Mount Vernon was the home of George Washington. It was also home to hundreds of enslaved men, women, and children who lived here under Washington’s control.
He depended on their labor to build and maintain his household and plantation. They, in turn, found ways to survive in a world that denied their freedom.
As a young man, Washington accepted slavery, but after the Revolutionary War, he began to question it. Washington avoided the issue publicly, believing that bitter debates over slavery could tear apart the fragile nation.
He made his most public antislavery statement after his death. In his will, Washington ordered that his enslaved workers be freed at his wife’s death. Unfortunately, this applied to fewer than half of the people in bondage at Mount Vernon.
Those owned by the Custis estate were inherited by Martha Washington’s grandchildren after her death. Many Washington and Custis enslaved people had married and formed families together. For them, separation from loved ones tainted celebrations of newfound freedom.
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Biographies
At the time of George Washington’s death, the Mount Vernon estate’s enslaved population consisted of 317 people. These silhouettes are meant to represent people in bondage at George Washington's Mount Vernon. The designs were based on physical descriptions, age, gender, clothing, and work assignment.
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Food
The standard rations enslaved people received were cornmeal and salted fish, which they harvested themselves. In their limited personal time, enslaved people kept gardens, raised poultry, and foraged.
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Housing
The standard slave quarter on Mount Vernon’s five farms was a rough one-room log structure with a wooden chimney. On Mansion House Farm, many enslaved house servants and craftsmen lived in larger barracks-style quarters.
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Family Life
At Mount Vernon, many families were separated across different farms due to their work assignments.
Learn moreVideo: Slavery at George Washington’s Mount Vernon
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Clothing
Mount Vernon’s enslaved people usually had no choice but to wear clothing identifying them as enslaved. Enslaved house servants were provided more and better-quality clothing than field workers.
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Music of the Enslaved
Archaeological evidence sheds light on the musical traditions of Mount Vernon's enslaved community.
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Labor in the Mansion
In 1799, a team of at least ten enslaved butlers, housemaids, waiters, and cooks ensured the Washingtons and their guests' needs were always met.
Learn moreA Day in the Life of an Enslaved Cook in 1799
Both enslaved men and women served as cooks at Mount Vernon and much was expected of them every day.
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Skilled Trades
In 1799, more than 50 enslaved men and women were trained in specific trades that kept parts of Mount Vernon’s operation self-sufficient.
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Field Labor
The majority of enslaved people at Mount Vernon were assigned to agricultural work on the plantation’s four outlying farms.
Learn moreA Day in the Life of an Enslaved Field Worker
George Washington expected his workforce to get as much done as possible every day, which could mean 14-hour days in the summer.
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Resistance and Punishment
Mount Vernon's enslaved community found many ways to resist bondage and challenge George Washington’s authority. Resistance ranged from subtle behavior to more visible actions.
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Slavery at Mount Vernon
The story of slavery at Mount Vernon is complex and painful. But it is also a story of strength, humanity, and hope.
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Community and Tradition
Maintaining customs and community allowed Mount Vernon’s enslaved people to affirm their humanity in a world that denied it.
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The Growth of Mount Vernon's Enslaved Community
Over the course of George Washington’s life, at least 577 enslaved people lived and worked at Mount Vernon. The number of enslaved people at Mount Vernon grew steadily during Washington's residence from 1754 to 1799.
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Plantation Structure
In 1799, Mount Vernon consisted of 8,000 acres divided into five farms, plus a gristmill and distillery. Enslaved men, women, and children lived on each farm The workers at Mansion House Farm were primarily domestic servants and craftsmen, while those on the outlying farms labored in the fields.
Learn moreSlavery in the United States
Explore a timeline of legal and social events that impacted individuals, enslaved and free, from the founding of the nation to the Civil War.
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African Americans in the Revolutionary War
The Revolutionary War posed a difficult choice for enslaved African Americans.
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Washington’s Changing Views on Slavery
George Washington began questioning slavery during the Revolutionary War, when he led the North American colonies’ battle for independence from Great Britain.
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Slavery and Washington's Presidency
After the Revolution, George Washington repeatedly voiced opposition to slavery in personal correspondence. He privately noted his support for a gradual, legislative end to slavery, but as a public figure, he did not make abolition a cause.
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George Washington's Will
George Washington addressed the issue of slavery in his will, when he ordered that his enslaved workers be freed at his wife’s death. This emancipation provision was a powerful public statement of Washington’s antislavery views.
Learn more"The Only Unavoidable Subject of Regret"
Historian Mary Thompson's book, "The Only Unavoidable Subject of Regret": George Washington, Slavery, and the Enslaved Community at Mount Vernon explores the lives of the enslaved community at Mount Vernon.
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A Community Divided
After George Washington’s death, Mount Vernon’s enslaved community was divided several times over.
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From Slavery to Freedom
After their manumission in 1801, many people formerly enslaved by George Washington settled in free black communities near Mount Vernon.
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Martha Washington as a Slaveowner
Few of Martha Washington’s letters survive, so her feelings often remain elusive. Still, her actions suggest she did not question slavery as George Washington did.
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18th-Century Atlantic Economy
The transatlantic slave trade began to flourish in the 16th century. It quickly became a major enterprise for Portuguese, British, Spanish, French, and Dutch traders.
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Researching Slavery
Most enslaved people never had an opportunity to learn reading or writing, so they left few written records of their own. At Mount Vernon we use Washington's words, combined with archaeology and oral history with descendants, to piece together the stories of Mount Vernon’s enslaved community.
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Forgotten No Longer
In 2014, Mount Vernon's archaeologists began a multi-year project to learn more about the Slave Cemetery at Mount Vernon.
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Database of Mount Vernon's Enslaved Community
A team of Mount Vernon staff and volunteers spent more than two years analyzing Washington’s papers and compiling references to the enslaved people who lived and worked on his plantation. Search by event type, person, skill, location, and more.
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Washington’s Journey to Emancipation
When considering George Washington's changes ideas toward slavery and the role he played as a slaveowner, it is helpful to consider the context of his 18th-century culture.
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Landscapes of Slavery at Mansion House Farm
At Mount Vernon, many original structures in which enslaved people lived and worked survive. These tangible spaces, along with discoveries made by historians and archaeologists, help us better understand the lives of individuals who were held in bondage on this estate.
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History of Interpretation of Slavery
Mount Vernon is committed to interpreting the lives of the enslaved people who lived and labored on George Washington's plantation. While an open discussion of slavery has evolved gradually, the organization has made efforts throughout its history to preserve, interpret, and memorialize those who were enslaved here.
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Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington's Mount Vernon
The Intertwined podcast tells the story of the more than 577 people enslaved by George and Martha Washington at Mount Vernon.
Told through the biographies of Sambo Anderson, Davy Gray, William Lee, Kate, Ona Judge, Nancy Carter Quander, Edmund Parker, Caroline Branham, and the Washingtons, this eight-part podcast series explores the lives and labors of Mount Vernon’s enslaved community, and how slavery is interpreted at the historic site today.
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The Slave Memorial at Mount Vernon
Learn more about this sacred ground, used as the cemetery for free blacks and enslaved people who worked at Mount Vernon.
The Private Lives of Enslaved People
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Enslaved persons at Mount Vernon found a variety of ways to fill their time off from work. Evenings were frequently spent with activities to benefit themselves and their families rather than their master.
Family
Of the ninety-six married enslaved couples on the five farms at Mount Vernon in 1799, only thirty-six lived in the same household as their spouse and children. Another thirty-eight had spouses living on one of Washington's other farms.
Clothing
Clothing issued to the enslaved people was minimal, plain, and often coarse. Some textiles were imported and crafted into clothing for enslaved workers at Mount Vernon, while other garments were ordered ready-made in large quantities.
Labor
The enslaved population at Mount Vernon typically worked from the time the sun rose in the morning until it set in the evening, with about two hours off for meals in between. Sunday was a day off for many, but not all. Those who saw to the Washington family's needs in the Mansion often had to work Sundays and holidays.
Greenhouse Slave Quarters
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The original brick greenhouse was built to accommodate the enslaved workers who lived at the Mansion House Farm, possibly housing as many as 60 individuals in 1799.
House for Families
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Most of the enslaved people that worked on Mansion House Farm lived in the House for Families. They often worked as house servants, blacksmiths, carpenters, spinners, weavers, and as other domestic retainers and craft workers.
Religion
In addition to worshipping with local congregations, there are indications that Mount Vernon's enslaved community developed at least one spiritual leader within their own community. Caesar, a preacher, may have played an important role in helping the enslaved people on the plantation to deal with the hardships of their lives and to find a measure of hope and meaning in their experiences.
Islam at Mount Vernon
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Although some were involved with Christian denominations in the area, elements of both Islam and other traditional African religions are found in the documentary and archaeological records of Mount Vernon’s enslaved population.
Resistance
The enslaved population at Mount Vernon did not meekly accept their bonded lot in life. Many resisted slavery in a variety of ways, differing in intensity and methodology.
Control
In addition to having overseers monitoring work on-site, George Washington utilized a number of methods to try to control the labor and behavior of the Mount Vernon's enslaved community.
Demographics
Around the time of Washington's death the enslaved population at the "Home House" included a total of fifty-nine adults between the ages of fourteen and ninety, and twenty-eight children under the age of fourteen.
Enslaved Burial Ground
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This sacred ground was used as a cemetery for enslaved people and free blacks who worked at Mount Vernon in the 18th and 19th centuries. Local tradition says that the bodies were buried with their feet towards the east (the river), symbolizing their desire to return to Africa.
Plantation Structure
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Mount Vernon's orderly arrangement of its dependencies imparted a village-like character to the group of buildings around the mansion.
Lafayette's Plan for Slavery
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In the closing days of the American Revolution, the Marquis de Lafayette wrote his old commander George Washington suggesting an experiment involving purchasing land for Washington's enslaved people to work as free tenants.
Status of Enslaved People in Washington's Will
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Composed by his own hand in relative secrecy in early July 1799, George Washington’s “Last Will and Testament,” in addition to the dispersal of his estate, freed his enslaved people upon his wife Martha Washington’s death.
George Washington on Slavery
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By the time of Washington's birth, slavery was an ingrained aspect of Virginia life for nearly a century and an indispensable part of the economic, social, legal, cultural, and political fabric of the colony.
George Washington’s Contested Antislavery Legacy
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When George Washington died in 1799, he was eulogized not only by white Americans as the father of the nation, but also by African Americans as their “sympathising friend and tender father.”
A Case of Mistaken Identity
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An 18th-century portrait, once thought to portray George Washington’s enslaved cook Hercules, yields new information—and new mysteries.