Historian Marks to Discuss Legacy of 1st President

How should we remember George Washington’s involvement in slavery? Historian and author John Garrison Marks will discuss slavery’s place in Washington’s legacy during a program from 7 to 8:30pm July 1 at Historic Sotterley.

More than any other Founding Father, Washington’s relationship to slavery has perplexed generations. He enslaved more people than any of his contemporaries, yet he was the only one among them to emancipate those he held in bondage. Since Washington’s death, Americans have grappled with this contradiction. Their efforts to remember, reinterpret, or obscure this history have profoundly influenced the nation’s collective memory and its ongoing struggle to define America’s identity.

In his new book, “Thy Will Be Done: George Washington’s Legacy of Slavery and the Fight for American Memory,” Marks traces how politicians, abolitionists, educators, activists, Washington’s former slaves and their descendants, and others have remembered, forgotten, and manipulated slavery’s place in Washington’s story, wielding it in the political and cultural fights of their time. He reveals how Americans’ conflicts over our collective memory of the past have always been part of a much broader struggle to define the nation.

This free hybrid event requires registration. All attendees are invited to a pre‑reception at 6:30pm with light refreshments and an opportunity to meet the speaker and get a signed copy of his book.

Historic Sotterley is at 44300 Sotterley Lane in Hollywood, MD.

Register to attend in person here.

Register to attend virtually here.

Mr. Marks is the author or editor of three books, and his work has appeared in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, TIME, Smithsonian Magazine, and elsewhere. He serves as a senior staff member for the American Association for State and Local History, where he leads research, leadership development, and special projects, including nine years of thinking, writing, and speaking about the US Semiquincentennial. He earned a Ph.D. in history from Rice University.