It is possible that Washington believed this because of his own upbringing.
I have read that Washington always felt he lacked a good formal education.
He was constantly trying to educate himself and may have felt his lack of
intellectual skill was due to the fact that his father died when GW was too
young to reap the benefits of schooling provided by his father. Since GW
knew, first hand, that his intellectual skill or lack of it was due to his
environment and upbringing, he also could apply his theory the abilities of
his slaves -- people who were far more less fortunate than he as far as
education and training went.

> Clearly, Washington believed that blacks had a right to freedom; that
> formerly enslaved blacks were quite amenable to education and training;
> furthermore, he clearly believed that they had some just claim to
> education and decent work; finally, he seems to have believed that with
> education and training the freed children of slaves could immediately
> take a fruitful and productive place in Virginia society as free people
> because he emphatically specified that no one should be exiled.  His
> position was vastly different from Jefferson's.
>
> Henry Wiencek
> Charlottesville
>
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