January 1796
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
Ona Judge, an enslaved woman who had served Martha Washington since childhood, escaped from the President's House in Philadelphia in May 1796. She boarded a ship to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, learning she was to be given as a wedding gift to Martha Washington's granddaughter. Washington dispatched federal customs agents to recapture her — a use of federal authority that alarmed some observers. Judge refused to return, married a free Black sailor named John Staines, and gave several interviews to
Events
- 1796Ona Judge Escapes from George Washington in Philadelphia
Ona Judge, an enslaved woman who had served Martha Washington since childhood, escaped from the President's House in Philadelphia in May 1796. She boarded a ship to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, learning she was to be given as a wedding gift to Martha Washington's granddaughter. Washington dispatched federal customs agents to recapture her — a use of federal authority that alarmed some observers. Judge refused to return, married a free Black sailor named John Staines, and gave several interviews to
- c. 1796Washington 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
- 1796Tennessee Statehood Entrenches Slavery Southwest
Tennessee was admitted as a slave state in 1796, its constitution explicitly protecting slavery. The Tennessee constitution initially allowed free Black men who met property requirements to vote — a provision removed by 1834. The state's admission continued the pattern of enslaved population growth tracking westward US territorial expansion.