Among His Slaves

George Mason of Gunston Hall distinguished himself as a planter, revolutionary patriot, author the Virginia Declaration of Rights, and slave owner. He wrote “that all men are by nature equally free and…have certain inherent rights…” and argued simultaneously that slavery was “that slow Poison, which is daily contamination [to] the Minds & Morals of our People.” Yet Mason owned more than a hundred slave men, women, and children himself. Over his lifetime he freed none of them.
Among His Slaves explores the paradox of this important founding father who believed strongly in human rights and detested slavery, but ignored the legal opportunity to manumit slaves. It probes George Mason’s changing attitude on slavery during the American Revolutionary period. As early as 1765, more than a decade before he drafted for the Virginia Declaration of Rights, he declared slavery as “an Evil very pathetically described by the Roman Historians.” His statements grew ever more emphatic and vocal as time went on. Across more than two decades - from 1765 to 1788 - Mason became increasingly outspoken about his disdain of slavery. Referring to all masters of slaves as “Petty Tyrants,” he does not free any of the individuals he owned. His own spoken and written words do not match actions he could have taken to manumit his slaves. Why not?
Among his Slaves uses plantation records and Mason family documents to tell the story of enslaved Africans and African Virginians who lived on George Mason’s Plantation, Gunston Hall. It provides new information never before published on his enslaved people and sheds light on why Mason did not manumit his slaves during his lifetime.
This paradox demands discussion. The story is overdue.

Terry K. Dunn brings her varied background and long experience as a college teacher, historical researcher, and historical interpreter at The State Museum of Pennsylvania, Colonial Williamsburg, and Gunston Hall Plantation to her writing. She is editor of The Recollections of John Mason: George Mason’s Son Remembers His Father and Life at Gunston Hall. In her new book, Among His Slaves, this author considers the lives of the enslaved people owned by George Mason, draftsman of Virginia Declaration of Rights. She holds a B.S. in Zoology from The Pennsylvania State University and an M.A. in American History from George Mason University. Terry and her husband Keith live in Williamsburg, Virginia. Their daughter and son are married. They have one granddaughter, four grandsons, one beagle, and two parrots.