They claimed they were Christians. There were dozens of books written that claimed to prove that Black people (descendants of Ham) were cursed forever because HE HAD SEEN HIS FATHER NOAH'S SHLONG! Shem and Japheth properly averted their eyes. That is why Black people (Hamites) were fit only to be hewers of wood and carriers of water.
Even if it is a sin for a son to see his father naked, what sort of justice is it to be the grandson of a man who saw his grandfather naked? Was that the sort of sin that caused the Biblical character known as "God" to drown almost the entire human race and most of its land animals as well?
If you had a dog that bit the mailman once, you might be inclined to kick it, perhaps even daily. But would you kick its grandpuppies os great grandpuppies? I doubt it, because (duh!) it MAKES NO SENSE. And the Bblical character known as "God" is supposed to be a perfect being.
The Bible does not explain how it was that Ham had darker skin than Shem of Japheth. Pro slavery Biblical "scholars" in the antebellum South claim that the moment that Ham saw his father naked, *POW!* he was slapped with the celestial tarbrush. Really, I have read these books, I know what they said.
Jefferson, Franklin and Adams are best described as Deists. They thought the Creator just created the universe and then walked away and did not interfere in human activities. Washington was a more devout Anglican, as were many other of the founding fathers.
