Part 12 (1/2)

Adding grandeur to the west side was an octagonal cupola, surured as the Dove of Peace, with a green olive branch in its black beak It was a powerful statement from the forracious quality of Mount Vernon in the 1780s surely owed soton's desire for a restful at years of combat

The man on American independence nonetheless remained in thrall to British fashi+on When he told Sahan of his desire to redo the New Rooent confirht, is the present taste in England” 6 6 On the slope between the piazza and the river, Washi+ngton laid out a deer park in the English style, with a lish and A nearby, since foxhounds lish fashi+on of planting ”live fences” or hedgerows instead of standard wooden fences Along the sinuous drives, he laid out a forroves, shrubs, and extensive pleasure gardens that invited strollers to enter and wander His garrulous Gerardener told anyone who cared to listen that he had served as gardener to the kings of Prussia and of England Forardens was a handsoreenhouse with seven tall, narros that spanned alinia, this enclosure enabled Washi+ngton to grow palm trees and sees In the surroundingartistic eye, and in the springtime the estate was radiant with the bloowood blossoton laid out a deer park in the English style, with a lish and A nearby, since foxhounds lish fashi+on of planting ”live fences” or hedgerows instead of standard wooden fences Along the sinuous drives, he laid out a forroves, shrubs, and extensive pleasure gardens that invited strollers to enter and wander His garrulous Gerardener told anyone who cared to listen that he had served as gardener to the kings of Prussia and of England Forardens was a handsoreenhouse with seven tall, narros that spanned alinia, this enclosure enabled Washi+ngton to grow palm trees and sees In the surroundingartistic eye, and in the springtime the estate was radiant with the bloowood blossoly, with the lish merchant toured Mount Vernon in 1785, he stuardens and pleasure groundswere very extensiveHe is allowed to be one of the best inforton was indeed well informed, but his success was more problematic The rumble that year that ”to be plain, ton was indeed well informed, but his success was more problematic The rumble that year that ”to be plain,withand with his crops faring poorly, he started out 1786 with a paltry eighty-six pounds in cash Unable to curtail his free-handed spending and with his crops faring poorly, he started out 1786 with a paltry eighty-six pounds in cash

Although Washi+ngton delegated authority to ht-hand e Augustine Washi+ngton succeeded Lund, Washi+ngton kept a tightfisted grip on operations, orous that some detected a military mentality at work Senator Williaimented to the point of eneralsThe Friday of every week is appointed for the overseers, or ill say brigadier generals, to make up their returns Not a day's work but is noted what, by whom, and where done; not a cow calves or ewe drops her laement of an ared finances, Washi+ngton set out for his western holdings in Septe to retrieve lost rents He was accompanied by Dr Craik and his son, his nephew Bushrod Washi+ngton, and three slaves He had never ceased to be a prophet of the pristine Ohio Country, declaring during the Revolution that there was ”no finer country in the knoorld than is encircled by the Ohio, Mississippi, and Great Lakes”10 On the basis of prewar patents, Washi+ngton claihts to an additional ten thousand On an abstract level, Washi+ngton portrayed the western lands as a new A the Reverend John Witherspoon, a Presbyterian e of New Jersey, that ”it would give me pleasure to see these lands seated by particular societies or religious sectaries with their pastors” On the basis of prewar patents, Washi+ngton claihts to an additional ten thousand On an abstract level, Washi+ngton portrayed the western lands as a new A the Reverend John Witherspoon, a Presbyterian e of New Jersey, that ”it would give me pleasure to see these lands seated by particular societies or religious sectaries with their pastors”11 When it caton never ascended to these giddy rhetorical heights and could sound like a downright skinflint When it caton never ascended to these giddy rhetorical heights and could sound like a downright skinflint

The early postwar years witnessed a mad and often lawless scraard for eastern landlords who claiton received reports of squatters occupying his land while legiti toward leniency, he said that those squatters who improved the land should be allowed to stay at reasonable rents Giving theht have inadvertently settled the land without realizing it was his By the summer of 1784, however, he had lost all patience Western rents had become his main source of revenue, and he decided to takerecalcitrant tenants Less than a year after laying down his commission at Annapolis, the American Cincinnatus, badly strapped for cash, was reduced to a bill collector

For this rugged journey across the Appalachian Mountains, Washi+ngton loaded up the horses with a large tent, camp utensils, a boat,He retraced the footsteps of earlier journeys into the western country, a landscape rife with youthfulthe march with Braddock's ar it-at one ca but his cloak in a torrential downpour-but his diaries contain ue than in earlier years as well as to rain running in rivulets down the trails

A ton was also bent on reviving his long-standing but stalled project of iation He was still bedazzled by the vision of a watery gateway to the Ohio Valley that ran right by his hos, he calib patter, James Rumsey, who had devised a ainst the current Always open to innovation, Washi+ngton was beguiled by Ru a way to promote Potomac traffic, he did more than pay lip service to this device: he issued a written endorseainly invention ton stopped at his property at Great Meadows, scene of the Fort Necessity debacle, he made no reference in his diary to its bloody history As before the war, he scrutinized the western frontier with the coolly appraising eyes of a landlord He seemed exclusively concerned with thethat it would ood stand for a tavern Much hay rass and the upland, east of the rain”12 Unsentient to rent the tract ”for the et for the term of ten years” Unsentient to rent the tract ”for the et for the terton's faer Protecting it as their rightful territory, Indians had engaged in violent confrontations with settlers on the northwest side of the Ohio River Congress had banned settlers froion, but speculators were still drawn by visions of colossal land grabs ”Men in these times talk with as much facility of fifty, a hundred, and even 500,000 acres as a gentleton, who sounded sy stories of murdered settlers, he canceled a scheduled trip down the Ohio ”Had you proceeded on your tour down the river,” one adviser told him, ”I believe it would have been attended with the most dreadful consequences” The Indians had seized General James Wilkinson under the ton, and only with ”ifts” had he escaped Upon hearing stories of murdered settlers, he canceled a scheduled trip down the Ohio ”Had you proceeded on your tour down the river,” one adviser told him, ”I believe it would have been attended with the most dreadful consequences” The Indians had seized General James Wilkinson under the ton, and only with ”ifts” had he escaped15 To Washi+ngton's consternation, the violent clashes with Indians prevented hi his extensive bounty lands on the Ohio and Great Kanawha rivers-lotsbrazenly offered for sale by speculators as far away as Europe To Washi+ngton's consternation, the violent clashes with Indians prevented hi his extensive bounty lands on the Ohio and Great Kanawha rivers-lotsbrazenly offered for sale by speculators as far away as Europe

On Septeton had his first encounter with the faedly invaded his property Millers Run (not far froh) While Washi+ngton's deputy, William Crawford, had surveyed the property as early as 1771, squatters contended that they had coranted If Washi+ngton expected special deference in these remote mountain hollows, he quickly learned otherwise On the frontier, he did not enjoy the veneration he did back east, a rowdy new deained with poor, defiant settlers, ton sounded a different note fro the West with religious sects or froress had ”opened the fertile plains of the Ohio to the poor, the needy, and the oppressed of the earth”16 After his first ton noted sarcastically their effort ”to discover all the flaws they could in ht intention in the with the Reed faton noted sarcastically their effort ”to discover all the flaws they could in ht intention in the the tone turned even more confrontational To settle the controversy, the Reeds offered to buy the land but balked at the steep price quoted by Washi+ngton The standoff ended acriton threatened to evict theton responded ”with dignity and soent, and the nature of his claim fully made known; that there could be no doubt of its validity, and rising fro a red silk handkerchief by one corner, he said, 'Gentlemen, I will have this land just as surely as I now have this handkerchief'” At their nextthe tone turned even more confrontational To settle the controversy, the Reeds offered to buy the land but balked at the steep price quoted by Washi+ngton The standoff ended acriton threatened to evict theton responded ”with dignity and soent, and the nature of his claim fully made known; that there could be no doubt of its validity, and rising fro a red silk handkerchief by one corner, he said, 'Gentlemen, I will have this land just as surely as I now have this handkerchief'”18 The lawsuit wound bitterly through the courts for two years before Washi+ngton eed victorious Conciliatory in victory, he per theh the courts for two years before Washi+ngton eed victorious Conciliatory in victory, he per theton had completed his 680-mile trip, which proved his last visit to the Ohio Country While the dispiriting journey had failed to satisfy his economic objectives, it sharpened his views of policies needed to develop the region He sa fickle were the loyalties of the western settlers and how easily they n power Since Spain had obstructed Aton thought the United States could ceable ays to the eastern seaboard, preferably through Virginia, creating ”a smooth way for the produce of that country to pass to our et into another channel”19 He believed that ”commercial connections, of all others, are most difficult to dissolve,” which foreshadowed his faith as president in enduring commercial rather than political ties with other countriesHe believed that ”commercial connections, of all others, are most difficult to dissolve,” which foreshadowed his faith as president in enduring commercial rather than political ties with other countries 20 He also feared that thirteen squabbling states would be powerless to act in a ti swiftly reshaped on the western frontier He also feared that thirteen squabbling states would be powerless to act in a ti swiftly reshaped on the western frontier

FAR MORE GRATIFYING TO WAshi+NGTON than bullying hardscrabble farriculture at Mount Vernon He found farenial to his teuised relish, but he so by the sweat of his brow, than the master of a vast slave plantation In 1788 he wrote that ”the life of a husbandman, of all others, is the most delectableTo see plants rise from the earth and flourish by the superior skill and bounty of the laborer fills a contemplative mind with ideas which are uests noted that Washi+ngton's flagging attention perked up whenever agriculture was discussed Far conversation froenuine passion ”Indeed, I am told that he feelsBritish diploton's flagging attention perked up whenever agriculture was discussed Far conversation froenuine passion ”Indeed, I am told that he feelsBritish diploton liked to affect a patrician tone about far pastime, but his livelihood depended upon it His fascination with scientific agriculture was spurred initially by an urgent practical need: to figure out what to do with soil depleted by tobacco cultivation He believed devoutly that Aland as the model to emulate ”It may not in this place be arowth of tobacco,” he wrote to George William Fairfax in 1785, ”and to add that it is my intention to raise as little Indian corn asupon a co counties of England”23 A curious boast co for agricultural reforrafted fruit trees, tested grapes for a hos from friends Not to be outdone by Jefferson, he also devised a new agricultural plow that could seed and harrow fields at the saentleton wanted to learn whether spermaceti candles or tallow candles were cheaper, he set up an experi it took each type to burn, then computed that spermaceti candles werefroricultural reforrafted fruit trees, tested grapes for a hos from friends Not to be outdone by Jefferson, he also devised a new agricultural plow that could seed and harrow fields at the saentleton wanted to learn whether spermaceti candles or tallow candles were cheaper, he set up an experi it took each type to burn, then computed that spermaceti candles werethe 1780s, with agricultural prices depressed, Washi+ngton found it hard to e Willia so in the ruinousyear, perplexed by what to do, he launched an irono year, perplexed by what to do, he launched an ironoriculture Annals of Agriculture Candid about his own inadequacies as a farton asked for advice about more than just the ruinous practices and backward farricultural systeed down in outdated inia planters who exhausted their soil with endless rounds of tobacco, Indian corn, and wheat Deciding to conserve his soil through crop rotation, Washi+ngton ordered a variety of new seeds froe, turnips, rye, and hop clover-and under Young's tutelage eventually planted sixty different crops at Mount Vernon A severe drought and a boll weevil infestation drastically cut his wheat yield in 1787 Nonetheless, determined to rotate his crops, he had by 1789 planted wheat, barley, oats, rye, clover, timothy, buckwheat, Indian corn, pumpkins, potatoes, turnips, peas, and flax As president, he lent the prestige of his office to espousing a national board of agriculture that could diffuse scientific inforton commenced work on a two-story brick and tiest and ed25 This massive construction project taxed the resources of Mount Vernon, where all 40,000 bricks were made; more than 35,000 board feet of pine planks and 100,000 juniper shi+ngles were bought ready-rain and other crops in this commodious structure ”The barn is so well planned that a man can fill the racks with hay or potatoes easily and without any danger,” noted Brissot de Warville, who appreciated the novelty of both barn and barnyard, which ”were innovations in Virginia, where they have no barns and do not store fodder for cattle” This massive construction project taxed the resources of Mount Vernon, where all 40,000 bricks were made; more than 35,000 board feet of pine planks and 100,000 juniper shi+ngles were bought ready-rain and other crops in this commodious structure ”The barn is so well planned that a man can fill the racks with hay or potatoes easily and without any danger,” noted Brissot de Warville, who appreciated the novelty of both barn and barnyard, which ”were innovations in Virginia, where they have no barns and do not store fodder for cattle”26 Starting in 1792, Washi+ngton also erected a specialized sixteen-sided barn for threshi+ng wheat As horses circled around the barn at a trot, traaps in the wooden floorboards to a granary on the lower level Starting in 1792, Washi+ngton also erected a specialized sixteen-sided barn for threshi+ng wheat As horses circled around the barn at a trot, traaps in the wooden floorboards to a granary on the lower level

Always ton introduced ingenious innovations at a ue Run farm in the early 1770s He recruited a Delaware inventor, Oliver Evans, who had figured out a way to autoears and conveyor belts Powered by a sixteen-foot heel, the round it, then spread the high-quality flour to cool before it was poured into barrels for export The sheer variety of business activities at Mount Vernon would ton as receptive to the rarian drea better illustrated Washi+ngton's pioneering farm work than his develop a cross between a male donkey (also called a jack) and a feile than horses but more docile than donkeys and cheap to ton championed these creatures, they had hardly existed in the country He started breeding the of Spain called Royal Gift and a black jack called Knight of Malta fro in aniht of Malta was sly bred the two anied the size of Royal Gift with the feisty nature of Knight of Malta After so donkeys settled down and perfor fifty-sevenWashi+ngton to realize his hope to ”secure a race of extraordinary goodness that will stock the country”27 In addition to his better-known title of Father of His Country, Washi+ngton is also revered in certain circles as the Father of the American Mule In addition to his better-known title of Father of His Country, Washi+ngton is also revered in certain circles as the Father of the Aain FOR ALL THE TALK of agriculturalunreal about the entire topic for a plantation economy premised on that most antiquated and repressive of systeation of the Anite controversy after the war All the talk of liberty clashed with the reality of widespread bondage Slavery posed the supreton had i the war and tested the pronounce that permeated his postwar correspondence For the Marquis de Lafayette, the notion that an independent America would tolerate slavery was more than a contradiction in ter he believed As he told British abolitionist Thomas Clarkson, ”I would never have drawn my sword in the cause of A a land of slavery”1 So profoundly in earnest was Lafayette that Clarkson called hi an enemy of the slave trade and slavery as any man I ever knew” So profoundly in earnest was Lafayette that Clarkson called hi an enemy of the slave trade and slavery as any man I ever knew”2 As early as February 5, 1783, Lafayette ton that his idol couldn't evade this touchy subject: ”Perreatly beneficial to the black part ofa sroes and use theton's sterling reputation could eneral practice” in the United States As he pointed out, Washi+ngton's sterling reputation could eneral practice” in the United States4 As iloried in his iconoclasm ”If it be a wild scheme,” he ht wise on the other tack” As iloried in his iconoclasm ”If it be a wild scheme,” he ht wise on the other tack”5 Lafayette's abolitionism may have been influenced by his wartime association with Jainia and operated as a valuable spy, infiltrating the British lines under the guise of being an escaped slave Lafayette's abolitionism may have been influenced by his wartime association with Jainia and operated as a valuable spy, infiltrating the British lines under the guise of being an escaped slave

When Washi+ngton received Lafayette's letter, the inding down and he elling on his i depended on slavery, so that whatever his theoretical sympathy with Lafayette's idea, he could not have been thrilled by the tie, he replied the way a fond father ht write to an ardent but impractical son: ”The scheme, my dear Marq[ui]s, which you propose as a precedent to encourage the emancipation of the black people of this countryis a striking evidence of the benevolence of your heart I shall be happy to join you in so laudable a work, but will defer going into detail of the business till I have the pleasure of seeing you”6 This was Washi+ngton's canny way of crediting Lafayette's noble project while also sidestepping any specific coton's canny way of crediting Lafayette's noble project while also sidestepping any specific commitment to it

At his home in Paris, Lafayette flaunted his ties to the Aton and As on the walls His infatuation did not cool with tih-flown rapture with Washi+ngton and wrote to hie that was alton ”the savior of his country, the benefactor of el of liberty, the pride of America, and the adle sentence7 After the war Washi+ngton was powerfully teo to Paris, especially when a French noble Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette had ”expressed their desire to be acquainted with the circumstances of a life which has so much contributed to the liberty of your country” After the war Washi+ngton was powerfully teo to Paris, especially when a French noble Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette had ”expressed their desire to be acquainted with the circumstances of a life which has so ton felt the full force of this royal favor, which he labeled ”one of the ton felt the full force of this royal favor, which he labeled ”one of theincidents” of his life9 When Lafayette pleaded with hiton had to rule it out because of his financial plight and because Martha was ”too far advanced in life and is too eny to cross the Atlantic” Writing like a pious hered Lafayette and his wife to travel to Mount Vernon ”and call e your homeYou will see the plain manner in which we live and meet the rustic civility And you shall taste the simplicity of rural life” When Lafayette pleaded with hiton had to rule it out because of his financial plight and because Martha was ”too far advanced in life and is too eny to cross the Atlantic” Writing like a pious hered Lafayette and his wife to travel to Mount Vernon ”and call e your homeYou will see the plain manner in which we live and meet the rustic civility And you shall taste the si could stop Lafayette's triu a trip there in the spring of 1783, he wrote to Washi+ngton in a typical burst of enthusiaseneral,March did Lafayette assure Washi+ngton that, before the su up [the] Potomac, and out of that vessel will your friend jus of perfect happiness” Not until the following March did Lafayette assure Washi+ngton that, before the su up [the] Potomac, and out of that vessel will your friend jus of perfect happiness”12 Washi+ngton responded with gratitude to the buckets of Gallic charm that Lafayette poured over his head at every turn Washi+ngton responded with gratitude to the buckets of Gallic charm that Lafayette poured over his head at every turn

Upon arriving at Mount Vernon in August 1784, Lafayette was delighted to find a group portrait of himself and his faift from Paris, a Masonic apron that Adrienne had eeneral Lafayette was instantly entranced by Nelly and Washy ”The general has adopted them and loves them deeply,” he told his wife ”It was quite funny when I arrived to see the curious looks on those two s but talk of me the entire day and wanted to see if I looked like ton busy but relaxed, Lafayette delighted in his company and treasured their dinner conversations, when they swapped wartirounds and quizzed hiht flourish there All the while the vexed question of slavery hung heavily in the air Earlier in the suton had admitted to a desire to be rid of his slaves and mentioned Lafayette's abolitionist plans ”I should rejoice beyond measure could your joint counsels and influence produce it,” Gordon responded, ”and thereby give the finishi+ng stroke and the last polish to your political characters”14 Unfortunately, we don't know the specifics of the conversation between Washi+ngton and Lafayette about slavery When Lafayette encountered Jaripped by three obsessions: the French-American alliance, the unity of the thirteen states, and ”the manumission of the slaves” Unfortunately, we don't know the specifics of the conversation between Washi+ngton and Lafayette about slavery When Lafayette encountered Jaripped by three obsessions: the French-American alliance, the unity of the thirteen states, and ”the e slave owner, wrote to Jefferson, another large slave owner, that Lafayette's position on slavery ”does him real honor, as it is a proof of his hue slave owner, wrote to Jefferson, another large slave owner, that Lafayette's position on slavery ”does him real honor, as it is a proof of his humanity”16 After the Revolution it was unquestionably fashi+onable to utter such high-minded sentiments, but talk was cheap and direct action was quite another matter After the Revolution it was unquestionably fashi+onable to utter such high-minded sentiments, but talk was cheap and direct action was quite another matter