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By the time George Washington took control of the Mount Vernon property in 1754, the population of Fairfax County was around 6,500 people, of whom a little more than 1,800 or about 28% were slaves of African origin.
- Martha Dandridge Custis
In 1789, George Washington was again called to serve his...
- Continental Army
William Sharp, "George Washington, Commander in Chief of Ye...
- Marquis De Lafayette
The Key to the Bastille given to George Washington by the...
- Mount Vernon
Early Years. Much of the land that would become George...
- George Washington
But after the Revolutionary War, he began to feel burdened...
- Ten Facts About Washington & Slavery
Despite having been an enslaver for 56 years, George...
- Washington's Changing Views on Slavery
As a young Virginia planter, Washington accepted slavery...
- Martha Dandridge Custis
- George Washington inherited enslaved people at the early age of eleven. When Washington’s father Augustine died in 1743, George Washington inherited enslaved people at the early age of eleven.
- At the time of George Washington’s death, the Mount Vernon enslaved population consisted of 317 people. Of the 317 enslaved people living at Mount Vernon in 1799, a little less than half (123 people) were owned by George Washington himself.
- George Washington's marriage to Martha Custis significantly increased the number of enslaved people at Mount Vernon. After marrying Martha Dandridge Custis in January of 1759, George Washington gained control of many more people.
- The threat of physical and psychological violence underpinned slavery. Enslavers administered punishments to control their workforce. In his later years, George Washington believed that harsh and indiscriminate punishments could backfire and urged overseers to motivate workers with encouragement and rewards.
Politically, Washington felt that the divisive issue of American slavery threatened national cohesion; he never spoke publicly about it even in his speeches addressing the new nation’s challenges, and he signed laws that protected slavery as well as laws that curtailed slavery.
As a young Virginia planter, Washington accepted slavery without apparent concern. But after the Revolutionary War, he began to feel burdened by his personal entanglement with slavery and uneasy about slavery’s effect on the nation.
Of the nine presidents who were slaveholders, only George Washington freed all his own slaves upon his death. Before the Revolution, Washington, like most White Americans, took slavery for granted. At the time of the Revolution, one-fifth of the colonies’ population lived in bondage.
Feb 8, 2017 · In 1796, a 22‑year‑old slave woman named Ona Judge fled President George Washington’s household for a life of freedom in New Hampshire.
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Aug 26, 2024 · George Washington owned enslaved people from age eleven until his death, when his will promised his enslaved people freedom. His actions and private statements suggest a long evolution in his stance on slavery, based on experience and a possible awakening of conscience.
