General Discussion

In all, 41 of the 56 signers of the Declaration owned slaves.

The Founders opposed democracy or any form of majority rule. They instead created a republic, based on the model provided by Plato[1]. Plato argued that only a small minority had the required virtue to govern. This small minority would be protected by a second class--the soldiers. Both the rulers and the soldiers would be supported by the largest class--the workers. This was the model for Athens, which was a slave-based society[2].

The key Founders and eight of the first ten presidents were slave owners[3]. Contrary to popular belief, the Founders did not think that "all men are created equal." This phrase comes from John Locke[4]. It omits the key part of Locke's claim--that men are only equal if they are of the same class and species.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_and_the_United_States_Founding_Fathers