Day 6 / Friday, July 13
“Washington, like Jefferson, knew violence was what kept order on the plantation.”
—Dr. Henry Wiencek
The Lyceum of Alexandria
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Day 6 began at The Lyceum of Alexandria, VA. The Lyceum was described to us as a self-help organization forming part of the Lyceum movement in Virginia. Lectures and concerts were the hallmark of this movement as John Quincy Adams and Edgar Allen Poe were some of the more famous speakers to speak in Alexandria’s Lyceum. In the 1850s the movement experienced a slow death with the approach of the American Civil War.
Author Dr. Henry Wiencek
The lecturer for our time at The Lyceum was Henry Wiencek, author of An Imperfect God, a book about George Washington and his relationship with his slaves. Mr. Wiencek discussed a few of the major points of his book. He opened his lecture with his revelations about slavery with the Hairston family of North Carolina. His studies of that prodigious African-American family led to his growing interest in slavery and the idea of writing a book about George Washington and his slaves. Mr. Wiencek was particularly intrigued by the fact that George Washington intended to free his slaves through an emancipation clause in his will upon the death of the First Couple. There was a decided split in General Washington’s family over this issue, thus he had to be very direct in his will in this regard.
Mr. Wiencek went on to discuss slave life at Mount Vernon. In general, American slaves were treated miserably, often kept in their low status by the threat of violence by overseers. George Washington was a fervent slave owner but eventually changed his stance on the issue of slavery. The selling of slaves deeply disturbed Washington, especially the selling of children. Although he did not follow through with this wish, Washington contemplated emancipating his slaves both before and during his presidency. But what a precedent for future leaders of our country if he had! Through the reading of George Washington’s papers Mr. Wiencek delved into the mind of our first president. The author made it clear that slaves equaled money and were the most valuable part of his “portfolio” besides the hundreds of acres of land that he owned.
George Washington encouraged his slaves to read and write, which is quite unusual for the time. George Washington also felt that slaves should be a part of the United States and be considered Virginians. It is Mr. Wiencek’s contention that George Washington was not a racist and held that no man or woman should be a slave. This has been buried in our nation’s history until just recently. Wiencek points to Thomas Jefferson as our nation’s perceived moral and racial compass, but as we know he was a man of contradictions. Now that this information has been brought to light that landscape has changed. The Wiencek lecture was our day’s first offering about George Washington and slave life at Mount Vernon.
Touring Mt. Vernon
Mt. Vernon's slave quarters
Stage two of our day took us to George Washington’s Virginia home at Mount Vernon. Our program’s initial interpreter gave us the background of plantations and slavery in the Chesapeake Bay region in general. George Washington himself had 316 slaves with 89 of them working at Mount Vernon. The interpreter did a nice job of identifying specific slaves and their roles on the plantation. He went on to discuss the slaves’ living conditions, some surprisingly good and others’ more basic. The good living quarters seemed to be the best that could be provided for slaves considering the low morals such an institution implies.
Mt. Vernon's stables
We have no records of the religious practices of Washington’s slaves. George Washington treated his slaves well, but could be harsh at times when he felt he needed to enforce a solid work ethic. Slaves were given incentives and rewards for complying with the Mount Vernon regimen, but could be subject to demotion, punishment and in two known cases even be sold off the plantation. Stories were told of slave resistance, rebellion, and at least two instances of escape. Interestingly, it was George Washington’s second will that specified the release of his slaves upon his and Martha’s death. Many of those slaves likely chose to stay on the plantation after their emancipation, but plenty seem to have left as well.
Judge Rohulamin Quander at Mt. Vernon's
slave burial ground
All of us educators then went on an hour long tour of the grounds, including Washington’s burial location, the slave burial ground, and the slave memorial. There, Judge Rohulamin Quander, a descendant of Washington’s slaves and Quander family historian, discussed some very interesting subjects. He related stories about the two slave memorials. What was very interesting was that people had to search and unearth the first memorial, which was the impetus for the creation of the second memorial, completed by students from nearby Howard University. Judge Quander described the tradition of the annual commemoration on the third Saturday of every September. He went on to discuss his family, both freemen and slaves. His family originally came from the African country of Ghana. His ancestor, Nancy Quander, was a documented cloth maker for General Washington. Nancy was 13 or 14 years old upon her emancipation and chose to stay in the area. The judge went on to give more fascinating accounts of the history of his distinguished family.
We had the neat opportunity to eat lunch in the Lafayette Dining Room at The Mount Vernon Inn. The dining room, with its colonial charm and traditional dishes, was the perfect lunch spot. Some of us even found time to squeeze in a visit to the newly-renovated and expanded Mount Vernon Book Store and Museum Shop. Replenished with victuals, we marched on!
After lunch it was time for a tour of the mansion, led by our historic interpreter. It turns out that 40% of the items in the mansion are original, with other items of the 18th century mixed in. Twelve original buildings remain at Mount Vernon, including the mansion itself. The tour began in the dining room, which was the last room added to the mansion. The mansion took 12 long years to complete. The dining room exudes the importance of agriculture in Washington’s life with its intricate engravings of agricultural tools on the walls and ceilings. This was the room where Washington and Rochambeau orchestrated the plans for the Battle of Yorktown. Adam Goodheart noted how ironic it was that though signs of Washington’s abiding interest in agriculture were ubiquitous in the mansion, it was actually the slave population and not the master of the plantation that made Mount Vernon’s agriculture as productive as it was.
Our group of 17 then went to the oldest part of the mansion, the parlor, where many distinguished leaders of the day were greeted. We got the unique opportunity to also see the third floor of the mansion – usually closed to the public. The third floor consists of 3 bedrooms, a study, and a front room for Martha Washington’s extensive china collection. The third floor was less formal than the rest of the house, but more than adequate. One of the rooms is where Martha lived after George died in the master bedroom on December 14th, 1799. Why did she move to the third floor? No one is quite sure.
The second floor consists of five rooms and the master bedroom. The master bedroom is the lightest room in the house in terms of color and windows. It has plenty of windows for sight and ventilation. The portraits of the Washingtons’ four grandchildren, who they absolutely adored, adorn the walls. Some of the rooms on this floor are equipped with pull bells to summon slaves. The room that Lafayette stayed in during his time at Mount Vernon was particularly impressive -- most likely assigned to him because of his close relationship with the general. The study was particularly interesting with its maps, instruments, gadgets, chair with a fan, and riding boots. His personal, leather chair is one of the most prized possessions at Mount Vernon.
The kitchen adjoins the main house and dates back to 1775. Slaves Lucy and Nathan were the cooks. It has a very large fire place for cooking that took four or five hours to get to the appropriate cooking temperature. The conditions that the cooks worked in were very hot, with noxious smells and plenty of flies to make their jobs even more onerous.
From the mansion, off we went to the Education Center for a living history presentation. The series of actors who portray authentic figures on the Mount Vernon plantation is entitled Washington’s World. Tom Davis, an enslaved man, presented us with his life in the 1790’s. He was a hunter, fisherman, and grass cutter for General Washington. He talked about fellow slave, Hercules, who worked in the kitchen. Tom seemed a little bitter that Hercules got to work inside and only broke a sweat when the steam got too hot. Tom had a strong personality that could only be described as a little disagreeable at times. But we can understand that! Tom let it be known that Washington pushed his slaves hard and had high expectations for finished products. Tom answered questions afterwards, in character.
He also broke character for us. As a professional actor, the man behind the Tom Davis of history answered our questions. What was interesting was there are no records of direct acts of defiance toward George or Martha Washington personally. But there was a lot of passive resistance in terms of broken tools, burned barns, and substandard production. It was an interesting and engaging recreation of slave life to wrap up our trip to Mount Vernon.
What a great day! It was full of learning and a confirmation of what we have been learning all week. Kudos to co-directors, Adam Goodheart and Alexa Cawley, and the rest of the staff for preparing us so well. All of our presenters, interpreters, and experts at locations all week have been so interesting and informative. We are looking forward to more of the same on the final day of our journey tomorrow. Tune in in twenty-four hours when we blog in with the last installment of our Chesapeake Journey – the exciting conclusion in our nation’s capital!
—JAMIE HOOPES & MARK LOWRIE
A Chesapeake Journey: From Slavery to Freedom