George Washington was a slaveowner and Founding Father who became uneasy with the institution of slavery but provided for the emancipation of his slaves only after his death. Most of his slaves worked on his Mount Vernon estate. They built their own community around marriage and family, and resisted the system by various means, from feigning illness to absconding. As a young planter, Washington demonstrated no qualms about slavery. His first doubts about the institution were economic, prompted when the transition from tobacco to grain crops in the 1760s left him with a costly surplus of slaves. After the American Revolution, he privately expressed support for the abolition of slavery by a gradual legislative process but never spoke publicly on the issue. In the mid- 1790s, he considered plans to free his slaves, but his business remained dependent on slave labor. He stipulated in his will that his slaves were to be freed on the death of his wife.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_and_slavery

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1867:

Second French intervention in Mexico: Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico was executed by firing squad in Querétaro City. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_I_of_Mexico

1970:

The international Patent Cooperation Treaty was signed, providing a unified procedure for filing patent applications to protect inventions in each of its contracting states. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_Cooperation_Treaty

1978:

Garfield, created by Jim Davis, debuted in American newspapers nationwide, eventually becoming one of the world's most widely syndicated comic strips. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield

2010:

The royal wedding of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, and Daniel Westling took place in Stockholm Cathedral. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_of_Victoria,_Crown_Princess_of_Sweden,_and_Daniel_Westling

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

Juneteenth: (US) Also more fully as Juneteenth Day: a holiday celebrated in many states of the United States of America on June 19, commemorating the end of slavery. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Juneteenth

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Hope remains even in the most difficult of times … I hope today serves as a reminder that however hard things get, we will meet again.   --Vera Lynn https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Vera_Lynn