Thy will be done : George Washington's legacy of slavery and the fight for American memory / John Garrison Marks.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Marks, John Garrison, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Washington, George, 1732-1799--Influence.

Washington, George.

Slavery--United States--History--Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775.

Slavery.

Collective memory--United States.

Collective memory.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xv, 281 pages) : illustrations.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Chapel Hill : The University of North Carolina Press, [2026]

Summary:

"How should we remember George Washington’s entanglement in slavery? Americans have argued over that question for nearly 250 years. More than any other Founding Father, Washington’s ties to slavery have vexed us. He enslaved more people than any of his fellow founders, yet he was the only one of them to emancipate the people he held in bondage. Since his death, Americans have grappled with this contradiction, shaping and reshaping our collective memory of Washington and slavery—along with our understanding of the nation. In Thy Will Be Done, historian John Garrison Marks tells the story of Americans’ long, fraught struggle to come to terms with Washington’s legacy of slavery. He traces how politicians, abolitionists, educators, activists, Washington’s former slaves and their descendants, and others have remembered, forgotten, and manipulated slavery’s place in Washington’s story, and how they have wielded versions of that story in the political and cultural fights of their time. Marks shows how generational struggles over our collective memory of Washington and slavery have always been part of a bigger conversation about defining the United States and its people. As debates about the founders’ participation in the system of slavery continue to roil public discourse, Marks shows with new clarity that Americans have never collectively reconciled Washington’s conflicted legacy. By truly grappling with Washington’s role as enslaver and emancipator, we may come to better understand the nation and ourselves" -- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Understanding George Washington and slavery

Washington’s will and an emerging legacy

Traces of freedom

Washington’s legacy and the fight over slavery

The “real” George Washington and the 1932 Washington Bicentennial

Washington and slavery in the American classroom

Telling the story of slavery at Mount Vernon

Conclusion : talking about Washington.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 263-274) and index.

Online resource; title from PDF title page (EBSCOhost, viewed April 21, 2026).

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9781469686455

9781469693538

1-4696-9354-2

1-4696-9355-0

9781469693545

OCLC:

1573148292