George Washington and Slavery: A Documentary Portrayal

272 Pages·1997·17.838 MB·English

by  Fritz Hirschfeld

George Washington and slavery

GEORGE
WASHINGTON
S L A V E R Y
and
A DOCUMENTARY PORTRAYAL
Fritz Hirschfeld
University of Missouri Press •
Colum b i a and London
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v\
Otu 0 51997
■asm ot
ght © 1997 by
The Curators of the University of Missouri
University of Missouri Press, Columbia, Missouri 65201
Printed and bound in the United States of America
All rights reserved
5 4 3 2 1 01 00 99 98 97
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hirschfeld, Fritz, 1924-
George Washington and slavery : a documentary portrayal / Fritz
Hirschfeld.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-8262-1135-6 (alk. paper)
1. Washington, George, 1732-1799—Views on slavery—Sources.
2. Slavery—United States—History—18th century—Sources.
I. Title.
E312.17.H648 1997
973.4' 1 '092—dc21 97-20590
CIP
oo)™ jhig paper meets the requirements of the
American National Standard for Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, Z39.48, 1984.
Designer: Mindy Shouse
Typesetter: BOOKCOMP
Printer and binder: Thomson-Shore, Inc.
Typeface: Minion
To the memory of my father who found the
solution for racial harmony in his love of mankind

%
CONTENTS
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction 1
I. SLAVERY AT MOUNT
1. Building an Estate 11
2. Gone to War 21
3. Washington as Slave Manager 30
4. Through the Eyes of Foreign Visitors 53
5. Mistress of the Mansion 61
6. Slave Vignettes 67
7. The Sunset Years 74
II.
8. Phillis Wheatley 85
9. Billy Lee 96
10. Oney Judge 112
11. The Marquis de Lafayette 118
12. John Laurens 129
III. THE
)
~
13. African American Recruits
14. Combat Veterans 153
15. The Commander in Chief 161
IV. THE NEW
16. The Constitutional Convention 171
17. Presidential Politics 179
18. The Abolitionists T93!
V. FINALE
19. Last Will and Testament 209
20. In Retrospect 224
Bibliography 239
Index 249
.
■
■
.
I NEVER MEAN (UNLESS SOME PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD COMPEL ME TO
it) to possess another slave by purchase; it being among my first wishes to
SEE SOME PLAN ADOPTED, BY THE LEGISLATURE BY WHICH SLAVERY IN THIS COUNTRY
MAY BE ABOLISHED BY SLOW, SURE, & IMPERCEPTABLE DEGREES.
George Washington
September 9, 1786
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