I agree, Pepper. At the risk of repeating myself, let me repeat myself:
I wonder what Washington would have done during the Civil War if he was still alive. I imagine by then he would have just freed all his slaves, and not only after he was dead. He struggled and suffered to help the Union get its start, and was its first major leader. The Civil War was, basically, over dissolving the Union, over the issue of slavery. I don't think he would have sided with the Confederacy.
But the slave issue is certainly a blot on him and Jefferson.
In other words, it's more complicated than, well, black and white. He enjoyed a comfortable, highly respected lifestyle, made possible only because of the labor of many slaves. But I imagine that his dedication to the Union he was founding along with a group of other geniuses would have superceded the comforts and luxuries he and Martha enjoyed. I imagine the turmoil leading up to the Civil War would have jolted him into an awareness that all this was seriously wrong, and had to be given up, or at least drastically modified. He could have kept the house and continued at least some of the farming, but probably everything would have been greatly reduced, as he would have to pay his workers for their labor.
One interesting thing was the enormous selection of books on Washington and the Founding Fathers in the gift shop. I'm sure this subject has been analyzed a million times over by now, and unless I really delve into it, all I can do is a certain amount of (ignorant) conjecture. In other words, I don't really know enough about it to have an intelligent opinion on the subject.
One more thought about this, and then I'll shut up: my daughter commented that she was surprised at how frank the tour guides were about slavery. She said she kind of expected them to gloss over it, or minimize the importance of the slaves, but they did just the opposite. They talked a lot about the slaves, even giving us some of their names. Some of the buildings still standing were the slave quarters, and other buildings mainly used by the slaves. They are very open about discussing it. The brochure they give out to all visitors mentions: "Tribute at the Slave Memorial and Cemetery. To commemorate the lives and contributions of Mount Vernon's enslaved individuals, a brief wreath laying and presentation occurs daily at the slave memorial site." This ceremony is held twice daily. Hardly enough to make up for slavery, but at least the slaves are honored.
It also says that Washington was always keen to incorporate labor-saving technology whenever possible, and described an automated system he put in his gristmill, involving a water wheel and elevators.
I am not particularly a history buff, but I found all this fascinating. I'd like to go back, as we just scratched the surface.
