The Founding Fathers Deconstructed

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-Ilana Mercer

Following a conference last month in Baltimore, I decamped to Old Town Alexandria (still occupied federal territory) to do some sightseeing. The idea was to stay away from the District of Columbia. Tellingly, a gentle bouquet of sewerage blanketed D.C. when I landed at Reagan National Airport. It lingered for days.

I, of course, needed no olfactory reminders to steer clear of the capital and its surrounds. We headed into Virginia. Fredericksburg, Charlottesville and Orange: The landscape took my breath away; so beautiful, so steeped in history. One could so clearly see why magnificent men once defended these places to the death.

Sadly, after touring George Washington's Mount Vernon estate, James Madison's woefully neglected Montpelier and Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello – my husband and I turned into betting men. The wager? In which stately room would our guide commence the deconstruction of the American founding for the sin of slavery?

Visitors had all been schooled well. Many of the questions fielded touched on slavery; most of those present were eager to display their exquisite sensitivity. As evinced by the furious nodding and sighing, almost all tourists "got" how irreparably blemished these brilliant and brave individuals were because of that peculiar institution. Although the slave quarters at Mount Vernon were closed for renovations, one young man draped himself decoratively over a narrow windowsill. There he stood motionless, deep in thought, his hunched frame racked by (very showy) pain.

An African-American family sauntered toward the Mount Vernon estate plan, where I lingered. The father pointed toward one landmark only: "Here, son, were the slave quarters. Here is their unmarked tomb." Not a word did dad disgorge about George Washington the farmer and freedom fighter. Thus was a young, black American directed to nurse those unappeasable grievances.

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