Inside the Vault: George Washington and Slavery
by Gilder Lehrman Staff
For the August 7, 2020, session of Inside the Vault: Highlights from the Gilder Lehrman Collection, the Gilder Lehrman curators were joined by Darnell Abraham from Hamilton, Jeanette Providence, an educator at Grant Union High School in Sacramento, California, and Nancy Hayward, the former director of educational outreach at George Washington’s Mount Vernon as they discussed Washington’s evolving view of slavery. The session explores a 1786 letter in which Washington states that he “wishes to see some plan adopted by the Legislature by which slavery in this Country may be abolished by slow, sure, & imperceptible degrees” and Washington’s will.
Click here to download the slides from the presentation.
Classroom-ready resources for the documents presented
- A 1786 letter from George Washington to John F. Mercer
- The Last Will and Testament of George Washington
Use the timestamps below to jump to the documents you want to view
- A 1786 letter from George Washington to John F. Mercer: 23:55–49:45
- The Last Will and Testament of George Washington: 49:46–1:05:00