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Installment No. 1. Leading up to Independence Day, I typically share something related to the Founding Fathers and American Revolution. In light of unfolding events, I am doing something a little different. Through this week, starting today and ending with the Fourth of July on Saturday, I will leave a daily post about a member of the Founding Generation, introducing you to who they were and what they did, what message they left for posterity, what their vision was for the country, and where they stood on the sensitive topics of race and slavery.

"I am sure there never was a people who had more reason to acknowledge a divine interposition in their affairs than those of the United States, and I should be pained to believe that they have forgotten that agency which was so often manifested during our Revolution." -Letter to John Armstrong (March 11, 1782).

The story of George Washington is very much a real-life example of the hero’s journey, not only because of a lifetime of daring acts and selfless service that transformed the world, but also because of how he himself evolved as a human being. Washington was born in 1732 in the British Colony of Virginia, and descended from English immigrants to the New World. Because he was not the eldest son in his esteemed family that had made a fortune in land speculation, and therefore not the main benefactor, the ambitious Washington had to follow a different path to earn distinction and fortune. While many of his peers obtained formal educations at Harvard and William & Mary, Washington cut his teeth on the frontier as a soldier and surveyor. During the French and Indian War, the exploits of the young officer serving in Britain’s colonial corps garnered attention when published, causing many contemporaries to regard Washington as someone destined for great things. His military career helped him to marry up by wedding the wealthy widow, Mary Custis, and the couple enjoyed a long and happy marriage. He expanded the Custis estate, becoming one of the most affluent landowners in the Virginia colony. As tensions arose with the motherland, Washington grew frustrated by how the British conducted business and imposed taxes upon himself and his countrymen. For his proven patriotism and elite status, Washington was elevated from Virginia’s House of Burgesses to the First Continental Congress. When war finally broke out in 1775, the Continental Army was formed to combat the redcoats and Washington was nominated by fellow delegates John and Samuel Adams to command it (the taciturn Washington humbly accepted without salary). For the next eight years, Washington served as Commander in Chief through the tumult of the American Revolution, leading the struggling United States against seemingly impossible odds. When the unlikely victory was achieved and independence was secured in 1783, a triumph Washington attributed to divine delivery, the latter-day Cincinnatus willingly relinquished his command and returned to his crops, an unassuming act that won the respect of both King George and Napoleon Bonaparte. Washington was, as historian James Flexner called him, the “indispensable man.” In the nascent years of American sovereignty, citizens of all stations looked to him for guidance and he was called upon to serve in leadership roles, from the Constitutional Convention to the Presidency. Without his steadfast, unifying qualities, it is not a long shot to claim that the fledgling nation had little chance of survival. In the eulogizing words of General Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee, Washington was “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.”

Regarding slavery, Washington was born into a world where the practice was an engrained institution rather than an unfashionable deviation; in some social circles, a mark of success was measured by how many slaves one owned. Through inheritance and dowry, he received the control of scores of slaves, and at the time of his death the enslaved population of Mount Vernon numbered 317. Treatment of slaves at Mount Vernon was typical of what one would find on 18th-century plantations in the Americas. Known for his frugality and discipline, Washington would afford only the bare minimum of what the workers needed; as a military man, he could also be harsh to those that were disobedient in his eyes. What is not so typical was how his views of slavery evolved and what became of his slaves. During the Revolutionary War, his opinions about certain groups of people changed. For example, prior to the conflict, the Southern aristocrat did not think highly of New Englanders, but after accepting his commission and fighting alongside them that prejudice quickly evaporated. In a similar fashion, by serving with enlisted blacks his views changed. Among those that stood by his side was William “Billy” Lee, one of Washington’s slaves who acted as a valet and became the most famous African-American of his time (Lee even appears in Washington’s portraits). Because of his proximity to Lee and white officers opposed to slavery, and due to the cause for which they were fighting, Washington came to detest human bondage in all its forms. He privately expressed that he no longer wished to be a slave-owner, at first for economic reasons and later for moral reasons. In the years following the war, as Virginia’s free black population rose sharply, Washington himself sought to neither buy or sell slaves, and he did his utmost to keep families intact and in the commonwealth. As a public figure, he was committed to applying the mechanisms for a gradual reduction and legislative abolition of slavery, whilst still trying to maintain the peace needed to keep the fragile union together. In December 1799, after inspecting his farm in cold, wet weather, Washington took ill and his health deteriorated rapidly. On his deathbed at age 67, he sent for two drafts of his will. Upon reviewing them, he discarded one version that was burned by Martha. The text of the rejected version is unknown, but the surviving copy was notably magnanimous, with one of its first provisions being the stipulated care, education, and manumission of all his slaves. Although many would have to wait another three years until the death of Martha before the emancipation was finalized, or longer when her relatives passed away, one that was granted his freedom outright (along with a pension) was Billy Lee, who remained at Mount Vernon until his death in 1810. Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784), a former slave and the “Mother of Black Literature” by being the first African-American writer ever published, honored the man in her 1775 poem, “His Excellency General Washington,” writing:
Proceed, great chief, with virtue on thy side,
Thy ev’ry action let the Goddess guide.
A crown, a mansion, and a throne that shine,
With gold unfading, WASHINGTON! Be thine.

Description
Installment No. 1. Leading up to Independence Day, I typically share something related to the Founding Fathers and American Revolution. In light of unfolding events, I am doing something a little different. Through this week, starting today and ending with the Fourth of July on Saturday, I will leave a daily post about a member of the Founding Generation, introducing you to who they were and what they did, what message they left for posterity, what their vision was for the country, and where they stood on the sensitive topics of race and slavery.

"I am sure there never was a people who had more reason to acknowledge a divine interposition in their affairs than those of the United States, and I should be pained to believe that they have forgotten that agency which was so often manifested during our Revolution." -Letter to John Armstrong (March 11, 1782).

The story of George Washington is very much a real-life example of the hero’s journey, not only because of a lifetime of daring acts and selfless service that transformed the world, but also because of how he himself evolved as a human being. Washington was born in 1732 in the British Colony of Virginia, and descended from English immigrants to the New World. Because he was not the eldest son in his esteemed family that had made a fortune in land speculation, and therefore not the main benefactor, the ambitious Washington had to follow a different path to earn distinction and fortune. While many of his peers obtained formal educations at Harvard and William & Mary, Washington cut his teeth on the frontier as a soldier and surveyor. During the French and Indian War, the exploits of the young officer serving in Britain’s colonial corps garnered attention when published, causing many contemporaries to regard Washington as someone destined for great things. His military career helped him to marry up by wedding the wealthy widow, Mary Custis, and the couple enjoyed a long and happy marriage. He expanded the Custis estate, becoming one of the most affluent landowners in the Virginia colony. As tensions arose with the motherland, Washington grew frustrated by how the British conducted business and imposed taxes upon himself and his countrymen. For his proven patriotism and elite status, Washington was elevated from Virginia’s House of Burgesses to the First Continental Congress. When war finally broke out in 1775, the Continental Army was formed to combat the redcoats and Washington was nominated by fellow delegates John and Samuel Adams to command it (the taciturn Washington humbly accepted without salary). For the next eight years, Washington served as Commander in Chief through the tumult of the American Revolution, leading the struggling United States against seemingly impossible odds. When the unlikely victory was achieved and independence was secured in 1783, a triumph Washington attributed to divine delivery, the latter-day Cincinnatus willingly relinquished his command and returned to his crops, an unassuming act that won the respect of both King George and Napoleon Bonaparte. Washington was, as historian James Flexner called him, the “indispensable man.” In the nascent years of American sovereignty, citizens of all stations looked to him for guidance and he was called upon to serve in leadership roles, from the Constitutional Convention to the Presidency. Without his steadfast, unifying qualities, it is not a long shot to claim that the fledgling nation had little chance of survival. In the eulogizing words of General Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee, Washington was “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.”

Regarding slavery, Washington was born into a world where the practice was an engrained institution rather than an unfashionable deviation; in some social circles, a mark of success was measured by how many slaves one owned. Through inheritance and dowry, he received the control of scores of slaves, and at the time of his death the enslaved population of Mount Vernon numbered 317. Treatment of slaves at Mount Vernon was typical of what one would find on 18th-century plantations in the Americas. Known for his frugality and discipline, Washington would afford only the bare minimum of what the workers needed; as a military man, he could also be harsh to those that were disobedient in his eyes. What is not so typical was how his views of slavery evolved and what became of his slaves. During the Revolutionary War, his opinions about certain groups of people changed. For example, prior to the conflict, the Southern aristocrat did not think highly of New Englanders, but after accepting his commission and fighting alongside them that prejudice quickly evaporated. In a similar fashion, by serving with enlisted blacks his views changed. Among those that stood by his side was William “Billy” Lee, one of Washington’s slaves who acted as a valet and became the most famous African-American of his time (Lee even appears in Washington’s portraits). Because of his proximity to Lee and white officers opposed to slavery, and due to the cause for which they were fighting, Washington came to detest human bondage in all its forms. He privately expressed that he no longer wished to be a slave-owner, at first for economic reasons and later for moral reasons. In the years following the war, as Virginia’s free black population rose sharply, Washington himself sought to neither buy or sell slaves, and he did his utmost to keep families intact and in the commonwealth. As a public figure, he was committed to applying the mechanisms for a gradual reduction and legislative abolition of slavery, whilst still trying to maintain the peace needed to keep the fragile union together. In December 1799, after inspecting his farm in cold, wet weather, Washington took ill and his health deteriorated rapidly. On his deathbed at age 67, he sent for two drafts of his will. Upon reviewing them, he discarded one version that was burned by Martha. The text of the rejected version is unknown, but the surviving copy was notably magnanimous, with one of its first provisions being the stipulated care, education, and manumission of all his slaves. Although many would have to wait another three years until the death of Martha before the emancipation was finalized, or longer when her relatives passed away, one that was granted his freedom outright (along with a pension) was Billy Lee, who remained at Mount Vernon until his death in 1810. Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784), a former slave and the “Mother of Black Literature” by being the first African-American writer ever published, honored the man in her 1775 poem, “His Excellency General Washington,” writing:
Proceed, great chief, with virtue on thy side,
Thy ev’ry action let the Goddess guide.
A crown, a mansion, and a throne that shine,
With gold unfading, WASHINGTON! Be thine.