The last two days have been spent visiting the homes of three of the first five US Presidents. All very different, all interesting but only one a World Heritage site. But more of that later.
Firstly, yesterday started with me in a panic as I’d lost my wallet. I checked the room, the suitcase, the car and no sign. As ever in these situations Anne keeps the cool head and remembered how the previous evening I’d got my wallet out to leave the tip for the waiter at the restaurant where we went for dinner. So she felt sure I must have left it on the table or dropped it as we left. So at 8.30am I phoned the restaurant. Not surprisingly no one was there so I left a message.
We had to pass the restaurant on our travels so about 9.30am I called in. Kitchen staff were there but the first two were South American and spoke very little English. (That said the only Spanish I know is “Dos cervezas por favour”) Eventually a third man came along who was American. I explained what I was after and he said if anything was found it would have been locked in the manager’s safe. The manager wasn’t in, though the American chef said he’d seen an email mentioning a wallet.
So still feeling worried we set off.
(By the way, we called in later and the wallet, with all contents was there.)
We started off our day of President bagging yesterday travelling up from Richmond to Charlottesville Virginia to go to the home of Thomas Jefferson called Monticello. This is a World Heritage site and we could see why. The house itself is beautiful and the location is stunning. http://www.monticello.org/
Although I knew of Jefferson I didn’t know a great deal about him but in the time we were there I learned a great deal. Firstly from the friendly tour guide who took us around the house and later from another guide who told us about slavery on the estate.
You can go and find out about Jefferson for yourselves http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson But to have helped draft the Declaration of Independence, be ambassador to France, serve in George Washington’s cabinet, be governor of Virginia and President is quite something. More than that he was a polymath and a man of the Enlightenment and this is reflected in his home.
I quite liked the sound of him. But as in so much US history of the 18th and 19th century slavery had a part in his story too. As the owner of a large estate Jefferson had a large number of slaves. Some he bought, some he inherited and some were the children of existing slaves. In fact during the talk about slavery at Monticello it was made quite clear that a female slave who could produce children was a very valuable asset.
Jefferson’s attitude to slavery shows him in a mixed light. He was opposed to slavery and, in the original drafts of the Declaration he had made it clear that salves should be freed. However, to appease some of the states this was withdrawn. But for a man who opposed slavery he certainly benefited from keeping slaves. And whilst he seemed a fairly paternalistic slave owner, he was still a slave owner.
On his death he did free a number of slaves – though as we learned this could be a mixed blessing unless the freed slave was able to buy the freedom of his family as well. For a freed slave had a year to move from the state of Virginia and there was a danger of their family being left behind.
There had always been rumours – even widely known when he was alive – that Jefferson had fathered children with a slave on the estate, following his wife’s death. In the mid-1990s DNA evidence showed pretty conclusively that this was true – at least in one instance.
Well worth visiting.
Nearby was the home of President James Monroe – fifth President of the USA. I must admit that I’d not heard of Monroe – so what I learned was very interesting indeed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Monroe
He had been a soldier in the War of Independence, had then served as a diplomat in France and Great Britain. He held a number of cabinet posts before serving as President.
An interesting fact was that he had arranged for his daughters to be educated for a while in France. There they became friends with the children of Josephine Bonaparte, Hortense and Eugene. Consequently when one of the daughters had a daughter herself Hortense and Eugene were Godparents.
(The USA was much closer to France then than now it seems. Mind you Britain did have a habit of burning Washington DC down and capturing US ships for a long time after the War ended.)
Today, we travelled up through Virginia to Mount Vernon, George Washington’s house. The traffic was really heavy and it looked like we’d miss our booked time to go round the house. But we needn't have worried. By the way, part of the delay was the usual inadequate sign posts. As we came off the Intestate we followed a series of signs for Mount Vernon. But as we got close to the place, the signs disappeared. Eventually we saw a sign for “George Washington’s grist mill and distillery” though no sign for Mount Vernon. We followed the sign post and enquired at the Distillery where Mount Vernon was. “3 miles along this road” So why the dickens don’t they signpost it then?
After the beauty and splendour of Montecello, and (in contrast to Munroe) knowing a bit about Washington, Mount Vernon was a bit of a disappointment. We were sausage factoried through the parts of the house that were open and the guides merely pointed out what rooms were (often needlessl,y as a bed in a room signifies – a bedroom!) The grounds however were beautiful and the setting, on the edge of the River Potomac, is spectacular.
Washington was a fairly wealthy man but, unlike Jefferson, Washington clearly was careful with his money. So Mount Vernon was built from wood – though the front is constructed in such a way that it looks like stone. Inside, George’s spendthrift ways are illustrated by the pine “cleverly painted to look like mahogany” Who are you fooling George?
In common with visits to such places here and in the UK, you can’t take photos inside. And at Mount Vernon it was clearly stated that “Photographing Washington’s dentures is not permitted.” If you really wish to see them look here http://www.mountvernon.org/educational-resources/encyclopedia/false-teeth
Of the three Montecello was my favourite and, I think, Jefferson was the most interesting. But what do I know - I’m British!
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