George Washington and Hercules: How the First US President's Cook Gained Independence
On 4 July 1776, the Declaration of Independence was issued in Independence Hall, at Philadelphia in Pennsylvania and now the day is celebrated as Independence Day in the United States of America. Eventually, in 1783 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, the USA gained independence from Britain. However, in this newly independent nation based on slave economy, not everyone was free. George Washington, one of the Founding Fathers of the USA, owned a plantation called Mount Vernon on the banks of the Potomac River in Virginia, the Mother of Presidents and Statesmen (8 US Presidents were born in the state including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.). In 1789, he became the first President of the USA and served two terms in office. From 1790 to 1800, Philadelphia became the seat of the federal government. Earlier New York City was its capital from 1785 to 1790 and it was also the first capital of the USA and the place where the first president took the oath of office. A lot of Founding Fathers of America were either the owners of many slaves (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin) or married into large slave-owning families (Alexander Hamilton). The first 12 US presidents (excluding John Adams and his son, John Quincy Adams who opposed slavery) were slave-owners. When James Madison went to the College of New Jersey which later came to be known as Princeton University in New Jersey, he brought a slave with him.
George Washington kept more than 600 slaves on his plantation. He inherited some slaves from his father like Thomas Jefferson and some were purchased by him while others were born in slavery there. His marriage to his wife, Martha helped him to gain more than 80 slaves. Hercules was one of those enslaved African Americans that Washington owned. When he became president, Hercules was called from Mount Vernon to Philadelphia. However, his journey from Mount Vernon to Philadelphia was not the only one he embarked on in order to work as the president's chef. Pennsylvania in 1780 i.e. before the Revolutionary War had outlawed slavery and accordingly, the state law of Pennsylvania instructed that any slave who had lived in the state for 6 months or more than that, he or she was to be considered a free person. That meant Washington could not keep his slaves in Philadelphia for a period exceeding 6 months. He would return to Mount Vernon before the end of 6 months with his enslaved people and then travel back to Philadelphia with them. In 1793 Washington signed the Fugitive Slave Law, making the arrest or capture of fugitives and return of runaway slaves or fugitives to states with less slavery legal and empowering the enslavers with the legal right to reclaim their runaways.
It is believed that by the end of Washington's Second Term (1793-1797), he started to have a suspicion that his cook, Hercules might attempt to flee. In consequence, he sent him back to his plantation in Virginia where his work was not to cook but to work on the fields, as a labourer. It was during this phase of his life that Hercules found an opportunity to run away when everyone was busy making preparations for a grand celebration for Washington's 65th birthday. The infuriated Washington tried to find him even after a year of his escape, but he was unable to locate Hercules. Later, after his death, his wife, Martha was informed by Richard Varick, the Mayor of New York City that he saw Hercules in New York City. Martha showed least interest in taking her former cook back. Hercules spent the final days of his life in the city and died of TB. And he died in freedom, not enslavement!
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