When everything was up for grabs at the start of our nation, the Founders had a clear chance to end slavery and deliver on the promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all Americans as set forth in Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence.
The fact that they failed to do so led to Civil War within 80 years and the loss of 600,000 American lives, 100 years of Jim Crow after that, and put black Americans behind the 8-ball to this very day.
Jefferson himself predicted accurately that slavery would end at some indefinite point in the future, but still held attitudes about blacks that we would today recognize as white separatist.
So, I understand why some are upset at the Founding Fathers.
I don’t support tearing down their statues for the reasons I stated, but I absolutely encourage critical analysis of the difference between the Founders’ enlightened words and their less-than-ideal practice.