General Samuel Hopkins Chapter
of
Henderson County, Kentucky

GEORGE WASHINGTON BICENTENNIAL INFOLINE
October 1999
 

 WASHINGTON POTPOURRI

          Throughout this year, we have studied many facets of George Washington's life and deeds.  In preparing these monthly Bicentennial Tribute essays, we have accumulated many tidbits of interesting information about Washington that, while not connected, are fun to share.

Washington's Birthday:
         For those of us whose formative years were mostly before 1968, George Washington's birthday was always celebrated on February 22nd.  Somewhere in our study of American history, we learned that he was born in 1732.  For students growing up since 1968, Washington's birthday
might be a little harder to remember since Congress voted in 1968 to no longer commemorate Lincoln on February 16th, his birthday, and Washington on February 22nd.  Instead, both presidents are now honored on the third Monday in February on "President's Day".  Interestingly, however, prior to 1752, George Washington's birthday was celebrated on February 11th!  How could this be?

         The answer is that the Julian calendar, a standard in Europe until the 16th century, was actually slightly inaccurate.  Each year, it ran a few minutes long such that over time, it was off by several days.  In 1582, Pope Gregory VIII cut 10 days from October to fix the error; he also ruled that every fourth year, leap year, the calendar would have an extra day added to keep this problem from happening again.  While the other countries in Europe adopted the Gregorian calendar, Great Britain and therefore her colonies continued to use the Julian calendar.  By the time Parliament adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752, Great Britain was 11 days behind her European neighbors.  To overcome this problem, they erased the 11 days out of the year by having September 14th immediately follow September 2, 1752.  All persons born between 1700 and 1752 then added these 11 "catch-up" days to their birth dates; persons born between January 1 and March 24th also added a year to their date of birth.  Thus, George Washington, born on February 11, 1731 came to have his birthday celebrated as February 22, 1732.  Having two birthdays was common for members of Washington's generation; they could choose whichever of the two dates they wanted as their birthday.  Washington often celebrated twice-- once with the public on February 22nd and with his family on February 11th.

Washington and Slavery:
         Did you know that Washington was the only founding father from Virginia to free his slaves?  According to Washington's biographer, James Thomas Flexner, "Almost all southern patriots had to find some personal resolution of the dilemma that their search for liberty for themselves and other whites was conducted while thy continued to hold blacks in slavery" [Flexner, p 385].  George Washington had been raised in a world where slavery was accepted as a part of life.  To be sure, "[slavery was] not invented for blacks, slavery stretches to the beginning of human history.  When Washington was a boy, it had not been officially challenged anywhere" [Flexner, p 386].

         Thus, in regards to slavery, Washington was no different than most Americans of his time [Randall, p 207].  His attitudes did evolve over time was, however, and he came to believe that slavery was wrong and should be abolished.  In 1786, in a letter to Robert Morris of Pennsylvania, Washington addresses the issue of slavery and states "[there] is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do, to see   a plan adopted for the abolition of it" [Brookheiser, p 179].  And to an English visitor, he is quoted as having said, "I clearly foresee nothing but the rooting out of slavery can perpetuate the existence of our union by consolidating it in a common bond of principle" [Flexner, p 386].

         On a personal level, holding slaves was an economic drain for George Washington.  He did not believe in separating families or sending slaves to unfamiliar destinations without obtaining their consent, which rarely happened.  Therefore, the numbers of slaves on his plantation continued to grow, far beyond the number needed to maintain its production.  This is especially true because Washington had abandoned labor-intensive tobacco crops early-on.  Despite the hardship, Washington would not sell his slaves, "I am principled against selling negroes, as you would do cattle at a market..." [Brookheiser, p 182].

        In 1793, Washington conceived a plan that although it would end his career as a plantation owner, would give freedom and a way to earn income to his slaves so that they could become independent.  Washington proposed breaking up Mt Vernon, except for some acreage around the mansion, into four farms. These farms would be rented to expert English farmers who would then hire the former Mt Vernon slaves--who would then be free men--as laborers.  Washington thought this would provide a way for the newly freed slaves to make a living, doing work to which they were already accustomed.  Washington kept this plan close to his vest, sharing it only with Arthur Young, a British agricultural reformer, whom Washington felt could help recruit farm managers in England.  He dared not let this idea circulate at Mt Vernon for fear of causing a disturbance among the slaves; he also had to be wary of precipitating problems with southern Republicans.  While Washington was able to lease some of his land, he  could never rent out enough to support the plan he had envisioned [Flexner, pp 390-392].

         Thus, Washington was left with only one viable option--to free his slaves upon his death.  There was, however, a problem with this as Washington could not free "all" of the slaves at Mt Vernon.  One-half of them had come from the Custis family; he did not have the right to free these slaves.  He could not free only the slaves he possessed as this would split families and cause discontentment among the remaining slaves.  The only solution was to wait and free all of the slaves after Martha's death [Flexner, p 393].

        Indeed, this is what George Washington did.  His will stipulated that his slaves would become free upon the death of his wife Martha.  Unfortunately for Martha, this stipulation in Washington's will meant that nearly 150 individuals were awaiting her death.  By December, 1800, Martha felt she could no longer keep her slaves in bondage and maintain her own security so she freed all 300 at the end of that year.  Those who were too infirm or too old stayed with the Washington family which continued to provide for them long after Martha's death [Flexner, pp 393-394].

The Cherry Tree:
         In his book, A History of the Life and Death, Virtues and Exploits of General George Washington,  Mason "Parson" Weems describes an intimate vignette from Washington's childhood wherein George is so excited to use his new hatchet that he chops down his father's cherry tree.  His father demands to know who chopped down the tree and George volunteers, "It was I, father, for I cannot tell a lie".  Such honesty so pleases George's father that he does not punish the son.  Weems felt that the only way to truly know the man was to look at his private life, not his public persona.  Unfortunately, little was known of Washington's early life so Weems felt obliged to create some human interest stories.  In reality, Washington's deeds far surpassed any need for manufactured stories.  As Richard Brookheiser states in Founding Father:
         Parson Weems was wrong: we must look for the man in the glare of his public life.  His deeds are enough to do him honor.  Any one of them would have guaranteed him fame; the series, the variety of series - military, constitutional, political -and the span of time it covered - twenty four years, from taking command of the army until his death - make a unique record. [Brookheiser 10-11].

         So, let us take solace from the fact that, while Weems created the cherry tree vignette, Washington's integrity made such a tale believable!

Wooden Teeth:
        Washington did have to wear a full set of false teeth by the time he was 57.  They were not, however, made of wood!  They were constructed of cow bone and hippopotamus teeth.  Unfortunately, wearing them caused his lip to protrude which detracted from his appearance.  He is reputed to have said that he lost his teeth because he used them to crack walnuts when he was young.

Travelling Exhibit:
         The Treasures from Mt Vernon: George Washington exhibit is currently being showcased at the Atlanta History Center through January 6, 2000.  From January 28 to April 23, 2000, it will be shown at the Chicago Historical Society.  This exhibit, sponsored by Ford Motor Company, was prepared by The Mt Vernon Ladies Association.  The purpose of the exhibit is to enlighten the public as to the man behind the myth -- a man of many diverse interests who was also an effective and powerful leader of his time.

         The exhibit showcases 170 artifacts from George Washington's life.  Among these items are the only 2 surviving letters from Washington to his wife, Martha; his set of artificial teeth; the iron key to the French prison "La Bastille", liberated during the French Revolution and sent to Washington by Lafayette; an inventory of slaves at Mt Vernon, prepared in 1799 in anticipation of freeing them according to Washington's will; and a recreation of the marquee tent used by Washington as Commander of the Continental Army.

          As both Atlanta and Chicago are within driving distance of Henderson, Daughters of the General Samuel Hopkins Chapter, NSDAR, should seriously consider taking someone with them to view this exhibit and to learn more about this great patriot.

Richard Brookheiser. Founding Father:  Rediscovering George Washington (New York: Free Press, 1996).
Betty Debnam. Discovering Washington. The Mini Page, Vincennes Sun Commercial 31 January 1999: E7.
James Thomas Flexner. George Washington, 4-vols. (Boston: Little, Brown, 1965-72; 1-vol abridgement, 1974).
Diane Heilenman. Viewpoints. The Louisville Courier Journal 27 June 1999: I4.
Randall, Willard Stern.  George Washington: A Life.  Henry Holt and Company, New York.  1997.