A Founding Father who traded in enslaved people and later fought for their freedom

Cultures · Published 9 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: William Whipple was a merchant who built his fortune through the triangular trade, including the trafficking of enslaved people. Yet, as a signatory of the Declaration of Independence, he underwent a profound shift, eventually emancipating his own enslaved servant, Prince Whipple, after recognizing the hypocrisy of fighting for American liberty.

Born in 1730 in Kittery, Massachusetts Bay, William Whipple rose from a common school education to become a ship's master by age 21. His early career was defined by the brutal economics of the era; he established a merchant partnership in Portsmouth in 1759, profiting from the triangular trade of wood, rum, and enslaved people across the Atlantic.

The contradiction between his revolutionary ideals and his personal life became impossible to ignore. His enslaved servant, Prince Whipple, famously challenged him before a military campaign, asking how William could fight for his own liberty while denying it to others. This confrontation, combined with Whipple's own evolving political philosophy, prompted him to promise Prince freedom in exchange for military service. By the end of the Revolutionary War, Whipple fulfilled this promise, formally ending Prince's servitude.

Whipple's military contributions were significant, particularly at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777, where he commanded four militia regiments. His role in negotiating the surrender of General John Burgoyne provided a critical diplomatic victory that Benjamin Franklin leveraged in Paris to secure French support. Following the war, Whipple served as an associate justice on the Superior Court of New Hampshire. He died in 1785 at age 55 after suffering a heart ailment while traveling his court circuit, leaving behind a complex legacy that mirrors the moral tensions of the American founding.

Whipple's transition from a participant in the slave trade to an advocate for the emancipation of Black soldiers remains a stark example of the era's internal conflicts. In his correspondence, he expressed hope that the recruitment of Black regiments would eventually lead to the broader dispensation of freedom to all human beings in America. While he remained a product of his time, his actions regarding Prince Whipple highlight the personal reckonings forced upon the founders by the very principles they codified.

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