The founders of the American republic let slavery stay on the books, but a few of them were looking down the road. Alexander Hamilton and John Jay were among the creators of a free school system for black children in New York.
That system produced James McCune Smith and Henry Highland Garnet, who both went onto immense accomplishment and fame. Their story is told in Anna Mae Duane's book Educated for Freedom: The Incredible Story of Two Fugitive Schoolboys Who Grew Up to Change a Nation. Anna Mae Duane, herself an educator, tells the story about what the men achieved.