Madison's house was beautiful! The drive up to his place alone was breathtaking. I loved learning about Dolly Madison, and her role within the whitehouse - and how, when the British burned down the White House, she saved the painting of George Washington.
Next we went to Jefferson's house, and this was my favorite. He loved inventions and science, and he turned the first room of his house into a museum to educate guests while they waited for him. "There is not a sprig of grass that grows uninteresting to me." I love that quote because it shows how curious and fascinated he was with the world. I loved his library and study best of all! He once told Adams, "I cannot live without books." Same here Jefferson! His house was full of inventions and gadgets.
Last we saw James Monroe's old place. It was the smallest and most modest of them all. One of the things I loved learning about through all three houses, was their slaves.
All 3 men acknowledged slavery as a bad thing and yet they all had slaves! Jefferson had 600! Madison and Jefferson passionately spoke of slavery as a "thorn" and a travesty, but also said they didn't know what to do about it. They couldn't extricate themselves from this societal norm. Monroe, president number 5, was the first to take action. He made the slave trade from Africa illegal, and if any incoming ships had slaves, he sent them to a safe zone called Monroeville back in Africa. But he still had his own slaves. Of Jefferson's 600 slaves, he only freed 7 - all family members of his children from Sally Hemmings. Interesting to that he should love one of his enslaved women, have 4 children with her, and not be at the forefront of ending the institution.
It was such a wonderful day, full of history. It was neat to walk the same floor these great men of our past built. It felt so connecting to stand in the rooms these men sat in, toiling and debating over these issues in our Nations' past. And Debra is such a history buff, that she was perfect to go with.
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