In 1807, the U.S. Congress passed and President Thomas Jefferson signed a law "to prohibit the importation of slaves into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States." The law also prohibited any U.S. citizen from building, fitting, equipping, loading, or otherwise preparing a slave ship. Though Jefferson was born as a slave owner and only freed 10 slaves, he was an outspoken opponent of slavery, passed laws to reduce it, and proposed a law to end it. Jefferson, the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, was one of the most widely revered people in U.S. history until recent years. Now, he is often spurned and reviled for racism, but the charges against him are highly misleading.