They may not have meant that the slave housing was small enough to fit onto a cart in one piece. Log houses (as described at Mason Neck) are easily disassembled and moved log by log- either by carrying on multiple shoulders or with the aid of a cart. Roy Underhill In a message dated 9/21/07 5:11:43 PM, [log in to unmask] writes: > 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 > > It appears to me that President Washington's slaves were well cared for > >and lived better than most of the free population in that area at the > time, > >plantation owners excepted. > > > >J South > > > > > ************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com