Happy Independence Day Americans!

Now, as you all celebrate this beautiful festivity with all your friends and families, i’d like to take a moment to remind you all that by the time of his death, George Washington owned 317 enslaved people at Mount Vernon, 124 of which were owned outright by Washington, 40 were rented, and the remainder were dower slaves owned by the estate of Martha Washington’s first husband, Daniel Parke Custis, on behalf of their grandchildren. Not only that, but after having owned slaves his entire life (including as a team of personal chefs during the revolution) he continued to own enslaved human beings after the Revolutionary War, but supported the abolition of slavery by a gradual legislative process, privately, Washington considered freeing his enslaved population in the mid 1790s. Those plans failed because of his “inability to raise the finances he said were necessary”
Also! Keep in mind that at his residence in Pennsylvania, to avoid laws that declared that black men or women who lived in Pennsylvania for more than 6 months would become free, he had several sets of slaves he’d switch back and forth to avoid losing his personal enslaved population.
Anyways, Happy 4th Of July!