Washington probably married Martha to have an heir. Though they
never produced a child, they got along very well and remained happily
married their entire lives. Nevertheless, they married less out
of love than out of practicality. If Washington ever had a passionate
love it was not for Martha but for Sally Fairfax, a daughter of
the Fairfax family who lived nearby. They corresponded for their entire
lives. There is no evidence that Washington was ever unfaithful
to Martha. We will never know much about his relationship to Martha,
though. She burned all of their letters after his death.
In private life Washington was in some ways very traditional.
As a planter he owned slaves; though he treated his slaves with
relative kindness, he perpetuated human bondage in a way that contradicted
his own ideas of life and liberty. Like his fellow Founders, Thomas Jefferson and
James Madison, he was a hypocrite in this regard. He was also
an aristocrat of sorts. Although colonial Virginia had no aristocracy
in the traditional sense, and no one held titles such as Lord or
Baron, plantation owners like Washington completely controlled
their society. They lived glamorous lives, lavishing banquets and
balls on their families and guests. Their plantations often held
dozens of family members and friends and hundreds of slaves; they
were essentially feudal kingdoms. It was in this social context
that Washington and his fellow planters expressed ideals of liberty
and democracy; clearly their notion of democracy was very different
from ours.
While traditional in some ways, Washington was ahead of
his time in seeing the need to be less dependent economically on
the London merchants who bought his crops and sold him household goods.
British laws strictly regulated what the colonies could produce
and where they could sell it; the laws were intended to keep Britain
and the colonies bound together but put the planters at a disadvantage.
Planters relied on the London merchants, known as factors, for
nearly everything they bought. Washington's experiments with new
crops and new techniques reflected this desire to be financially
independent. His ideas of the proper social role of the planter were
also ahead of his time: though he held slaves and profited from their
labor, he personally hated the institution of slavery.
Ad-free experience
Study Guides for 1,000+ titles
Full Text content for 250+ titles
No Fear Translations of Shakespeare’s plays (along with audio!) and other classic works
Flashcards
Mastery Quizzes
Infographics
Graphic Novels
AP® Practice & Lessons
Note-taking
Bookmarking
Dashboard
