Századok – 2019

2019 / 3. szám - TANULMÁNYOK A 90 ÉVES URBÁN ALADÁR TISZTELETÉRE - Lévai Csaba: George Washington mint rabszolgatartó

GEORGE WASHINGTON MINT RABSZOLGATARTÓ

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with this serious dilemma. Consequently, the ideas of the general about slaveholding and the future of this institution in the United States can better be approached through an examination of his practice of slaveholding. As an active farmer, he clearly realised that the traditional tobacco-producing economy had reached a crisis point, and the raising and production of new plants (mainly cereals) did not allow for the effective use of the available slave workforce. Thus, he necessarily had to face the question of what to do with his surplus slaves. Alongside moral issues, it was such practical considerations that eventually played a decisive role in his decision to liberate most of his slaves in his will.