Donald Trump is the only one of the six U.S. presidents still alive who does not come from a family of slaveholders. This was revealed by Reuters in an investigation, noting that the ancestors of Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden did own black slaves.
The news agency inquired about the past of the nation's leaders based on their family trees. In doing so, it uncovered that past generations of Presidents Carter, Clinton, Bush, Obama and Biden were slaveholders. On the other hand, it was determined that Trump does not descend from a family of slaveholders, as his ancestors immigrated to the United States after slavery was abolished in 1865 following the victory of The Union in the Civil War.
Striking is the case of Barack Obama, who, being black, also comes from a slave-owning family. Reuters reported that ancestors of the 44th president of the United States on his mother Ann Dunham’s side indeed owned slaves.
One-hundred members of the 117th Congress are descendants of slaveholders
In the investigation, not only the family background of the presidents was uncovered, also of the members of the 117th U.S. Congress, which ended on Jan. 9, 2023 after the 2022 midterm elections.
According to Reuters, 100 lawmakers in the last Congress have a family history linked to slavery: 28 senators and 72 representatives. The names of Mitch McConnell or Lindsey Graham from the Republican Party and those of Elizabeth Warren or Maggie Hassan from the Democratic Party stand out.
Other prominent officials revealed to have slaveholding ancestors include Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch. There were also 11 governors, including Asa Hutchinson, who finished his term in Arkansas in January 2023, or Doug Burgum, who has been the governor of North Dakota since 2016.
