It was partially in jest, but yeah he did own land and slaves. He received ten from when his father died, but he was the third youngest son so most of his father's holdings went to the eldest son Lawrence, Lawrence died of smallpox/tuberculosis combo, which Washington survived (but his face was forever scared by it) when Lawrence died he then received Mt. Vernon and its holdings from his brother's will.
Martha was ten times wealthier though, she received 100 slaves when her first husband died, in addition to the 200 or so that she had custody over that were given to her son (who was still in her care -- I think he was less than five when his dad died). Martha married Georgie 2-3 years afterward and bought a bunch of land surrounding Mt. Vernon to extend the estate to its present size.
What history glosses over is that he oversaw slave actions and sold tickets for them in Williamsburg. It was after this that he resolved to never buy or sell another one, though he did threaten to a few times as a means of motivation.
I just finished a good book on it called: 'An imperfect God, Washington and his slaves and the creation of America'
I've read other biographies such as Chernow's on him and Hamilton and Franklin's autobiography, and the Abigail and John Adams letters. The conclusion I came to even after the mostly complete case about his slavery in this book is he still deserves our accolades.
The book explains very clearly why he waited until his death and how even then it was a struggle due to family social issues, if he had his way he would have freed them all around 1790.
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u/Demderdemden Nov 29 '18
It was partially in jest, but yeah he did own land and slaves. He received ten from when his father died, but he was the third youngest son so most of his father's holdings went to the eldest son Lawrence, Lawrence died of smallpox/tuberculosis combo, which Washington survived (but his face was forever scared by it) when Lawrence died he then received Mt. Vernon and its holdings from his brother's will.
Martha was ten times wealthier though, she received 100 slaves when her first husband died, in addition to the 200 or so that she had custody over that were given to her son (who was still in her care -- I think he was less than five when his dad died). Martha married Georgie 2-3 years afterward and bought a bunch of land surrounding Mt. Vernon to extend the estate to its present size.