Historians In Awe Over Discovery At Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello Property

Stephen Duncan Was The Biggest Plantation Owner In The House

Stephen Duncan was the wealthiest cotton planter in the South prior to the American Civil War. He also invested in railroads and Midwest lands. To grow his empire he owned more than 1,000 slaves who were responsible for the care of thousands of acres of cotton and sugar cane crops.

Duncan was also the co-founder of the Mississippi Colonization Society, an organization that aimed to “repatriate” blacks to Africa. In the late 1840s, about 300 of his slaves were relocated to a colony called “Mississippi-in-Africa” or what would later be known as Liberia. His will stated that his slaves could be freed if they agreed to move to the new colony.