In 1789 the South and especially Virginia had been the impelling force in creating the nation. By 1815 the South and slaveholders still seemed to be in control of the national government. President Madison was a slaveholder. So too were Speaker of the House, Henry Clay, James Monroe, the secretary of state, and George W. Campbell, the secretary of the treasury. All Republican leaders of the House were slaveholders. In 1815 the United States had four missions in Europe: two of them were held by slaveholders. The chief justice of the United States was a slaveholder, as were a majority of the other members of the Court. Since 1789 three of the four presidents, two of the five vice-presidents, fourteen of the twenty-six presidents pro tempore the Senate, and five of the ten Speakers of the House had been slaveholders.
Robert Edge Pine (1730—88)
Oil on canvas; 91.5cm x 73.5cm (36" x 28 15/16"). National Portrait Gallery (Smithsonian), Washington, DC.
Oil on canvas. Historical Society of Pennsylvania Collection, Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent, Philadelphia, PA.
Oil on canvas; 90.2 x 69.9cm (35 1/2 x 27 1/2"). National Portrait Gallery (Smithsonian), Washington, DC.
Oil on canvas. Independence National Historical Park, Portrait Collection (Second Bank of the United States), Philadelphia, PA.
Oil on canvas. National Portrait Gallery (Smithsonian), Washington, DC.
Photomechanical Print copy c. 1916. U.S. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.
Oil on canvas. Historical Society of Pennsylvania Collection, Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent, Philadelphia, PA.