Washington Rotates Enslaved Household Staff to Evade Pennsylvania's Abolition Law

Pennsylvania's 1780 Gradual Abolition Act freed any enslaved person resident in the state for more than six consecutive months. Beginning in 1791, Washington systematically rotated his enslaved household staff — including Ona Judge, Hercules the cook, and others — back to Virginia before the six-month mark, then returned them to Philadelphia. His private letters show he understood exactly what he was doing and feared the legal consequences of delay. He instructed his secretary to keep the rotati