ENSLAVED FOUNDATIONS: THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC LIVES OF ENSLAVED ARTISANS AT GEORGE

WASHINGTON’S MOUNT VERNON

KAYLEIGH SENG

Major: History

Concentration: Public History

Class of 2022 INTRODUCTION

Upon completing his second term as president, the Washington party, consisting of George and Martha Washington, two of their step-grandchildren, and a few of their enslaved individuals started their journey from Philadelphia back to Mount Vernon. George Washington was eager to retire from his life as a public servant and spend the remainder of his years managing the plantation that he had so lovingly built. At the time of his death in 1799, just two years after returning home, the estate of Mount Vernon included a mansion house with 21 rooms, about 8,000 acres of land and 10 miles of riverfront, and a workforce of 317 enslaved individuals who ensured the plantation ran as smoothly as it did. Of the 317 enslaved individuals who lived and worked at Mount Vernon, 42% of them were either too old or too young to work. Of the 68% of enslaved individuals who could work, about 50 of them were skilled artisans and craftsmen. These skilled artisans and craftsmen of Mount Vernon ensured George Washington’s success economically, socially, and politically. Without their labor, he would not have been a successful member of the upper class. And yet, despite their importance to George Washington and Mount Vernon, the historiographical literature available on the enslaved population is almost nonexistent. This paper aims to highlight the social and economic lives of the enslaved artisans who ensured that George Washington was able to become as successful as he did by utilizing their labor and bondage for his personal gain.