George Washington inherited his first slave at the age of eleven, and he was the only founding father to free his slaves in his will. This highly readable selection of articles focuses on Washington's changing attitudes toward the institution of slavery and his everyday relationships with the slaves who shared his Mount Vernon estate. Along with his insightful introduction, editor Philip J. Schwarz has included James C. Rees's essay Looking Back, Moving Forward: The Changing Interpretation of Slave Life on the Mount Vernon Estate, Dennis J. Pogue's essay Slave Lifeways at Mount Vernon: An...
George Washington inherited his first slave at the age of eleven, and he was the only founding father to free his slaves in his will. This highly read...
In many ways Martha Dandridge Custis Washington represented the ideal woman of the new American republic. She was not born of the aristocracy, but she gained the admiration and respect of all classes of people. She was devoted to her family and home, but she readily made personal sacrifices to join her husband in his public duties. During the Revolution, which she referred to as our cause, she gave up the comforts of Mount Vernon to travel every year to General Washington's winter quarters, and during his presidential administration she was called both dignified and democratic as she forged...
In many ways Martha Dandridge Custis Washington represented the ideal woman of the new American republic. She was not born of the aristocracy, but she...
