Thomas Gainsborough (1727—88)

by Thomas Gainsborough (1727—88)

Oil on canvas; 127.5 x 107 cm. National Trust, Knole, Kent, England.

by Thomas Gainsborough (1727—88)

Oil on canvas; Height: 244 cm (96.1 in). Width: 152.4 cm (60 in). Kenwood House, English Heritage; London, England.

by Thomas Gainsborough (1727—88)

Oil on canvas, feigned oval; 29 7/8 in. x 24 7/8 in. (760 mm x 631 mm). National Portrait Gallery, London, England.

by Thomas Gainsborough (1727—88)

Oil on canvas; 238.8 × 158.7 cm (94 × 62.5 in). Royal Collection Trust, Buckingham Palace, London, England.

by Thomas Gainsborough (1727—88)

Oil on canvas; 71 × 40 cm (28 × 15.7 in). Private collection ???

Admiral Lord George Brydges Rodney (1719—92)

by Thomas Gainsborough (1727—88)

Oil on canvas; 29 1/2 in. x 24 1/2 in. (749 mm x 622 mm). National Portrait Gallery, London, England.

by John Henry Robinson (1796—1871), after Thomas Gainsborough (1727—88)

Stipple and line engraving; paper size with decorative border: 11 1/8 in. x 7 5/8 in.

by George Kirtland (fl.1791—98), after Thomas Gainsborough (1727—88)

Oil on canvas; 142 x 119 cm. City of London Corporation, Guildhall Art Gallery, London, England.

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.

Gordon S. Wood
Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789–1815 (2009)