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GEORGE WASHINGTON BIRTHPLACE NATIONAL MONUMENT

PRESENTS

**The Washingtons in Chesapeake History**

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**STUDENT WORKBOOK**

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**Park Background**

Is your mother or father keeping something valuable for you until you
are older? Maybe it is your grandfather's pocket watch that he wanted
you to have. It could be your grandmother\'s necklace or photograph.
Your family \"safekeeps\" this item until you can understand its
importance for you and your family. These items tell a story about your
family. You will want to keep these \"special\" family items to pass
down to your children.

The National Park Service has the same role your parents do in
safekeeping your \"special\" family items. The National Park Service
protects places that have a story to tell about the land, wildlife, or
history. These sites are protected because they are "special places" for
the people of the United States. The role of the National Park Service
has been to protect and preserve (safekeep) these places for the future.

Where George Washington was born is a \"special place" for the people of
the United States. The birthplace is important because George Washington
was the "Father of Our Country." Visitors have traveled to the
birthplace of George Washington since 1815. George Washington Birthplace
National Monument became a part of the National Park Service in 1930.
Across the United States, almost 400 places that tell a story are in
safekeeping by the National Park Service. This means that your children
and your children's children will be able to visit these sites just as
you can.

## WORD BANK

indentured servants representative England

General Assembly Rappahannock bartering

Thomas Jefferson Potomac plantations

James Monroe corn 1789

James Madison Yorktown representation

Commander-in-Chief 1619 President

natural resource tobacco 1783

George Washington credit 1776

Northern Neck 1788 slaves

1657. debt

Did You Know?

"George Washington surveyed more than 200 tracts, containing upwards of
66,000 acres of land. Washington made his first map (survey) in 1747 and
his last one in 1799, so that he made maps for a period of over half a
century. He owned 69,605 acres of land in 37 different locations".
(Martin, Lawrence, [The George Washington Atlas]{.underline} Washington,
D.C.: United States George Washington Bicentennial Commission, 1932,
preface.)

Fill in the blanks using the words from the Work Bank, Timeline, and
Crossword Puzzle.

####### John Washington Arrives in Virginia

In colonial times, money was scarce in the Chesapeake. If English money
was sent to the Chesapeake, there would not be currency in England.
Tobacco was raised by most planters and used in place of money. Farms
where planters raised tobacco were called .

John Washington sailed to Westmoreland County, Virginia, on the English
merchant ship *Seahorse of London* 50 years after Jamestown was settled.
He arrived in Virginia in the year [­­­­­­]{.underline}. The ship sailed up
the Potomac River into Mattox Creek and took on a cargo of . When the
*Seahorse* was loaded with tobacco, she set sail. The ship ran aground
on a sandbar and sank in a storm. After the ship was floated again,
second officer John Washington left the ship and stayed in Westmoreland
County with Colonel Nathaniel Pope, a local planter. Planters were men
that planted \_\_\_\_\_\_ . The tobacco shipped to would give the
planter on his account with the merchant.

**[Planter John Washington]{.underline}**

John Washington married Ann Pope (Colonel Pope's daughter) in 1658 and
was given 700 acres of land on Mattox Creek (Colonial Beach) as a
wedding gift. The land grew tobacco to use as money or sell. Tobacco was
the cash crop on the plantation. Cattle, hogs, sheep, fowl, vegetables,
and crops such as corn were raised for food.

The work on a plantation required people for raising crops and caring
for the livestock. Tobacco needed the most people; it took 1 person to
work 2 acres of tobacco. People were brought to the colonies from
England with their passage on ship paid by the planters. The people
brought over would have to work 4 to 7 years for the planter and receive
their "Freedom Dues," a bushel of corn and a suite of clothes. They were
called [\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_]{.underline} and were a cheap source of
labor.

The planters (that paid the passage) would receive 50 acres of land per
servant or head, causing this to be known as the headright system. John
Washington used the headright system for claiming land. He paid the
passage from England for 63 indentured servants brought to Virginia.
Indentured servants would never own any land in England. If they came to
the Chesapeake colonies and worked for a planter for 4 to 7 years, the
servants would buy their own land after their indenture. Land was
plentiful and cheap. Land was the reason people came to the Chesapeake;
land was needed to plant tobacco and make money.

Ships loaded with Africans came to Virginia as early as . Africans were
another source of cheap labor for the planters raising tobacco. The
first Africans brought over were indentured servants like the people
from England. By the 1640s, tobacco was the main cash crop and the
planters needed cheap labor to raise it. The planter would make more
money by not having to pay the people that worked the tobacco. By 1662,
all Africans brought to the Chesapeake became . By the time Georgve
Washington was born, there were very few indentured servants. By that
time, the plantation workers were almost all slaves. Tobacco (making
money) was the reason for slavery. The more slaves a planter owned, the
more tobacco could be raised for money.

######## Trade With England

Planters like John Washington shipped raw materials to England and buy
the finished products from English merchants. Colonists in the
Chesapeake area were not allowed to manufacture finished products.
Instead, Virginia and Maryland colonists shipped raw materials like
trees to England. Trees are an example of a . Raw materials and tobacco
shipped to England would give a planter credit with the English
merchant. The planter ordered fine clothes, china, and household items
from the English merchants. The merchants charged the items shipped to
the colonies to the planter's account. Money owed to the English
merchant was the planter's [.]{.underline} Money never changed hands
between the Chesapeake planters and the English merchants. The merchants
kept an account book on each planter that showed the credits for tobacco
sent to England and the debts for the goods shipped to the plantation.

There were few towns during the early years of settling the Northern
Neck. Rivers were the colonial highways and everything moved by ship.
The creeks, rivers, and bay (around the Northern Neck) provided loading
and unloading wharfs within short distances of every plantation. Ships
brought goods and supplies directly to the plantation or a neighbor's
wharf. Goods were delivered to the plantation. Towns such as
Fredericksburg developed during George Washington's childhood. In these
towns, farmers could trade goods such as eggs at the store for nails,
sugar, or other goods. Trading goods for goods or services is known as .

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WASHINGTON FAMILY TREE

**John Washington** married 1658 **Anne Pope**, Daughter of Nathaniel
Pope

Emigrated to Virginia 1656 ?-1668

1632-1677

**Lawrence Washington** married1686 **Mildred Warner**

1659-1698 ?-1701

Jane Butler married 1715 **Augustine Washington** 2^nd^ marriage 1731
**Mary Ball**

1699-1729 1694-1743 1708 or 1709-1789 George Washington

Butler, born & died 1716 February 22, 1732 -- December 14,1799

#  

##  Lawrence, 1718-1752 Elizabeth, 1733-1797

Augustine, Jr., 1719 or 1720-1762 Samuel, 1734-1781

Jane, 1722-1735 John Augustine, 1735-1787

> Charles, 1738-1799

Mildred, 1739-1740

George Washington married Martha Dandridge Custis on January 6, 1759.
She had two children from her previous marriage and was living at the
White House Plantation in New Kent County. George raised and loved these
children, Jack and Patsy, as his own.

# [Popes Creek Plantation]{.underline}

Virginia was an English colony. The King of England appointed Virginia's
governor. In the Chesapeake, wealth was measured by the amount of land
and the number of slaves a person owned. In the 1700's about 300
families had carved large plantations out of the wilderness and had
formed an upper class that ruled Virginia.

Rivers were important to the colonists in Tidewater Chesapeake areas.
The James, York, Rappahannock, and Potomac Rivers were the colonial
highways to bring news and goods from the outside world. The land named
the Northern Neck was located between the and Rivers. This tidewater
plantation system in the Northern Neck produced 3 of the first 5
presidents: , , .

Virginia produced 4 of the first 5 presidents.
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ was the third President of the
United States and a Virginian.

Thomas Lord Fairfax owned the Northern Neck of Virginia. Over 5 million
acres of land had been granted to his family for their loyalty to the
King of England. Lord Fairfax wanted people to settle in the Northern
Neck. The colonists would pay quit rents (yearly fee like rent to own)
for 7 years to own land in the Northern Neck. The more people that
settled in the Northern Neck, the more money Lord Fairfax made.

Popes Creek Plantation was located on the Potomac River in Westmoreland
County. Augustine Washington had over 20 slaves and 4 indentured
servants working on Popes Creek. The plantation included farmed hogs,
cattle, sheep, geese and fowl. These animals were farmed for food and
clothing. Oxen were made to pull wagons and horses were used for riding.

The Native Americans had introduced a crop that colonials had started to
raise on their plantations to feed the people and animals: \_\_\_\_. The
plantation was like a village with the Washington family, indentured
servants, and slaves. Ships brought needed goods right to the plantation
wharf on the Potomac River.

# [George Washington's Youth]{.underline}

The eldest child of Augustine and Mary Ball Washington was George, born
in 1732. In 1735, the Washington family moved from Popes Creek to Little
Hunting Creek. The Washingtons moved to Ferry Farm (near Fredericksburg)
on the Rappahannock River in 1738.

When George was 11 years old, his father, Augustine, died. George
inherited Ferry Farm where he lived with his mother and siblings. This
plantation was not large enough to support a planter's lifestyle in
Virginia. Mary Ball Washington could not afford to send George to
England for an education. At the age of thirteen, George Washington
began studying geometry and surveying using a set of surveyor's
instruments from the storehouse at Ferry Farm. Virginia needed surveyors
to measure land and land was plentiful. Surveying was a planter's trade
like doctors and lawyers.

Young George Washington met Thomas Lord Fairfax, owner of
the[\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.]{.underline} Lord Fairfax
enjoyed fox hunting and riding horses. George Washington was an
excellent horseman and could keep up with the hounds during the fox
chase. Fairfax liked George Washington and sent him on his first
surveying job at the age of 16. One year later, George was appointed
surveyor for Culpeper County. He made good money as a surveyor and was
known for his fairness, honesty, and dependability. It was during this
time that Washington began to buy and sell land, a habit he would
continue throughout his life. When George was 18 years of age, he bought
1459 acres of land in Frederick County (Winchester, Virginia). He would
be elected to the House of Burgesses from Frederick County in 8 years.
This would be the beginning of Washington's political career.

########  

######## Tobacco Agents

######## In the fall, after the tobacco had been cut, dried, and packed for shipping in barrels, slaves rolled the 1000-pound barrels down to the dock on the Potomac River. It was loaded onto ships bound for England. The colonists received a credit for their tobacco. In other words, colonists sold their tobacco to an agent who was in England, but they didn't get cash for it. They got credit instead. 

######## 

######## An agent was a middleman: he didn't make the product (tobacco) and he wasn't the person who bought it. He just handled the tobacco, getting it from the seller (the colonist) to someone who wished to buy it in England. When George Washington was older, he used Robert Cary as his agent, but George always worried that Mr. Cary might not be giving him a good deal.

######## 

######## Colonists also sent a list of goods that they wished to buy from England along with the ship. The agent sold the tobacco once it arrived in England. The price it sold for could be different each year. When would the colonists find out how much money they got for their tobacco?

######## ~\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_~\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ 

######## 

In his ledgers, the agent recorded how much money the colonist earned
from the tobacco.

######## Then the agent bought the goods that the colonist asked for. Sometimes he couldn't find everything. Sometimes the quality was bad, or the price was high. When would the colonists find out what kinds of goods the agent was able to get them?

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

The agent made a profit from doing this work. George Washington and many
of the colonists didn't like this system. If there was no middleman,
there would be more profit for the people who made the product: the
colonists. Eventually they fought the American Revolution, in part to
change this system.

########  

######## George Washington: Soldier, Planter, and Statesman

When George Washington was 20, Governor Dinwiddie appointed him as major
in the Virginia Militia. Also that year, George Washington's older
half-brother Lawrence, owner of Mount Vernon, died. Augustine Washington
had stated in his will that if Lawrence died without children the
property would go to George. Mount Vernon became George Washington's
home when he was twenty-two.

In 1754, George Washington fought his first battle against the French
and Indians in Jumonsville, Pennsylvania. He surrendered Fort Necessity
to the French on July 4 that same year. The following year, the French
and Indian War was formally declared. During the French and Indian War,
George Washington served with honor and courage. In 1758, he retired
from the Virginia Militia to his farm at Mount Vernon.

After the French and Indian War, England (Parliament) wanted to tax the
colonies heavily for the debt of the war. The colonists believed there
could not be taxation without in Parliament. The colonists believed that
only the local governments had the power to tax. Parliament believed
that it had the right to tax the colonists. The colonists held meetings
in Philadelphia to discuss the problems with England. In 1775, George
Washington was appointed of the Continental Army. On July 4, , the
thirteen colonies declared their freedom with the Declaration of
Independence.

wrote the Declaration of Independence. General George Washington
defeated Lord Cornwallis at the

Battle of in 1781. While the surrender of Cornwallis' army ended the
last major conflict, the Revolutionary War did not end

until .

After the war was over, General Washington resigned his commission as
Commander-in-Chief in Annapolis, Maryland. This was George Washington's
greatest single act, for not since the days of the early republics of
Greece and Rome had a military leader handed the power back to the
people. George Washington read his resignation to the Continental
Congress and retired to Mount Vernon.

George Washington was called back to public service to preside over the
Constitutional Convention in 1787. Washington's leadership led him to
become the "Father of Our Country." One of Washington's friends and a
fellow Virginian, [i]{.underline}s considered the "Father of the United
States Constitution." The presence of George Washington at the meetings
held the states together because everyone trusted him. The Constitution
was ratified in\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. Ratification of the Constitution required
9 of the 13 states to adopt it.

In , George Washington became the first of the United States. George
Washington served 2 terms as president and then retired, setting the
example for future presidents. Twice George Washington gave his power
back to the government (people) by resigning as Commander-in-Chief and
later as President. He died at Mount Vernon in 1799. In George
Washington's will he freed his slaves. George Washington was the only
founding father to provide in his will that all of his slaves were to be
freed.

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VIRGINIA TIMELINE

1607 Jamestown settlement

> Africans brought to Jamestown

1658. John Washington settles in Westmoreland County

1662 Slavery Legal

1718 Augustine Washington purchases Popes Creek Plantation

1726. Augustine moves his family to Popes Creek

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1732. George Washington born at Popes Creek

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1749. George Washington appointed Surveyor for Culpeper Co.

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1752. Governor Dinwiddie appoints George Washington Major in the
      Virginia Militia

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1775. April 19, Lexington and Concord

> June 15, George Washington elected Commander-in-Chief

1781. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

1783 Revolutionary War ends

> George Washington resigns as Commander-in-Chief

1787. Washington presides over Constitutional Convention James Madison
      drafted U.S. Constitution

1788. U.S. Constitution Ratified

1789. 

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1797. George Washington resigns as President

1799 G. Washington dies at Mt. Vernon and frees his slaves in his will.

> COMPLETE THE TIMELINE WITH THE EVENTS BELOW
>
> October 19, Lord Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown
>
> First General Assembly-House of Burgesses
>
> George Washington elected President

# Virginia History Crossword Puzzle

# ![](media/image9.wmf){width="5.557638888888889in" height="4.5in"}

# 

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# ACROSS

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# 1 George Washington was the first

# 4 city on the fall line of the James River

# 7 Lord Cornwallis surrendered British forces to General Washington

# 9 Father of the U.S. Constitution

# 11 Plantation where George Washington was born

# 13 Oldest lawmaking body in the western hemisphere

# 15 George Washington\'s first career

# 16 city on the fall line of the Rappahannock River

# 17 Land between the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers

# 18 Farm where tobacco was raised

# 

# DOWN

# 

# 2 wrote the Declaration of Independence

# 3 African sold in Virginia to work against his will 

# 5 Merchant would give planter this when tobacco arrived in England

# 6 Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army

# 8 Raw materials such as trees 

# 9 First Washington in Colonial Virginia

# 10 Merchant charged planter\'s account for goods shipped to Virginia

# 12 Trading goods for goods or services

# 14 Used as money in Colonial Virginia 

# 

### 

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**George Washington and Plantation Math**

Like any planter, George Washington had to learn math to run a
plantation. He became very good at math. Tobacco was the cash crop.

There are about 1000 pound of tobacco in a barrel. If 1 pound of tobacco
sells for 1 pound of British sterling (money, something like our
dollars), how many pounds of British sterling would you get for a barrel
of tobacco?

You won't know what price you got until the ship returns the next year.
What if the price drops?

What happens if the total cost of the goods you requested from England
cost more than you earn from the tobacco for the year?

What options did the colonists have if they didn't like the price they
got for their tobacco?

What options do you have today if you don't like the quality of
something you buy?

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Washingtons, like their neighbors, grew corn for food. They also chose
to raise and eat cattle. It takes much more land to raise cattle for
food than to grow grains like corn or wheat for food.

Cows have to eat about 10 pounds of grain to grow every 1 pound of meat
on their bodies. How much grain does a cow have to eat to become 1000
pounds?

If you had 10,000 pounds of grain, and the people at the grain, how many
pound of food would the people have?

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If you had 10,000 pounds of grain, the cows ate the grain, then the
people ate the cows (meat), how many pounds of food would the people
have?

How can you feed more people? What choices can you make?

The plantation economy depended on the labor of slaves. Eventually
George Washington decided he didn't like this system, and provided for
many of his slaves to be freed after he and Martha Washington died. For
most of his life though, George Washington, like his neighbors, used
slaves to work his plantations.

What type of work do you think the plantation owners did?

What type of work do you think the slaves did?

When slaves were working on plantations, who got the profit from their
labor?

Was it fair?

###### FOLLOW-UP EXERCISES

Follow-Up Activities are to be completed after your visit to the park.

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### Planters kept a ledger, or book, where they kept track of their purchases and tobacco sales. Write a paragraph about a merchant ledger. Include details such as:

-   who used it

-   what was listed under the 'Sold' or 'Credits' side

-   what type of things were listed under the 'Bought' side

-   where did the Bought items come from, and was the tobacco sold to

-   why did they keep track of these things

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This is a hoe used to chop weeds, to hill up dirt around crops, and to
cook.

Write a paragraph about this tool.

Include details such as:

-   the main crops hilled up with this tool

-   who used it

-   who supervised the people using this tool

-   where did colonists get the idea of hilling up soil around their
    crops

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-   how many acres of tobacco could one person tend with a tool like
    this

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height="4.122222222222222in"}

### 

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### This is a tobacco plant. See how the 

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### dirt is "hilled up" around the plant to 

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### keep moisture near the roots. 

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### Write a paragraph about tobacco. 

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### Include details such as:

-   why the colonists raised tobacco,

-   who worked the tobacco in the fields

-   who sold the tobacco

-   who bought the tobacco

-   how the income from tobacco was used