James Madison, who was a Founding Father of the United States and its 4th president, grew up on a plantation that made use of slave labor.
He viewed slavery as a necessary part of the Southern economy, though he was troubled by the instability of a society that depended on a large slave population.
However, he eventually accepted it as a necessary compromise to get the South to ratify the constitution, later writing, "It ought to be considered as a great point gained in favor of humanity, that a period of twenty years may terminate forever, within these States, a traffic which has long and so loudly upbraided the barbarism of modern policy.
[6] Madison believed that former slaves were unlikely to successfully integrate into Southern society, and in the late 1780s, he became interested in the idea of African-Americans establishing colonies in Africa.
[9] Along with his colonization plan for black people, Madison believed that slavery would naturally diffuse with western expansion.
[citation needed] During Madison's presidency, his White House slaves included John Freeman, Jennings, Sukey, Joseph Bolden, Jim, and Abram.
Dolley, however did not follow this prescription, selling the Montpelier plantation and many slaves to pay off the Madisons' debts, including Jennings, who she had planned to emancipate upon her death.