Posted on 07/29/2002 5:19:55 AM PDT by Pharmboy
Cheeze louise! This guy is a history professor? Of what? Ancient Sumatra? The fact of the matter is, Professor Henriques:
1) Lots and lots of people owned slaves back then, and not all of them were male or even white. Owning a slave back then was like owning an SUV today, frowned on by some but perfectly legal
2)A large number of Washington's slaves came about as a result of the "birds and the bees", if you know what I mean. Another very large percenatge were "dower slaves" meaning they were part of his wife's dowery; he could not have sold them even if he wanted to.
3) On his death Washington granted freedom to all his slaves, and died comforted in the promise from his wife that upon her passing that she --in her will-- would free all of her slaves. * Thomas Jefferson, the liberals' posterboy, on the other hand, upon his death freed only about 6 of his 220+ slaves.
4) As to "elitist", what the duce does that mean?? That he wasn't some kind of Jacobin? That he actually thought Hamilton had some good ideas? That he believed that the office of the President of the United States, as the respresenative of the people, should be one enveloped in civility, decorm and dignity?
5)In closing, professor, do yourself and everyone else a favor: read the books listed on this post. In addition may I add, "Agony and Farewell: Washington's Final Years" and "All Cloudless Glory, Vol. II"
* Within a year of her husband's death Martha Custis Washington (who, in fact, was a few years older than Washington by) would set all her slaves free as well. This was not so much done from charity or noblese obligue, but fear. She knew-- as did the remaining slaves (many of them married to Washington slaves who were compelled to "hang around" Mt. Vernon waiting for the old woman to die so that their spouces would also be free to leave)-- that more than once in the history of Virgina the "Massa's" widow soon after "died without witness", as the old legal term so politely put it. Mrs. Washington was an old, sick woman. Better a less "genteel" standard of living than live every hour of the day in constant fear. (Not that I'd expect this to be mentioned in the Mt. Vernon tour)
This holiday is designated as "Washington's Birthday" in section 6103(a) of title 5 of the United States Code, which is the law that specifies holidays for Federal employees. Though other institutions such as state and local governments and private businesses may use other names, it is our policy to always refer to holidays by the names designated in the law.
He was the kind of man people loved to be around. He was well-liked. People enjoyed playing cards with him -- probably whist, an early version of bridge. He was a fine dancer and a brilliant conversationalist with a wry sense of humor.
He was also hell on horseback.
Virginia colonial law at the time required all farmers with an acreage over a certain amount to devote a fixed percentage of that acreage to growing hemp. Hemp fibers were exceptionally strong and were used to make rope, paper and clothing, among other things. The pharmacological properties of the hemp plant were also known, and Washington's journal shows he used the plant to soothe the pain from his dentures.
Washington would carefully separate the male and female plants in order to produce what is today known as sensamilla, the female hemp plant that has been starved of pollen and thus concentrating energy on making resin, not seeds. According to his journal, Washington made a tea of hemp by boiling it in hot water. I'm not sure whether the analgesic effect came from ingestion of the tea or letting the tea sit on his inflamed gums.
Ironically, it was not known until the Sixties that the active ingredient of hemp, tetrahydrocannibanol (THC), is not very soluble in water but is very soluble in alcohol. Washington could gave gotten more relief by boiling the hemp in wine (or something stronger). Had he asked around the slave quarters, he no doubt would have discovered that there was an even faster way of receiving the analgesic benefits of hemp -- inhaling the vapors of the burning plant. (Washington was apparently not aware of that little piece of African folklore.)
I do know that he was fond of madeira and I doubt very much if he refused too many rum punches offered to him (as you undoubtedly know, they drank a lot back then). I was at Gadsby's Tavern in Alexandria a few weeks ago (he spent some time there) and ordered a rum punch as the General might have had it. The way they served it (pink) made it look like a chick drink (not that there's anything wrong with that) and it was quite sweet.
He also put in a distillery a few miles from Mount Vernon and sold whiskey. But stoned General Washington? Hard to picture...
If your local school board insists on teaching about the antics of post World War II Leftwing activists, rather than about the history and values of the Founding Fathers, the answer is to cut back on the funding--particularly any that would go to the salaries of such "educators," and the school administrators who determine their curricula. A school which treats the values of the "Great Society" and the "Civil Rights" movement as more important than the well understood individual responsibility that motivated the Founding Fathers, is less than worthless in its contribution to the American future. It is promoting that which will make an "American" future, next to impossible.
I would try to encourage parents to take the time to read Washington's Farewell Address in their homes on February 22nd; just as I am trying to encourage parents to read the Declaration of Independence to their children on July 4th. We dare not trust the future to anyone. We must assume responsibility--individual responsibility, not collective responsibility--that the light does not go out.
William Flax Return Of The Gods Web Site
At a Christmas party during the war, an officer on Washington's staff noted that he put two entire bottles of madeira under his belt without batting an eyelash. Unlike Hamilton who became loquacious in his cups, Washington simply smiled -- and spent the rest of the evening dancing with plump little Lucy Knox, wife of Col. Henry Knox.
I don't think Martha was amused.
BTW, Washington wasn't "stoned" on hemp. He simply used the herbs available to a Virginia planter for medicinal purposes, as did his neighbors.
I was being a bit cheeky.
Your Obdt. Svt.
PB
Do they even assign books like "Silver for General Washington" and "Johnny Tremain" any more?
a.cricket
Yes it is a shame that the Mount Vernon Ladies Association must do what educators all over the country should be doing, but better this than nothing...
Leni
There are many things to admire about the General.
One of my favorite stories about him is that when he returned from the French and Indian war and settled down after just marrying Martha, for 18 months he had no time to take care of his own affairs. Why? People from the neighborhood recognized his character and asked him to be executor of wills, guardian of orphans, etc., and he had little time for himself.
He rarely--if ever--refused to lend a hand. Decency and class defined him (oh how rare those attributes are these days).
-PJ
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