Here's the thing about the founding fathers: by now we all know that they were at best imperfect and at worst downright awful. So how do we gauge their impact and legacy? Should we elevate them and their ideas to the extent we do, or should we temper our admiration and account for their many moral failings. George Washington owned over 300 slaves. He made them work 6 days a week from sun-up to sundown. He gave them one set of clothes per year, and a blanket, and fed them cornmeal and fish. Although historians say he was uncomfortable with slavery, he never publicly denounced it or otherwise tried to end it. He decided not to free his own slaves during his lifetime because he could not afford to run his businesses without slave labor. The father of our country, as he's called, made a conscious decision to engage in conduct he himself felt was immoral, and did so to make a profit. Should we just assume his thoughts on government and policy were more sound than his opinions on slaves?