To the Editor:
As David Brooks makes clear, George Washington’s achievements were indeed remarkable. And his personal manner, which some said was icy cold, was impressive, especially in command.
But one “indignity” stands above all for him and his “Revolutionary Generation.” They were at home buying, selling and keeping other human beings. Washington published notices offering rewards if they escaped.
To write of Washington’s spotless character and not address the stain of slavery seems specious at best.
And a small historical note: No biographer, including Richard Brookhiser, is certain that the “Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation[”] that young Washington wrote out in his copy book weren’t just his assigned penmanship practice.
Kenneth C. Davis
New York, July 7, 2009
The writer is the author of “Don’t Know Much About History.”
Note from KBJ: I'll bet you a dollar to a dime that the letter writer eats meat. Two hundred years from now, animal husbandry will be abolished, just as slavery was in 1865. An historian will look back, notice that the letter write ate meat, and wonder about his indignity. I hope you see the point I'm making. It's ludicrous, not to mention unfair, to judge previous generations (especially those long past) by today's moral standards. Human chattel slavery was perfectly acceptable during George Washington's day. Meat eating is perfectly acceptable today.
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 