Henry,
This is an insightful post, one that sent me paging through my copy of, an Imperfect God. This is why I keep coming back to this list. 
 
Anita > Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2007 17:11:03 -0400> From: [log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Mount Vernon Opens Rebuilt Slave Cabin> To: [log in to unmask]> > Mr. South is wrong on the facts. The slave housing at Mount Vernon was far> worse than that of free white laborers, by Washington's own estimation. And> I suspect that the newly reconstructed cabin might not be representative of> the typical MV housing--it's much too large and substantial to pass the> "will it fit on a cart?" test. A letter from GW to his manager tell us that> Mount Vernon had some cabins so small and insubstantial that the slaves> could carry them from one place to another on carts, and they might not even> need the carts -- the letter refers to "Removing the largest kind of the> Negro quarters (the smaller ones or cabbins I presume the people with a> little assistance of Carts can do themselves) to the ground marked out for> them opposite to [the overseer's] new house." (GW To William Pearce,> December 22, 1793.) > > In a 1793 letter to the Englishman Arthur Young, Washington described the> spacious houses available to his overseers while referring to the> habitations of his slaves as mere "coverings"--and he admitted that white> people would probably refuse to live in them. Here is the text:> > [At his Union Farm] "A new house is now building in a central position, not> far from the Barn, for the Overlooker; which will have two Rooms 16 by 18> feet below and one or two above nearly of the same size. Convenient thereto> is sufficient accommodation for fifty odd Negroes (old and young) but these> buildings might not be thought good enough for the workmen or day labourers> of your Country. . . . > > "Dogue run farm has a small but new building for the Overlooker; one room> only below, and the same above, 16 by 20 each; decent and comfortable for> its size. It has also covering for forty odd negroes, similar to what is> mentioned on Union farm." (GW to Arthur Young, December 12, 1793).> > A Polish visitor to Mount Vernon, Count Julien Niemcewicz, left this> account, which makes clear that the poorest white people of impoverished> Poland would not live in an American slave's shack: > > "We entered one of the huts of the Blacks, for one can not call them by the> name of houses. They are more miserable than the most miserable of the> cottages of our peasants. The husband and wife sleep on a mean pallet, the> children on the ground; a very bad fireplace, some utensils for cooking, but> in the middle of this poverty some cups and a teapot."> > All of this is documented in my book, "An Imperfect God." If you search the> book on Amazon (better yet, buy it and read it), for "miserable" you will> find the descriptions of the slave housing at Mount Vernon; if you search> for "socks" you will find information about clothing. It's all from GW's own> documents and eyewitness descriptions.> > As for slaves "living better" than free people, the latter were not whipped> or sold, as were the slaves at Mount Vernon.> > When I was writing the book it deeply puzzled me that a man who freed his> slaves would treat them so harshly. After more research and discussions with> historians, I realized that this apparent paradox grew out of Washington's> hierarchical view of society. He knew that there would always be people at> the bottom, white and black, whose lives would be very hard, and he didn't> think they deserved much; but he was convinced that no one should be a> slave--that slavery was an abomination. That was his great insight. As for> African-Americans going "back to the jungle," Washington's will makes it> clear that HE believed African-Americans had a right to live here and a> right to education and decent work. Unlike many people then and now, George> Washington believed in a multi-racial society. > > In earlier posts I discussed the peculiar quasi-slavery of indentured> servitude that was fastened upon mixed-race children for thirty years. It> was vastly different from the indentured servitude of immigrant white men,> and Jefferson himself denounced the system as "wicked."> > Henry Wiencek> >
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