Thomas Jefferson sells servant to newly elected President James Madison
On this day in 1809 former President Thomas Jefferson writes up a contract for the sale of an indentured servant named John Freeman to newly sworn-in President James Madison.Slavery and indentured servitude were major components of the early American economy.Slaves performed most of the manual and domestic labor on the large plantations owned by several presidents and their colonial ancestors including George Washington Thomas Jefferson James Madison and Andrew Jackson.While slaves were primarily African and Native Americans indentured servants in the late 1600s to early 1700s were frequently impoverished white men of English descent who resorted to selling themselves into servitude in exchange for room and board and sometimes wages.
Relatively few African Americans in late 18th-century America became indentured servants.By the time of the American Revolution the practice of indentured servitude had declined in favor of using cheaper African slaves.It is believed that Freeman was an African-American craftsman who had sold himself to Jefferson as an indentured servant with an agreement to serve a total of 132 months he may have been a carpenter or ironworker.After Freeman completed 76.5 months of work Jefferson sold Freeman to Madison who at the time was looking for skilled artisans to help build an extension on his plantation house.
Madison paid Jefferson an unknown amount which would have been calculated to equal Freemans remaining time in service.(Jefferson had originally bought Freemans services for 400.)The original hand-written contract for John Freemans sale is now housed at the Library of Congress.In the exhibit it is noted with irony that Americas preeminent revolutionary Thomas Jefferson wrote the agreement on the anniversary of the Battle of Lexington the event that launched the war to end Americas servitude to England.
