George Washington's Views On Slavery

George Washington was a man of many accomplishments. He was our first president, and organized the first US Cabinet and first Executive Branch. He was even a slave holder, like most during his time. His opinion on slavery through his life changed as time went on. He was a very professional man when it came to handling the sensitive subject of slavery. He had been a slave holder since he was a young boy, but when he died, all his slaves were released, as this is what he wanted. George Washington had very different views on slavery depending on who you ask, and if you’re in private or public. In private, there are contradicting opinions over how he treated his slaves, but one thing about him regarding his slaves is known for sure. That is, over the
“Given his accurate conception of his own great and pivotal role in the infant country and his fears for the survival of the Republic itself, it is far from likely that he was ever sorely tempted to open as a national issue” (V) Pre-Revolutionary, Washington’s views toward slavery were very conventional. (V) Washington kept quiet on a lot of maters that were very touchy about slavery during his presidency, and in a way this was him speaking out about his thoughts on slavery and if it should be abolished. (H) Washington felt that slavery was essential to his livelihood during his presidency. (VIDEO) In the early days, Washington had strong objections to using African Americans as slaves. (V) But despite this, he and congress changed the policy and their view points to allow ‘free Negroes’ to join the army. (H) They allowed African Americans to join the arm, and rewarded them with their freedom in exchange for their service. (H) While he might have not liked the black men fighting for our country, he exhibited some care that blacks who enlisted in Continental and state regiments were not be repossessed by former owners.