Close window

George Washington (1732 - 1799) - During his time on the Mount Vernon plantation, George Washington expanded the land for farming and continued to buy more slaves. However, it has been suggested that by 1778 he had stopped selling slaves without their consent because he did not want to break up slave families. In his will, as well as freeing all the enslaved people he owned upon his wife's death, he made provisions for those who were too old, too young or infirm to be clothed, fed and educated.

© Life of Washington – The Farmer, colour engraving by Claude Regnier after Junius Brutus Stearns, 1853. Courtesy of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association