By: Finn Richard
Whenever you visit the historic sites and monuments of the Founding Fathers, they are always pristine and well kept. There are welcome videos, guided tours, gift shops, and more. I genuinely enjoy visiting them. I’ve been to Monticello twice, Mount Vernon more than five times, and I can’t even count the number of times I’ve been to the monuments throughout Washington, D.C. But on each of my subsequent visits, I have felt the shadow of an ugly side of history creeping over me.
Most of the founders of the United States succeeded due to the exploitation and abuse of enslaved people and their labor, while at the same time championing freedom, equality, and justice in their political capacity. They were walking contradictions. And now their homes are tourist attractions that memorialize this history—highlighting certain aspects over others.
Monticello, taken on the author's second visit.
Monticello is the former home and plantation of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States and the author of the Declaration of Independence, which notably includes the famous phrase “All men are created equal.” Throughout his life, Thomas Jefferson had more than 600 slaves. He only freed two of them while he was alive and another five were freed in his will after his death.
From the author's visit to Mount Vernon.
Mount Vernon is the famous estate of our country’s first president, George Washington, and it sits on a hill overlooking the Potomac River. At the time of Washington’s death, more than 300 slaves lived and worked at Mount Vernon—123 of whom were his personally. Historians say Washington privately expressed disapproval of slavery but never acted on it publicly in his lifetime. After his death, Washington’s will freed all 123 enslaved people. He was the only founding father to do so.
Both Mount Vernon and Monticello are grandiose. They’re large estates, covering acres of lush green land in Virginia with sweeping views of the countryside. I don’t think people want to consider the horrors of slavery while they’re visiting. For many, it’s extremely difficult to confront. It’s horrific. It shakes our understanding of our country and its founders. How should we memorialize this contradiction?
The foundations that operate these sites are working to reconcile the achievements of the founders with their history of slavery. Mount Vernon is sure to recognize that George Washington called to free his slaves after his death. Monticello created an exhibit on Sally Hemings, an enslaved woman who had Thomas Jefferson’s children. But this only happened in 2018. And I say “she had his children” because historians are unclear about the circumstances of their relationship. These details are inextricable from the founders. But how do we continue to recognize their achievements while moving their history with slavery to the center of their stories?
Too often we want absolutes and perfection. Surely the founders couldn’t have created the bedrock of our country and been party to one of history’s greatest evils, right? You can’t separate the ideals from the actions—they both must exist. There have been steps forward to create exhibits on the history of enslaved people at these places, but these features cannot be cast to the side or hidden away: they have to be confronted head on, and I hope to see that on my next visit to either of these centers.
Kommentare