February is Black history month, and one of the biggest complaints white people have is "why is there no white history month?" Most of them don't see that history in this country is by default, white history, but I decided to indulge them, anyway. So, this March is white history month. Strap yourselves in for a month of fun factoids about white history! I think the complainers will really enjoy it!
Kicking it off with a man white Americans really love...
Born April 30, 1789
Died March 4, 1797
Claim to Fame: Hero of the Revolutionary War. First president. Notorious denture wearer. Slavery enthusiast.
Over the course of Washington's life, he would be the owner/co-owner of over 577 humans who worked his land and tended his home. They were unpaid, and unable to leave. He was notoriously vicious with them, separating married couples or parents from children when he felt slighted or wronged by them. The dentures he is famous for are now known to have been made with teeth from his enslaved people. We can only hope they had already fallen out of their mouths, or they were dead when they were taken, but somehow I suspect not...
I live in a state named after this man, and nobody thinks about it. He's on our dollar bill, and we don't think about it. But maybe we should think about it. He helped shape our nation at it's impetus, but he also owned nearly 600 people over the course of his life. At a time when they were creating the rules of a brand new nation, none of those rules and laws was about ending slavery, even though "laws" are the excuse people like him gave for not freeing his slaves. It's hard to reconcile, and I'm not sure it should be reconciled...
Here is a list of links with more information on George Washington:
Mt. Vernon's website does not hold back on detailing Washington as a slave owner.
The people who really mattered in Washington's life. At least some of their names can be remembered.
This is an account of Washington's main personal enslaved servant.
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