Slavery and The Coming of The Civil War
Steuart's family were slaveholders and strong supporters of the South's "peculiar institution", although they supported the gradual abolition of slavery by voluntary means. In 1828 Steuart served on the board of managers of the Maryland State Colonization Society, of which Charles Carroll of Carrollton, one of the co-signers of the Declaration of Independence, was president. Steuart's father, James Steuart, was vice-president, and his brother Richard Sprigg Steuart was also on the board of managers. The MSCS was a branch of the American Colonization Society, an organization dedicated to returning black Americans to lead free lives in African states such as Liberia. The society proposed from the outset "to be a remedy for slavery", and declared in 1833:
- "Resolved, That this society believe, and act upon the belief, that colonization tends to promote emancipation, by affording the emancipated slave a home where he can be happier than in this country, and so inducing masters to manumit who would not do so unconditionally... at a time not remote, slavery would cease in the state by the full consent of those interested."
In around 1842 Steuart inherited from his uncle William Steuart (1754–1838) "2,000 acres, in several tracts of land, the best of which was Mount Steuart; and 125 slaves", becoming himself a substantial landowner and slaveholder. In 1846 his father James Steuart died, and he inherited Maryland Square, his family's mansion in the western suburbs of Baltimore.
Read more about this topic: George H. Steuart (militia General)
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