Capri Pants, Leopard Horse Robes, and Culpability by Adrew

Capri Pants, Leopard Horse Robes, and Culpability by Adrew - October 2017 Scholarship Essay

What does one wear to dinner with the honorable George Washington? Is a powdered wig a must? Are woolen knee breeches an absolute? I could raid my sister’s closet for a pair of capri pants and douse my head with baby powder, I suppose. It’s unlikely the local department store would have a curly white wig.

I asked President Washington to accompany me on this man-date not because he refused to lie about chopping down a cherry tree, and not because he crossed the icy Potomac River while standing up in a rowboat at night. Neither of those things are true.

You can pick the restaurant, he said. I chose a quaint little soul food spot, where you order at the counter. I didn’t want anyone to be in the position of serving us like they might be the help.

Why Washington? I want to get to know him better as a man, a fallible person, warts and all.

I want to hear his side of the story about Ona Judge, the runaway slave that he pursued while he was in office, and for years after he left the Presidency. He pursued, but never caught her. Washington became a slave owner when he was just eleven years old, and at the time of his death, there were 317 slaves on his Mount Vernon estate. Some of them were freed, but only years after Washington died.

I also want to ask him about his extravagance. While his enslaved laborers lived in squalid conditions, Washington purchased leopard skin robes for his horses, and was paid a $25,000 per year salary to serve as President of the United States. When adjusted for inflation, this is more than double the current salary Presidents receive. It equates to about a million dollars a year in today's value. Washington spent seven percent of this fortune on alcohol in just one year. I think I will pause when it comes time to pay the bill. Maybe he will take the hint, and pick up the tab.

The thing I want to know most is how the “father of the nation,” the man who led a rebellion against a king over the abuse of rights, could play a key role in forming a new nation that saw white men as the only beings worthy of being defined as humans. African slaves, women, and first nation people were viewed as inferior, even as the causes of liberty and justice for all were paradoxically lofted as new ideals for a new age.

If Washington was merely a lion living as a product of his times, then what about Ona Judge? What about the Sioux and the Cherokee? Power is not a detergent to cleanse all culpability, all lack of compassion. The victor is not entitled to complete absolution.

On second thought, this man-date is not such a great idea. I’m going to peel off these capri pants and order takeout.