Nathaniel Philbrick Quote
THAT SPRING WASHINGTON received a letter from Lafayette, who had long since returned to France. Now that peace was looking like a certainty, he had a wild scheme to propose: the two of them should buy a small plantation together and try the experiment to free the Negroes and use them only as tenants. Such an example as yours might render it a general practice. Lafayette’s time in Virginia had given him a firsthand knowledge of the horrifying realities of southern slavery. He still loved Washington like a father, but something needed to be done to ensure that the promise of the Declaration of Independence—liberty and justice for all—applied to all Americans, no matter what their skin color.
THAT SPRING WASHINGTON received a letter from Lafayette, who had long since returned to France. Now that peace was looking like a certainty, he had a wild scheme to propose: the two of them should buy a small plantation together and try the experiment to free the Negroes and use them only as tenants. Such an example as yours might render it a general practice. Lafayette’s time in Virginia had given him a firsthand knowledge of the horrifying realities of southern slavery. He still loved Washington like a father, but something needed to be done to ensure that the promise of the Declaration of Independence—liberty and justice for all—applied to all Americans, no matter what their skin color.
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