Due to the concentration of political party power now, according to Reuters, “at least 8% of Democrats in the last Congress and 28% of Republicans have such [slaver] ancestors.” Since slavery in the United States had exclusively been a Southern institution by the 19th century, the Republican party would presumably have a bigger pool of such ancestors given its modern-day dominance in the South.
While a person’s lineage may offer perspective, it does not automatically hold them accountable for the deeds of their parents. Respected Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. correctly notes that a person’s ancestry does not influence their character. “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.”
After the story claimed that Representative Nancy Mace (R-SC) was a direct descendant of a slave owner, she issued a response. She said this “I don’t recognize these people named and can’t confirm they are relatives, but slavery was a stain on this country and we as Americans should be grateful for the progress we’ve made since the 1860s.”
TRENDING: Little-Known Trick Clears Blurry Eyesight
The Republican party was a major force in the fight against slavery and for civil rights. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the US Constitution, which abolished slavery and gave newly freed African Americans rights, were passed as a result of their efforts. Furthermore, a higher proportion of Republicans backed the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which ended racial segregation in public areas.
