1. George Washington
George Washington, the nation’s first president and a symbol of American independence, presided over a vast estate at Mount Vernon, where more than 300 enslaved people lived and labored. While Washington benefited from slavery for most of his life, his views evolved in his later years. In a remarkable act for his time, he stipulated in his will that the enslaved individuals he owned outright would be freed after his wife’s death. Mount Vernon offers a detailed account of this complex legacy.
