Racial prejudice worked to perpetuate American slavery, even if it was not essential to sustain the institution. Slavery, serfdom, and peonage had existed elsewhere without racial connotations. Indeed, bondage had been so historically ubiquitous one might well ask why, by the 1760’s, it had come to trouble so many white Americans so much. The answer lies in part — and this part help explain why people like Mason did not act more aggressively on their concerns — in the reservations many whites felt about living alongside members of a supposedly inferior race, whether slave or free. The problem was inherent in American slavery, and emancipation, by undermining white control, would only make it worse.
| Place | City | |
|---|---|---|
| Daughters of the American Revolution Museum | Washington | Houses several hundred thousand books, historical documents, manuscripts, and genealogical material. |
| Lafayette Square | Washington | Dedicated to Lafayette in 1824; at each corner is a statue of one foreign generals who served in the war. |
| Library of Congress | Washington | Established in 1800, the collection includes a recreation of Jefferson’s library of 6,487 books, which he donated in 1815. Guided and self-guided tours available. |
| National Archives | Washington | Contains the original of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and more. |
| National Museum of American History | Washington | Houses a large collection of artifacts from the Revolution. |
| National Portrait Gallery | Washington | Contains historical portraits, including works by John Trumbull, Gilbert Stuart, John Singleton Copley, Mather Brown, and others. |
George Mason: Forgotten Founder (2006)