OPINIONS OF WASHINGTON ON SLAVERY.
"He has nevertheless (must I say it?) a numerous crowd of slaves; but they are treated with the greatest humanity,—well fed, well clothed, and kept to moderate labor; they bless God without ceasing for having given them so good a master. It is a task worthy of a soul so elevated, so pure, and so disinterested, to begin the revolution in Virginia, to prepare the way for the emancipation of the negroes. This great man declared to me that he rejoiced at what was doing in other States on this subject, that he sincerely desired the extension of it in his own country; but he did not dissemble that there were still many obstacles to be overcome,—that it was dangerous to strike too vigorously at a prejudice which had begun to diminish,—that time, patience, and information would not fail to vanquish it. Almost all the Virginians, added he, believe that the liberty of the blacks cannot soon become general. This is the reason why they wish not to form a society, which may give dangerous ideas to their slaves. There is another obstacle: the great plantations, of which the State is composed, render it necessary for men to live so dispersed, that frequent meetings of a society would be difficult.
"I replied, that the Virginians were in an error,—that, evidently, sooner or later, the negroes would obtain their liberty everywhere. It is, then, for the interest of your countrymen to prepare the way to such a revolution, by endeavoring to reconcile the restitution of the rights of the blacks with the interest of the whites. The means necessary to be taken to this effect can only be the work of a SOCIETY; and it is worthy the Saviour of America to put himself at their head, and to open the door of liberty to three hundred thousand unhappy beings of his own State. He told me that he desired the formation of a SOCIETY, and that he would second it; but that he did not think the moment favorable."—Conversation with Washington, in the New Travels of Brissot de Warville in the United States in 1788, published in 1791, and translated in 1792.
"I can only say, that there is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the abolition of it [Slavery]; but there is only one proper and effectual mode by which it can be accomplished, and that is by legislative authority; and this, as far as my suffrage will go, shall never be wanting."—Letter of Washington to Robert Morris, April 12, 1786.
"The benevolence of your heart, my dear Marquis, is so conspicuous upon all occasions, that I never wonder at any fresh proofs of it; but your late purchase of an estate in the Colony of Cayenne, with a view of emancipating the slaves on it, is a generous and noble proof of your humanity. Would to God a like spirit might diffuse itself generally into the minds of the people of this country! But I despair of seeing it. Some petitions were presented to the Assembly, at its last session, for the abolition of Slavery; but they could scarcely obtain a reading. To set the slaves afloat at once would, I really believe, be productive of much inconvenience and mischief; but by degrees it certainly might and assuredly ought to be effected, and that, too, by legislative authority."—Letter of Washington to Lafayette, May 10, 1786.
"I never mean, unless some particular circumstances should compel me to it, to possess another slave by purchase, it being among my first wishes to see some plan adopted by which Slavery in this country may be abolished by law."—Letter of Washington to John F. Mercer, September 9, 1786.
"From what I have said, you will perceive that the present prices of lands in Pennsylvania are higher than they are in Maryland and Virginia, although they are not of superior quality, ... [among other reasons] because there are laws here for the gradual abolition of Slavery, which neither of the two States above mentioned have at present, but which nothing is more certain than that they must have, and at a period not remote."—Letter of Washington to Sir John Sinclair, December 11, 1796.
"Upon the decease of my wife, it is my will and desire that all the slaves whom I hold in my own right shall receive their freedom. To emancipate them during her life would, though earnestly wished by me, be attended with such insuperable difficulties, on account of their inter-mixture by marriage with the dower negroes, as to excite the most painful sensations, if not disagreeable consequences to the latter, while both descriptions are in the occupancy of the same proprietor; it not being in my power, under the tenure by which the dower negroes are held, to manumit them.... And I do, moreover, most pointedly and most solemnly enjoin it upon my executors hereafter named, or the survivors of them, to see that this clause respecting slaves, and every part thereof, be religiously fulfilled at the epoch at which it is directed to take place, without evasion, neglect, or delay, after the crops which may then be on the ground are harvested, particularly as it respects the aged and infirm; seeing that a regular and permanent fund be established for their support, as long as there are subjects requiring it; not trusting to the uncertain provision to be made by individuals."—Washington's Will, dated July 9, 1790 [1799].