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Slavery at Mount Vernon: Grappling with Our Founding’s Complex Story | BRIdge from the Past

How can we talk about founding principles of liberty and equality without accounting for slavery? To explore this question, Mary went to George Washington’s Mount Vernon just outside of Washington, DC, and spoke with Director of Interpretation, Jeremy Ray. What does the design of the Greenhouse Slave Quarters reveal about the two sides of the plantation: the ornamental, public-facing greenhouse side and the functional, behind-the-scenes side where the people held in bondage lived? How can visiting historical places like Mount Vernon help us grapple with our complex story?


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