Celebrating July 4: Thomas Jefferson and George Washington

 Thomas Jefferson

Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson near Charlottesville, Virginia (photo from our visit in 2023)

Jefferson’s statue at the University of Virginia, which he founded.
He designed both this building (The Rotunda) and Monticello,
which is several miles away, outside of the city on a hilltop.

View from a window of Monticello, The rooms, we learned from our tour leader,
have camouflaged doors to enable slaves to come in and out and avoid being seen
by the white inhabitants.

The Fourth of July is a splendid holiday, which most Americans celebrate with fireworks, picnics, and outdoor get-togethers with friends and family. I think that the central theme of the holiday— American freedom — is genuinely remembered along with the founders of the nation and their great works: the Declaration of Independence (July 4) and the Constitution.

However, there’s another side of things to remember: that the vile institution of slavery enabled the comfortable and contemplative lives of many of the founders, particularly Jefferson and Washington. Their luxurious and pleasant estates, which are maintained as monuments to the men and their lifestyle, memorialize both the lives of masters and of slaves, and remind us both of slavery and of the remarkable struggle for freedom from tyranny and colonialism.

From The Guardian (source)

In the Guardian June 2 one of Thomas Jefferson’s descendants discussed his complex feelings about his famous ancestor. Shannon LaNier (in photo) is the sixth great-grandson of Jefferson with Sally Hemings his slave and mistress. He says:

“I wish he would have done more to free the enslaved people and practise what he actually preached,” LaNier, 47, says by phone from New York. “I know he tried to but he was the most powerful man in the country and he could have done more and he was living a double life so it’s unfortunate.

“‘Sometimes I appreciate what he’s done for this country and how much of a genius he was,’ Lanier continues. ‘Other times I hate what he did and that he didn’t do more, and the hypocritical aspects, because we could have been so much further along as a society if he would have done what was right instead of what was profitable.’”

Jefferson in Paris

"Thomas Jefferson lived in Paris from August 1784 to September 1789: five years that were ..., 'arguably the most memorable of his life. Paris—with its music, its architecture, its savants and salons, its learning and enlightenment, not to mention its elegant social life ... had worked its enchantments on this rigidly self-controlled Virginia gentleman, and had stimulated him to say and do and write remarkable things.'"'

George Washington

Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington — also an impressive estate enabled by slave labor.

Slave cabin at Mount Vernon

George Washington remains, in most American’s minds, “The Father of his Country.” His leadership during the War of Independence, which we celebrate this week, was not only brilliant, but surely was essential to the success of the endeavor — revolutionary in every sense. 

Remembering Washington during this celebration of freedom, we can’t help also remembering that he was the owner of 125 slaves, as well as the master of many others owned by his wife’s family. Regarding slavery, Washington wrote:

“I never mean (unless some particular circumstance should compel me to it) to possess another slave by purchase: it being among my first wishes to see some plan adopted by the legislature by which slavery in the Country may be abolished by slow, sure, & imperceptible degrees.”

A few years ago, we toured Mount Vernon. The tour includes the beautiful home where Washington lived whenever he could escape his responsibilities as a military man and a political leader, and also includes the row of slave cabins near the house. The contrast between the lives of masters and slaves is cruelly obvious.  

An Uncomfortable Truth of History

Thinking about the contradictions in the lives of the founders of our nation on the day we celebrate their accomplishments is challenging. It’s more fun to just celebrate! But I also try to remember our history, as expressed by a variety of Americans.

For example, I’m thinking of Frederick Douglass, a former slave and one of the effective opponents of slavery before the Civil War. On July 5, 1852, he addressed an Independence Day celebration titled “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” … It was a scathing speech in which Douglass stated, “This Fourth of July is yours, not mine, You may rejoice, I must mourn.” (source)

I hope we are better now.

Blog post © 2026 mae sander