George Washington, the first president of the United States, was born into a culture in which slavery was accepted, and an examination of the history of George Washington and slavery reveals that he was a typical Virginia slave owner for most of his life. While 11 years old, Washington became a slave owner when his father died in 1743, inheriting 10 slaves and 500 acres of land. When he began farming Mount Vernon eleven years later, at the age of 22, he had a work force of about 36 slaves.

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  • George Washington, the first president of the United States, was born into a culture in which slavery was accepted, and an examination of the history of George Washington and slavery reveals that he was a typical Virginia slave owner for most of his life. While 11 years old, Washington became a slave owner when his father died in 1743, inheriting 10 slaves and 500 acres of land. When he began farming Mount Vernon eleven years later, at the age of 22, he had a work force of about 36 slaves. With his marriage to Martha Custis in 1759, 20 of her slaves came to Mount Vernon. After their marriage, Washington purchased even more slaves. The slave population also increased because the slaves were marrying and raising their own families. By 1799, when George Washington died, there were 316 slaves living on the estate. George Washington's attitude toward slavery changed as he grew older. During the Revolutionary War, while he and fellow patriots strove for liberty, Washington became increasingly conscious of the contradiction between this struggle and the system of slavery. When the Revolutionary War was over, Washington was resolved to free himself from the institution of slavery. By the time of his presidency, he seems to have believed that slavery was wrong and against the principles of the new nation.. In 1794, while President, Washington looked for buyers of his property in the Western lands so he could emancipate his slaves. Yet, during his lifetime, George Washington was divided over slavery as an abolitionist and a slave owner. This division came to fruition while Washington was President of the United States. As an abolitionist Washington made slavery illegal in the North West Territory in 1789. States admitted into the Union in this territory would be slave free. On the other hand, as a slave owner, Washington sided with the French slave owners in suppressing a slave rebellion in Saint Domingue, now Haiti. Washington aided the French slave owners by authorizing weapons and money be given to suppress a slave rebellion. Washington also signed The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, authorizing slave hunters to enter free states and territories to capture run away slaves. The balancing between being a slave owner and an abolitionist was becoming increasingly harder for Washington to sustain. In 1785, a contemporary Virginian and Quaker abolitionist, Robert Pleasants, wrote to Washington a letter and connected George Washington's legacy with slavery. Pleasants asked how posterity would view "the great General Washington" who freed the nation from British "Tyranny" and kept African Americans in "absolute slavery". There was no need for Washington to be asked or reminded. Washington anticipated the extinction of slavery and suspected that future generations would judge harshly both slavery and all who were involved with slavery. After the Revolutionary War, Washington, inspired with the partnership of a young French abolitionist Marquis de Lafayette, sought a way to free his slaves, ultimately emancipating them in his will upon the death of his wife, Martha Washington.
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  • George Washington, the first president of the United States, was born into a culture in which slavery was accepted, and an examination of the history of George Washington and slavery reveals that he was a typical Virginia slave owner for most of his life. While 11 years old, Washington became a slave owner when his father died in 1743, inheriting 10 slaves and 500 acres of land. When he began farming Mount Vernon eleven years later, at the age of 22, he had a work force of about 36 slaves.
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  • George Washington and slavery
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