Join historian Bruce A. Ragsdale for a discussion of his new
book, .For more than forty years, George Washington was dedicated to
an innovative and experimental course of farming at Mount Vernon,
where he sought to demonstrate the public benefits of recent advances
in British agriculture. The methods of British agricultural
improvement also shaped Washington’s management of enslaved labor,
and he was at the forefront to efforts to adapt slavery to new kinds
of farming. His ultimate inability to reconcile the ideals of
enlightened farming with coerced labor and race-based slavery was
critical to his decision to free the enslaved people under his
control.
Bruce A. Ragsdale served for twenty years as director of the Federal
Judicial History Office at the Federal Judicial Center. He has been a
fellow at the Washington Library at Mount Vernon and the International
Center for Jefferson Studies. He is the author of
The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely
those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of
History & Culture.
Program Notes:
Due to current limitations on capacity, As a reminder, the VMHC is
still undergoing construction. The parking lot will be open for this
lecture. Please enter using the door on the south side of the building
at the bottom of the steps leading to the VMFA. The lecture will be
also streamed live on for public viewing.
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10/12/2021 Last update