12. Upholding the key provisions of slavery during his administration, George Washington, despite considering himself a delightful master, was among the cruelest Virginian slave-owners of his day.
Although evidence exists that Washington retained reservations about the institution of slavery, a less recognized fact is that the first American President did not hesitate to ruthlessly exploit the practice throughout his life. A slave owner from age eleven, by the time of his death the estate at Mount Vernon would encompass 317 slaves, of which 123 were personally owned by Washington. As was typical for Virginian slaves, these unfortunate persons were compelled to work from dawn until dusk under penalty of corporal punishment. However, Washington is believed to have been considerably harsher than other slave owners, with one visitor remarking in 1798 that Washington acted “with more severity” than his neighbors.
Considering himself a kind master, Washington nevertheless demanded constant work from his property. Slaves suffering from injuries, including on one occasion an 83-year-old slave named Gunner, were punished for not working sufficiently. Washington repeatedly shipped slaves to the West Indies should they irk him, wherein, as the slaves knew, they faced harsh conditions and a limited life expectancy. In the notably bitter winter of 1788, Washington kept his slaves digging through nine inches of snow on his behalf whilst he himself, “finding the cold disagreeable”, returned indoors. Overall, a picture is generated of an immensely harsh taskmaster who treated non-whites with the same contempt as an inanimate object.