Of the seven Founding Fathers , the northerners Benjamin Franklin and John Jay both owned slaves whom they freed , and Jay founded the New York Manumission Society .
Washington was the only Southern slaveholding Founding Father among the top seven to emancipate his slaves after the American Revolution .
Of the seven Founding Fathers , the northerners Benjamin Franklin and John Jay both owned slaves whom slaves freed , and Jay founded the New York Manumission Society .
Washington was the only Southern slaveholding Founding Father among the top seven to emancipate his slaves after the American Revolution .