Social Education 82(3), pp. 143–148 ©2018 National Council for the Social Studies George Washington and Slavery: Going Beyond Picture Books to Teach about Our Flawed Founders

Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, James Joshua Coleman, and Lindsay R. Cicchino

In early 2016, the children’s picture book ting less-than-desirable facts about our American history. As literary critic Clare A Birthday Cake for George Washington nation’s founding.3 Specifically, critics Bradford notes, one of the key functions created controversy. Intended for chil- questioned how the depiction of “smil- of children’s literature is to “explain and dren between the ages of four and ing slaves” and an enjoyment of forced interpret national histories—histories eight, Birthday Cake tells the story of labor would affect the development of that involve invasion, conquest, and Washington’s enslaved cook, Hercules, children, the way they viewed black assimilation.”5 However, presenting and and his struggle to concoct the perfect children and adults, and their under- reading about these fraught events can treat for George Washington’s birth- standing of George Washington as our prove difficult in light of key functions day. Hercules is described as “very nation’s first president. Questions like, of children’s literature: to transmit values, upset” about the lack of sugar and even “What message does this send?” and convey a sense of nostalgia and wonder, “roared at the kitchen maids—Where has “How will this make our students who and spark young imaginations.6 While the sugar gone?!”1 The harsh historical are descended from slaves feel?” were some may question whether young chil- realities of enslavement in the 1700s asked to audiences on Twitter and in dren should be exposed to the realities in general, and in Martha and George literacy education blogs. Activist and of our national past, a recent report Washington’s household in particular, community organizer Leslie MacFadyen from Teaching Tolerance suggests that are obscured in the storytelling.2 This (@LeslieMac on Twitter) and other misperceptions about slavery do not get struggle for sugar creates a narrative that social media influencers coined a new corrected in later grades,7 making the may lead young children to believe that hashtag—#SlaveryWithASmile.4 The information presented in picture books the major issue in an enslaved person’s work of activists, critics, and scholars that much more important. life was a lack of baking ingredients. It is resulted in Scholastic withdrawing the It is worth noting that the Teaching a historical fact that Hercules escaped book from print and renewed discussion Tolerance report also warns of the dan- enslavement one year after the events around the kinds of stories for children gers of teaching about slavery without portrayed in Birthday Cake; nowhere that should be used in classrooms to proper context, which may be a particu- is that represented in the text. Neither teach social studies. lar issue at the elementary level: is the fact that the Washingtons rotated Although some may assert that A their enslaved workers between the pres- Birthday Cake for George Washington In elementary school, if slavery idential residence in Philadelphia and is an extreme case, benevolent presen- is mentioned at all in state con- the Mount Vernon plantation in Virginia. tations of the American heritage myth tent standards, it is generally by Under Pennsylvania law, they would are fairly typical within the picture book implication, with references to have been freed if they had remained in genre and in children’s literature more the Underground Railroad or the state for six months. generally. Many popular historical topics other “feel good” stories that A number of critics, educators, par- in children’s and young adult literature— deal with slavery’s end, rather ents, and activists denounced Birthday slavery, the Jim Crow South, Japanese than its inception and persistence. Cake. Many felt it was unethical to put internment camps of World War II, and Young students learn about lib- a picture book in the hands of young the genocide of Native Americans, to eration before they learn about children that portrays historical inac- name just a few—are set in the midst enslavement; they learn to cel- curacies, while simultaneously omit- of the incomprehensible horrors of ebrate the Constitution before

May/June 2018 143 learning about the troublesome fiction, and myth can be challenging. “present an original theme or a fresh compromises that made its rati- Later in this article we suggest ways to slant on a traditional topic.”12 Texts such fication possible. They may even take on this challenge, but first we dig a as these serve as a welcome complement learn about the Emancipation little deeper into Washington’s portrayal to more traditional histories, reinvigo- Proclamation before they learn in books for young children and young rating student interest by humanizing about the Civil War. Many adults to make clear just how chal- apotheosized figures. The recognition teachers tell us they avoid teach- lenging it is to find books that provide of George Washington as a man—better ing about slavery’s violence in readers with a balanced picture of the yet, as a man with altogether question- elementary school, preferring to founding fathers. able oral hygiene—allows young readers focus on positive developments In a bibliography annually published to connect with that historical figure, as in American history. Yet these since 1972, Notable Social Studies they see their own humanity, and their early narratives often form the Trade Books for Young People, (pre- own fallibility, reflected there. schema by which later learning sented in this May/June issue of Social However, few biographies about is acquired, making them difficult Education) the National Council for the George Washington for young readers to undo.8 Social Studies (NCSS) has worked with raise concerns about his position on the Children’s Book Council (CBC) to slavery. Recent publications have begun Thus, using only a picture book that provide a resource guide of selected to grapple explicitly with Washington’s depicts slavery and George Washington texts for teachers of grades K-12. These slaveholding, which stands in contrast as Birthday Cake does may be deeply books cover a range of subject matter to earlier texts for children. For exam- problematic for students long past their from informational texts such as 100 ple, George Washington: An Illustrated elementary years. How and when the Inventions that Made History to the Biography, recommended by NCSS in topic of slavery is first introduced to retelling of Native American folktales 2005, represents Washington’s perspec- children is important. Even if the topic in picture books such as The Legend tive on slavery through unframed pri- of slavery is not introduced in the cur- of the Lady Slipper. Unsurprisingly, mary source documents.13 This lack of riculum until the upper elementary or the life of George Washington has authorial framing—neglecting to explain middle school grades, it is likely that been an oft-published topic. A review historical context, photo and document students may have picked up metanar- of the past 15 years of NCSS’s rec- selection, and the implications of lay- ratives about slavery and the founding ommended texts reveals that George out in these texts—invites non-critical through other sources, such as picture Washington has been featured in at readings, as the documents often por- books, television programs, or conversa- least 10 publications that take up his tray Washington quite anachronistically tions at home. legacy in myriad ways. Texts from ear- within a neo-abolitionist frame.14 In An Metanarratives—stories that are lier booklists (2000 and 2002) posi- Illustrated Biography, Washington is told and retold over time, so that they tion Washington from a bibliographic portrayed as transformed in his final become the story—have proven instru- perspective, bolstering perspectives of moments, with deathbed understand- mental in cultivating conceptions of the him as a war hero (The World Turned ings positioned as redemption for a life- Founders as invariably honest, brave, Upside Down: George Washington and time of slave ownership. Recognizing the and ethical. A prime example is the the Battle of Yorktown) and found- popular mythos surrounding George tale of George Washington confessing ing father (Our Country’s Presidents). Washington, young readers might inter- that he chopped down the cherry tree. Aligned with popular teachings about pret unframed documentary texts like While this narrative crafted an image George Washington, these texts rein- these in light of metanarratives, such of Washington as inherently moral, force a nationalist image of the first U.S. as the legend of the cherry tree, that even from childhood, it was but a fic- president by illuminating feats of mili- disavow conceptions of Washington as a tion, created by Mason Locke Weems, tary prowess and his contributions to slave owner, seller, and, furthermore, as one of Washington’s first biographers.9 the founding of the United States. an individual who according to Richard Although the tale was fictitious, this On a more whimsical note, in 2002 Parkinson, a Mount Vernon neighbor, story, nonetheless, powerfully influ- and 2005, two books were published “treated [his slaves] with more severity enced popular conceptions of President exploring Washington’s fraught dental than any other man.”15 Washington for several decades. history. Quickly debunking the myth It is worth noting that the Mt. Accordingly, narrating the lives of the of wooden teeth (they were more likely Vernon website represents slavery at Founders in ways that young people can made of hippo ivory, gold, lead,10 or Washington’s home with a heading understand and that take into consider- even pulled human teeth11 ), these texts, that reflects the contested nature of ation the tension between historical fact, in line with the NCSS selection criteria, the available information: “Accounts

Social Education 144 vary regarding Washington’s treatment brutal realities of slavery: “Many of the Analysis of Children’s Literature pro- of Mount Vernon’s enslaved popula- pictures in the book are of slave reenac- vides a way forward. In chapter 1, tion.” During his lifetime, opinions tors.… Most are smiling or have neutral “Metaphors We Read By,” Maria José about Washington’s cruelty were var- faces. You would be hard-pressed to Botelho and Masha Kabakow Rudman ied; for instance, one foreign visitor find an unhappy person.”18 Recalling explain that “critical multicultural to Washington’s estate remarked that the smiling slaves of Birthday Cake, this analysis focuses on the reader as the he was comparatively kinder to the trend reinforces the distinction between midwife of meaning.”20 Both a set of individuals whom he enslaved than intention and impact.19 While intended tools and an orientation toward texts, to his fellow Virginians. What is clear to illuminate Washington’s “radical critical multicultural analysis is a useful is that Washington frequently pun- transformation” regarding slave own- framework for readers, moving them ished his enslaved workers via whip- ership, Master George’s People none- from a position of passive consumption ping, increased manual labor, and the theless reinforces problematic notions to critical engagement. This approach forced separation of families; on several of slavery—#SlaveryWithASmile. addresses the debate of intention ver- occasions, he is recorded to have sold Whether unframed or candidly sus impact by equipping readers with family members to West Indies traders. addressed, the propensity for misrep- skills to surface issues of power and These facts remain a part of the histori- resentations of slavery in children’s lit- privilege. To address social inequality cal record. erature highlights the need for social engendered by asymmetries of power, In Master George’s People: studies education that cultivates critical Botelho and Rudman position strategic George Washington, His Slaves, and perspectives toward any text, document, inquiry as central to the deployment Revolutionary Transformation, Marfé or composed literary work. Using a crit- of critical multicultural analysis and Ferguson Delano attempts such criti- ical multicultural lens to read children’s provide a list of “critical questions— cality through directly addressing stories may offer a way to provide a as originally proposed by Nathalie Washington’s slaveholding at Mount balanced perspective of the past. Wooldridge21 —to guide exploration of Vernon.16 Described by Kirkus Reviews such power in children’s literature (see as “a revealing portrait of the father of Using a Critical Multicultural Table 1, Column 1). Recognizing both our country as a slave owner,” this text Lens to Read Children’s Stories the conventions and features specific to weaves together biographical sketches about George Washington many social studies texts, in Column 2, of enslaved individuals with period Addressing the need for critical per- we provide alterations to Wooldridge’s illustrations and reenactment photog- spectives in the teaching of texts for heuristic that align with the specific raphy of Mount Vernon historical inter- children and young adults, Botelho needs of social studies educators (See preters.17 Knit together with lively narra- and Rudman’s Critical Multicultural Table 1, Column 2). tive, this text moves through the history of enslavement at Mount Vernon by Table 1. Questions for Critical Engagement blending physical and temporal locales. Social Studies Specific In Master George’s People, enslaved Wooldridge’s Questions Questions childhood becomes a space interwo- • How have documentary sources ven with both work and play, and the • Why is the text written that way? been curated and for what pur- treatment of adulthood slavery is pre- How else could it have been writ- poses? How else could they have sented as mutable, changing relative to ten? Washington’s evolving ideas regarding been curated? the ethicality of slavery. Intended to expand young readers’ knowledge about • How else could it have been writ- • How have primary sources been George Washington, this book, while ten? Who is silenced (and heard) framed? Who is silenced (and thoroughly researched, nonetheless here? What are the possible read- heard) by this framing? What are garnered critique that calls attention to ings of this situation/event/char- the possible readings of these the text’s often bucolic representation acter? documents? of slavery. Howard University profes- • What do annotations of photos sor Clarence Lusane, writing for the • What (or whose) view of the and documents lead us to con- Zinn Education Project, notes that the world, or kinds of behaviors are clude as to what is posited as nor- reenactment photography—photog- presented as normal by the text? raphy hailed by Delano as a defining mal within the text? feature of the text—misrepresents the

May/June 2018 145 Recommendations for Teachers for Young People published through George Washington’s legacy is far from 2016 did not bring up a single title that the only one that warrants reconsidera- mentions that Washington’s treatment tion as social studies and English teach- of those enslaved at Mount Vernon was ers prepare lessons on historical figures. typical for the time period, or that sev- In addition to the tools of critical multi- eral people attempted to escape to free- cultural analysis, the following recom- dom—historical knowledge omitted mendations for teachers can expand our from recalled stories like A Birthday knowledge base of historical children’s Cake for George Washington. While literature and supplementary material. we appreciate newer offerings, such This new information can equip teach- as Master George’s People, we share ers to combat the single narratives that Lusane’s aforementioned concerns can be perpetuated in schooling and in about its depictions. Children must society, think critically about the books learn about the realities of enslave- currently in our classroom libraries, and ment beyond #SlaveryWithASmile. It facilitate discussions that allow students is our hope that new books addressing to analyze multiple historical perspec- Washington and slavery will inspire tives. authors of historical children’s lit- We can: erature to reshape picture books to address the realities of enslavement 1. Get informed: Primary sources and the contradiction inherent in are readily available online. The Contrasting Never Caught the founding of the United States of Mount Vernon website provides with a Jane Addams award- America. useful materials for teaching about One such new title that may be of George Washington, as does the winning picture book interest to teachers for background Smithsonian, National Museum published a decade earlier, knowledge is Erica Armstrong of African American History and The Escape of Oney Judge: Dunbar’s Never Caught: The Culture, and the National Archives. Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Educational blogs and social Martha Washington’s Slave Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge, media sites on Twitter, Facebook, Finds Freedom, reveals which was a finalist for the 2017 Instagram, and Tumblr also provide how picture books can National Book Award for nonfic- 22 useful information about history, unwittingly obscure tion. Contrasting Never Caught although these sites must be evalu- with a Jane Addams award-winning ated for accuracy. Finally, the weekly Washington’s complicity picture book published a decade #sschat on Twitter is a good forum to in slavery. earlier, The Escape of Oney Judge: talk with other teachers about best Martha Washington’s Slave Finds practices in social studies education. 3. Get more of the story and get Freedom, reveals how picture books talking: Curriculum restrictions can unwittingly obscure Washington’s 2. Get critical: We can take some do not always make it easy to pres- complicity in slavery.23 Albeit a vivid time to go through the books on ent a more well-rounded depiction depiction of the life of Ona Judge, the shelves of our classroom librar- of historical figures, but it is essen- The Escape of Oney Judge does more ies, asking ourselves questions tial for students to interrogate our than omit historical information that like: Whose story is being told in world in order to figure out why might be troubling for younger chil- this biography? What information we teach history in the ways that dren. It tells a slightly different story: is being left out in these stories? Is we do. We can plan for time to in the picture book version of this there more to this historical figure read a primary source, look at tale, Martha Washington alone owns than is being portrayed? This will photographs, view video clips, or Oney, although this somewhat elides help us figure out what types of listen to speakers who show sides the complexity of her mother’s status books need to be added to our col- of historical figures that are not as one of the Custis dower slaves.24 lections, as well as what types of dis- shown in social studies textbooks. A look at both titles shows how the cussions need to be had when using authors’ approaches to their audiences these books with our students. It is troubling that our review of vary. Never Caught’s subtitle alludes Notable Social Studies Trade Books to the fact that, legally, Ona Judge was

Social Education 146 Table 2. Getting More of the Story Through Classroom Talk Excerpt from The Escape of Oney Supplementary Resources (Accessible Example of Student Rephrasing Judge: Martha Washington’s Slave Finds to Upper Elementary Students) Freedom

“When the Revolutionary War finally “Ten Facts About Washington & Slavery,” “General Washington was the Father of His ended, General Washington came home George Washington’s Mount Vernon.* Country. But he was more than the father to Virginia, safe and sound, a hero. to many of the people at Mount Vernon. People were calling him the Father of He owned them.” His Country. He was the father of Mount Vernon, too, keeping a stern eye on all the work that had to be done.”

“Liberty means the people are free,” he “President’s House Site: Enslaved “Liberty means the people are free. But, at said. People in the Washingtons’ Household,” the time, this freedom was not for all.” Independence National Historical Park, “But we’re not,” Oney said. Pennsylvania.**

“Be careful what you say,” he scolded. “You’re lucky to be in the Mansion.”

* “Ten Facts about Washington and Slavery,” George Washington’s Mount Vernon, n.d. www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/slavery/ten-facts-about-washington-slavery/. ** “President’s House Site: Enslaved People in the Washingtons’ Household,” Independence National Historical Park, Pennsylvania. www.nps.gov/inde/learn/historyculture/ enslaved-people.htm.

both George and Martha Washingtons’ to create a chart like the one above to in his final days as president, George slave: The Washingtons’ Relentless build bridges of understanding for Washington still owned slaves. Children Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave. In their students. and adults alike deserve to explore this contrast, McCully’s picture book ver- After examining picture books like paradox. sion of the same story refers to Martha The Escape of Oney Judge along with Secondary—and elementary—teach- Washington as Oney Judge’s owner, our students, we can talk with them ers serve a powerful role as intellectual since she came to Mount Vernon as about why certain kinds of stories gatekeepers of our nation’s history. If part of the Custis household. While about historical figures are com- we use flawed picture books to teach the story told in Never Caught focuses monly known, while others are not. about our nation’s founders, we can on the harsh treatment that Ona and Along with the critical questions from still embrace critical stances to chal- the other enslaved people of Mount the previous chart, we may discuss: lenge single stories about our nation’s Vernon received, The Escape of Oney How does this story affect our cur- founding, as well as honor the lives, sto- Judge positions Ona, through word rent understanding of this person? ries, and experiences of those enslaved and image, as a relatively privileged How do stories of historical figures under the oppressive institution of house servant, singled out for special affect our understanding of the world American slavery. We do not live in a treatment. today? binary world. Teaching the complicated Although Never Caught was pub- truth about George Washington—both lished 10 years after The Escape of Conclusion nuanced and critical—will help develop Oney Judge, the information about In his farewell address, George our students’ historical thinking, as well George Washington’s slaveholding Washington advised the fledging United as their empathy and imagination. has been known to historians for States of America to “Observe good quite some time. Heretofore, such faith and justice towards all nations. Notes information was not viewed as suit- Cultivate peace and harmony with 1. Ramin Ganeshram, A Birthday Cake for George Washington (New York: Scholastic, 2016). 25 able for young children—creating an all.” Advocating peace, Washington 2. Erica Armstrong Dunbar, Never Caught: The information gap. One way of bridg- warned the country away from conflict, Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge (New York: Simon and Schuster, ing these gaps is to “get more of the explaining, “The nation which indulges 2017). story” and “get talking.” Teachers can towards another a habitual hatred … is 3. Edith Campbell, “Book Review: A Birthday Cake use resources like the Mount Vernon in some degree a slave.” These are mov- for George Washington,” Crazy QuiltEdi, blog, (Jan. 13, 2016),https://campbele.wordpress.com/2016/ website and books like Never Caught ing words, indeed. The irony is that, 01/13/book-review-a-birthday-cake-for-george-wash

May/June 2018 147 ington/; Vicky Smith, “Smiling Slaves in a Post-A 16. Marfé Ferguson Delano, Master George’s People: Fine Dessert World,” Kirkus Reviews, blog, (Jan. George Washington, His Slaves, and 4, 2016), www.kirkusreviews.com/features/ Revolutionary Transformation (Washington, smiling-slaves-post-fine-dessert-world/. D.C.: National Geographic Children’s Books, 4. Deborah Menkart, “Under Pressure, Scholastic 2013). Recalls Racist Children’s Book,” Teaching for 17. “Review, Master George’s People,” Kirkus Change, blog, 2016. www.teachingforchange.org/ Reviews (2013), www.kirkusreviews.com/book- protest-victory-scholastic-recall; Nara Schoenberg, reviews/marfe-ferguson-delano/master-georges- “Slavery in Children’s Books: What Works?” people/. Chicago Tribune (Feb. 15, 2016), www. chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/books/ct-prj-slavery- 18. Clarence Lusane, “Whitewashing Our First in-childrens-books-20160227-story.html#nt=outfit. President,” Zinn Education Project (2014), https://zinnedproject.org/materials/whitewashing- 5. Clare Bradford, Unsettling Narratives: our-first-president/. Postcolonial Readings of Children’s Literature (Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 19. Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, Debbie Reese, and 2007). Kathleen T. Horning, “Much Ado about A Fine Dessert: The Cultural Politics of Representing 6. Beverly Lyon Clark, Kiddie Lit: The Cultural Slavery in Children’s Literature,” Journal of Construction of Children’s Literature in America Children’s Literature 42, no. 2 (2016): 6–17. (Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004). 20. Maria José Botelho and Masha Kabakow Rudman, Critical Multicultural Analysis of 7. “Hard History: Teaching about American Children’s Literature: Mirrors, Windows, and Slavery,” Special Report, Teaching Tolerance Doors (Routledge, 2009). (2018). 21. Nathalie Wooldridge, “Tensions and 8. Ibid. Ambiguities in Critical Literacy,” in Negotiating 9. Jay Richardson, “Cherry Tree Myth,” George Critical Literacies in Classrooms, eds. Barbara Washington’s Mount Vernon, www.mountvernon. Comber and Anne Simpson (New York: org/digital-encyclopedia/article/cherry-tree-myth/. Routledge, 2001). 10. William M. Etter, “Wooden Teeth Myth,” 22. Erica Armstrong Dunbar, Never Caught: The George Washington’s Mount Vernon, www. Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their mountvernon.org/digital-encyclopedia/article/ Runaway Slave, Ona Judge (New York: Atria wooden-teeth-myth/. Publishing Group, 2017). (After consultation 11. Kathryn Gehred, “Did George Washington’s with the author, we have recently learned that a False Teeth Come from Slaves?: A Look at the title appropriate for middle school students will Evidence, the Responses to That Evidence, and be published in 2019.) the Limitations of History,” Washington’s Quill, 23. Emily Arnold McCully, The Escape of Oney http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/george-washingtons- Judge: Martha Washington’s Slave Finds false-teeth-come-slaves-look-evidence-responses- Freedom (New York: Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux, evidence-limitations-history/. 2007). 12. “Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young 24. Dower slaves were enslaved people who were People,” National Council for the Social Studies: part of a wife’s estate during the antebellum www.socialstudies.org/resources/notable. period. They could not be freed if the husband 13. David A. Adler, George Washington: An predeceased his wife without her consent. Illustrated Biography (New York: Holiday However, during his lifetime, George House, 2004). Washington shared ownership of Ona Judge and 14. Paula T. Connolly, Slavery in American the other Custis dower slaves with Martha; see, Children’s Literature, 1790–2010 (Iowa City: for example, Sarah Pruitt’s “George Washington University of Iowa Press, 2013). and the Slave Who Got Away,” HISTORY.com, 15. For more information, see “Ten Facts about www.history.com/news/george-washington-and- Washington and Slavery,” George Washington’s the-slave-who-got-away. Never miss Mount Vernon, n.d. www.mountvernon.org/ 25. George Washington, “Washington’s Farewell george-washington/slavery/ten-facts-about- Address 1796,” Yale Law School, http://avalon. another issue of washington-slavery/. law.yale.edu/18th_century/washing.asp. Social Education! Go to Ebony Elizabeth Thomas is Associate Professor of Education at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. A former Detroit Public Schools teacher, her research is most keenly socialstudies.org/membership focused on children’s and young adult literature, classroom interaction, and African American education. In 2014–2015, she held a National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship and renew your to study young readers’ responses to American slavery in children’s literature. She can be reached at ebonyt@ upenn.edu or on Twitter: @Ebonyteach. James Joshua Coleman (Josh) is a doctoral candidate at the membership, change University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, where he researches historical issues of repre- your address, or update sentation in LGBTQ+ and queer-themed Young Adult literature. Some of his academic areas of interest include young adult literature, queer theory and studies, affect studies, and critical literacy. He can be your member profile. reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @JoshEducating. Lindsay R. Cicchino is currently a Gifted and Talented Teacher in Mount Holly Township, New Jersey. After earning a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education and Social Studies from La Salle University in 2013, Lindsay served as a Teach For America Corps Member in North Charleston, South Carolina. She earned her master’s degree from the Reading/Writing/Literacy Program at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education in 2016. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @lindsaycicchino. Not an NCSS member? Join at www.socialstudies.org/membership

Social Education 148