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The Resource An imperfect god : George Washington, his slaves, and the creation of America, Henry Wiencek

An imperfect god : George Washington, his slaves, and the creation of America, Henry Wiencek

Creator
Summary
An analysis of how George Washington's life was impacted by slavery discusses his ties to the slave community, activities as a slave owner, realization of the evils of slavery, and political efforts on behalf of slaves. A major new biography of Washington, and the first to explore his engagement with American slavery. When George Washington wrote his will, he made the startling decision to set his slaves free; earlier he had said that holding slaves was his only unavoidable subject of regret. In this groundbreaking work, Henry Wiencek explores the founding father's engagement with slavery at every stage of his life--as a Virginia planter, soldier, politician, president and statesman. Washington was born and raised among blacks and mixed-race people; he and his wife had blood ties to the slave community. Yet as a young man he bought and sold slaves without scruple, even raffled off children to collect debts (an incident ignored by earlier biographers). Then, on the Revolutionary battlefields where he commanded both black and white troops, Washington's attitudes began to change. He and the other framers enshrined slavery in the Constitution, but Wiencek shows, even before he became president, Washington had begun to see the system's evil. Wiencek's revelatory narrative, based on a meticulous examination of private papers, court records, and the voluminous Washington archives, documents for the first time the moral transformation culminating in Washington's determination to emancipate his slaves. He acted too late to keep the new republic from perpetuating slavery, but his repentance was genuine. And it was perhaps related to the possibility--as the oral history of Mount Vernon's slave descendants has long asserted--that a slave named West Ford was the son of George and a woman named Venus; Wiencek has new evidence that this could indeed have been true. George Washington's heroic stature as Father of Our Country is not diminished in this superb, nuanced portrait: now we see Washington in full as a man of his time and ahead of his time
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Edition
1st ed.
Extent
404 pages
Contents
  • Map of Washington's Virginia
  • Introduction : General's dream
  • Home ground
  • On the borderland
  • The widow Custis
  • A life honorable and amusing
  • A scheme in Williamsburg
  • "So sacred a war as this"
  • A different destiny
  • "A sort of shadowy life"
  • The great escape
  • Mrs. Peter's patrimony
  • "The justice of the creator."
Isbn
9780374175269
Link
Instance
Label
An imperfect god : George Washington, his slaves, and the creation of America
Title
An imperfect god
Title remainder
George Washington, his slaves, and the creation of America
Statement of responsibility
Henry Wiencek
Creator
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
An analysis of how George Washington's life was impacted by slavery discusses his ties to the slave community, activities as a slave owner, realization of the evils of slavery, and political efforts on behalf of slaves. A major new biography of Washington, and the first to explore his engagement with American slavery. When George Washington wrote his will, he made the startling decision to set his slaves free; earlier he had said that holding slaves was his only unavoidable subject of regret. In this groundbreaking work, Henry Wiencek explores the founding father's engagement with slavery at every stage of his life--as a Virginia planter, soldier, politician, president and statesman. Washington was born and raised among blacks and mixed-race people; he and his wife had blood ties to the slave community. Yet as a young man he bought and sold slaves without scruple, even raffled off children to collect debts (an incident ignored by earlier biographers). Then, on the Revolutionary battlefields where he commanded both black and white troops, Washington's attitudes began to change. He and the other framers enshrined slavery in the Constitution, but Wiencek shows, even before he became president, Washington had begun to see the system's evil. Wiencek's revelatory narrative, based on a meticulous examination of private papers, court records, and the voluminous Washington archives, documents for the first time the moral transformation culminating in Washington's determination to emancipate his slaves. He acted too late to keep the new republic from perpetuating slavery, but his repentance was genuine. And it was perhaps related to the possibility--as the oral history of Mount Vernon's slave descendants has long asserted--that a slave named West Ford was the son of George and a woman named Venus; Wiencek has new evidence that this could indeed have been true. George Washington's heroic stature as Father of Our Country is not diminished in this superb, nuanced portrait: now we see Washington in full as a man of his time and ahead of his time
Biography type
individual biography
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Wiencek, Henry
Dewey number
  • 973.4/1/092
  • B
Illustrations
  • illustrations
  • maps
Index
index present
LC call number
E312.17
LC item number
.W6 2003
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Washington, George
  • Washington, George
  • Washington, George
  • Washington, George
  • Washington, George
  • Washington, George
  • Presidents
  • Slavery
  • United States
  • Politics and government
  • Presidents
  • Relations with slaves
  • Slavery
  • United States
  • Presidenten
  • Slavernij
  • Sklaverei
  • Pressure
Label
An imperfect god : George Washington, his slaves, and the creation of America, Henry Wiencek
Link
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 364-390) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Map of Washington's Virginia -- Introduction : General's dream -- Home ground -- On the borderland -- The widow Custis -- A life honorable and amusing -- A scheme in Williamsburg -- "So sacred a war as this" -- A different destiny -- "A sort of shadowy life" -- The great escape -- Mrs. Peter's patrimony -- "The justice of the creator."
Control code
ocm51942552
Dimensions
24 cm
Edition
1st ed.
Extent
404 pages
Isbn
9780374175269
Lccn
2003006984
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations, map
System control number
  • (Sirsi) o51942552
  • (OCoLC)51942552
Label
An imperfect god : George Washington, his slaves, and the creation of America, Henry Wiencek
Link
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 364-390) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Map of Washington's Virginia -- Introduction : General's dream -- Home ground -- On the borderland -- The widow Custis -- A life honorable and amusing -- A scheme in Williamsburg -- "So sacred a war as this" -- A different destiny -- "A sort of shadowy life" -- The great escape -- Mrs. Peter's patrimony -- "The justice of the creator."
Control code
ocm51942552
Dimensions
24 cm
Edition
1st ed.
Extent
404 pages
Isbn
9780374175269
Lccn
2003006984
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations, map
System control number
  • (Sirsi) o51942552
  • (OCoLC)51942552

Subject

Genre

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