Recently the Philadelphia Bar Foundation removed the name Andrew Hamilton from its signature annual benefit ball. Andrew Hamilton was an early Philadelphia lawyer who was famous for, among other things, successfully defending John Peter Zenger, a New York publisher, in a seditious libel criminal trial in 1735. He is not the guy who appears on the $10 bill; that’s another Hamilton. He is also not the first chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association.
After many years of being the standard bearer for all Philadelphia lawyers, it was discovered that Andrew Hamilton was also a slave owner. Not only was he a slave owner, but his will provided for those slaves to be passed on to his descendants. After such finding was brought to its attention, the bar foundation established an ad hoc committee consisting of local prominent attorneys, as well as several past chancellors of the Philadelphia Bar Association, to recommend what, if anything, to be done about this revelation.
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