Skip to main content

Primary sourceLetter12 April 1791

To Tobias Lear, 12 April 1791

George Washington · 12 April 1791

A letter from George Washington discussing his household, including his effort to prevent enslaved people serving him from gaining freedom under Pennsylvania law.

Washington wrote this letter showing his efforts as an enslaver to prevent enslaved household workers from gaining freedom under Pennsylvania law.

Ask George Washington about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Source: Internet Archive

About this source

What it is

A letter written by George Washington to his secretary Tobias Lear on 12 April 1791, while traveling, during his presidency.

Why it matters

Alongside family and household matters, the letter reflects Washington's concern about Pennsylvania's gradual abolition law, which could free enslaved people who resided in the state for too long. It shows the troubling contradiction between Washington's public role founding a nation built on liberty and his private actions as an enslaver trying to avoid losing enslaved workers to freedom.

Look closer

  • What does this letter reveal about Washington's attitude toward slavery as president?
  • Why might this side of Washington's life be less often discussed than his political achievements?
  • How does mixing family news with concerns about enslaved people's status change how we read the letter?

This letter is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of George Washington on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More George Washington sources

Meet the AI George Washington →
Letter

Primary source

To John Augustine Washington, 18 July 1755

George Washington · 18 July 1755

Document

Primary source

General Orders, 9 July 1776

George Washington · 9 July 1776

Letter

Primary source

Circular to the States

George Washington · 8 June 1783

Oil portrait of an older man with powdered white hair, wearing a dark velvet coat, white cravat, and lace jabot, against a olive-brown background. A signature appears at lower right.Painting

Primary source

Portrait of George Washington by Wertmüller

Adolf Ulrik Wertmüller · 1795

Scan of a printed broadside titled 'The Address of Gen. Washington to the People of America, on his declining the Presidency of the United States.' It has a central engraved portrait of a man in military uniform with epaulettes, facing left, above dense small-print text in two columns. The paper is aged orange-brown.Speech

Primary source

George Washington's Farewell Address

George Washington · 19 September 1796

Ready when you are

Start chatting with George Washington now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions