# data[].attributes.headline
The Enslaved Household of President George Washington

# data[].attributes.subject
The Enslaved Household of President George Washington

# data[].attributes.body
On April 16, 1789, George Washington left his home to New York City to be inaugurated as the first President of the United States. He was accompanied by Charles Thomson, the secretary of Congress, and Colonel David, Washington’s longtime friend and secretary. Although the president-elect made no mention of their presence in his diary, he was also accompanied by several enslaved individuals.

When Washington arrived in New York City in late April 1789, he moved his household into a large private house at 1 Cherry Street. He rented the home for one year from Samuel Osgood. Although spacious, the house barely contained all the people cramped inside: George and Martha; their grandchildren, Eleanor “Nelly” Parke Custis and George Washington “Wash” Parke Custis; Tobias Lear; Washington’s private secret David Humphreys, William Jackson, and Thomas Nelson, Jr.; at least ten white or free black paid servants that worked and may have boarded in the home; and several enslaved individuals.

During Washington’s presidency, at least ten enslaved people worked at the president’s houses in New York City and Philadelphia: Hercules, Moll, Giles, Austin, Richmond, Paris, Joe, Christopher Sheels, and William Lee.

They tended the horses and carriages in the stables, escorted Washington and his family when they left the house, cooked in the kitchen, did laundry, cleaned the home, cared for the Washingtons’ grandchildren, helped the Washingtons dress in the morning, did their hair, mended their clothes, waited on the dining table, and greeted guests. Every aspect of the home depended on enslaved labor to run smoothly.

# data[].attributes.headline
History of Indian Georgia – The Issue of Slavery

# data[].attributes.subject
History of Indian Georgia – The Issue of Slavery

# data[].attributes.body
Nearly all indigenous American Indians had slavery by the time of the European invasion. When the Spanish arrived they captured the native Indians and used them as pack animals and sport for their dogs. During battle, American Indians captured other tribal members as prisoners and traded them to the Europeans as slaves. Some tribes used captives as sacrifices during religious rites. Cherokees captured prisoners during battle to replace those who died during the battle or had been killed by the whites in order the balance and spiritual power within their tribe. Although the prisoner could not attain tribal status in most tribes, the children conceived by a tribal member could be received into the tribe.

# data[].attributes.body
The standard rations enslaved people received were cornmeal and salted fish, which they harvested themselves. In their limited personal time, enslaved people kept gardens, raised poultry, and foraged.

# data[].attributes.body
General James Oglethorpe and the other Trustees were not opposed to the enslavement of Africans as a matter of principle. They banned slavery in Georgia because it was inconsistent with their social and economic intentions. Given the Spanish presence in Florida, slavery also seemed certain to threaten the military security of the colony. Spain offered freedom in exchange for military service, so any African captive brought to Georgia could be expected to help the Spanish in their efforts to destroy the still-fragile English colony.

Georgia Trustees

Courtesy of Georgia Info, Digital Library of Georgia.

# data[].attributes.body
Native Americans did not commonly enslave members of their own and other tribes before Europeans arrived but this practice became common after European intrusion, continuing into the 1800s; slaves might or might not be adopted eventually, especially if enslaved as children; and the enslavement was rarely if ever hereditary.Native American slaves were most often captives from wars; captives bartered from other tribes, sometimes at great distances; or children sold by their parents during famines.[2] However, there were differences between the types of captivity.

# data[].attributes.body
In 1799, Mount Vernon consisted of 8,000 acres divided into five farms, plus a gristmill and distillery. Enslaved men, women, and children lived on each farm The workers at Mansion House Farm were primarily domestic servants and craftsmen, while those on the outlying farms labored in the fields.