They Knew

It's common to hear excuses made for the racism (or other oppressive attitude) expressed by historical figures with a phrase like, "He was a man of his time." 

Of course, this always assumes the fact that the "he" in question is a white man, in the case of racism, as if there were no other kinds of men in history. But even without that, there are examples such as Benjamin Lay, whom I've in passing before.

And here's another one, which I learned of because of a 1787 quote written by New York's Gouverneur Morris, writer of the preamble to the Constitution:

The inhabitant of Georgia and S. C. who goes to the Coast of Africa, and in defiance of the most sacred laws of humanity tears away his fellow creatures from their dearest connections & damns them to the most cruel bondages shall have more votes in a Govt. instituted for protection of the rights of mankind, than the Citizen of Pa. or N. Jersey who views with a laudable horror, so nefarious a practice.

I got this from the Twitter feed of CUNY history professor Angus Johnston.

There's another man of his time. One who couldn't stop the three-fifths compromise, unfortunately.