March 18, 1764 - James DeWolf
DeWolf built one of the most extensive slave-trading operations in American history, dispatching vessels from Bristol, Rhode Island across the Atlantic while simultaneously holding elected office — a combination that illustrates how deeply the trade was embedded in the political establishment of the early republic. His wealth and influence allowed him to operate with near impunity, even as federal prohibitions on the slave trade were enacted and nominally enforced. The arc from slave ship owner to U.S. senator was, in his time and place, not a contradiction but a continuation.
From Wikipedia
James DeWolf (March 18, 1764 – December 21, 1837) was an American slave trader and politician. He served as a state legislator for a total of nearly 25 years, and in the 1820s served as a United States senator from Rhode Island. Along with trading in slaves, DeWolf invested in sugar and coffee plantations in Cuba and became the wealthiest man in his state. By the end of his life, he was said to be the second-richest person in the entire United States. During his lifetime, his name was usually written "James D'Wolf".
Further reading
- James DeWolf and the Rhode Island Slave Trade
Chronicles how James DeWolf transported tens of thousands of enslaved people while using political influence and legal manipulation to evade Rhode Island's anti-slavery laws.
View on Amazon → - Inheriting the Trade
A descendant's personal reckoning with his family's legacy as America's most prolific slave traders, centering on ancestor James DeWolf's notorious career in Bristol, Rhode Island.
View on Amazon → - A Bristol, Rhode Island, and Matanzas, Cuba, Slavery Connection
Explores the largely forgotten commercial ties between Bristol, Rhode Island, and Cuba, where citizens including the DeWolf family owned sugar plantations and drove the slavery trade.
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