Mendacity or Fact

 

 A pertinent article was found in the November 30, 2025 edition of The New York Times.  That article was based on a book written by Joseph J.  Ellis, a Pulitzer winning historian, in his book " The Great Contradiction: The Tragic Side of the American Founding."  This essay points to Washington and Jefferson’s moral character of prejudice and discrimination.

To begin, the importance of this quote can not be understated.. It’s a letter written to George Washington in 1785 from Robert Pleasantis, a fellow tobacco planter. Significantly, Pleasantis, a Quaker, freed his enslaved workers as soon as the  Virginia law allowed him to do so.  "Remember the cause for which thou wert called to the Command of the American army, was the cause of liberty and the Rights of Mankind." “ This Quaker reminded Washington of the irony  that many who had recently fought for freedom were now sitting in this state of ease, this dissipation and extravagance on the labour of Slaves."

In his book, Ellis acknowledged both the institution of slavery and the disposal of Native Americans.  Were these events  a flaw in the character of those in power or were the egalitarian principles founder's achievements, the obstacles they faced in achieving more and the progress the  nation has made more morally and significantly more important and relevant ?What about the morality of those in power?

Ellis acknowledged two unquestionably horrific tragedies the  founders oversaw . The American revolution disrupted slavery's as thousands of enslaved people fled to fight for the British and in Charleston . And, South Carolina patriots refused to arm enslaved men in exchange for their freedom, forcing the city  to surrender to the British in 1780. In essence, these  white ,in power, deprived others of liberty which  mattered more than securing their own. These fools dismissed morality and pursued  power, domination and economics .These greedy  were stupid.

Washington, who had owned people since he was 11 years old, later warned that by imposing new taxes, the British were seeking to make the colonists "as tame, and abject slaves,as the Blacks we rule over with such arbitrary Sway."  And,after the war, Washington was angry when British ships carried off enslaved servants who had fled Mount Vernon.  However,in  1790 Madison called slavery "a moral and political evil,"  but deemed it "improper to push for  abolition “ at that time. Ambivalence and contradictory .

Ellis  believed revolutionary leaders were well-meaning prisoners of circumstance and that they could not have abolished slavery even if they wanted to and that pushing for it would have divided the fragile union.  And, that slavery's rapid expansion stalled any resolution, turning at least some of the founders' hopes that slavery would eventually disappear  after  decades of paralysis broken only by the Civil War. So what ,we continue to have a fragile union. 

Additionally, in a  chapter about the forced expulsion of native peoples from their homelands,  Ellis downplayed Washington's lifelong involvement in the project of settler expansion. Also,  the total destruction and devastation of Iroquois's villages in 1779 goes unmentioned.  He presented Washington as powerless to obstruct the relentless tide of white settlers venturing westward and he also ignored the  American soldiers who waged war  against nations aligned in Northwestern Indian Confederacy across Ohio and Indiana.Yes, the “Father “ of our Republic was a racist who discriminated against his fellow man.

Would  the abolition of slavery have impeded the American revolution?  If so, an argument can be made about the importance of character and economics of our revolutionary heroes.  This means that the orientation of owning another fulfills the ego needs of aggression( to oppose and punish another), counteraction (to maintain self respect and pride on a high level) , dominance (to  direct the behavior of others by command) and  rejection( to exclude,expel  or remain indifferent to an inferior object).  And for Jefferson and others.  affiliation(to please and win affection  of a cathected object),, succorance (to have one’s needs gratified by the sympathetic aid of an allied object) and sex(to have sexual intercourse). And ,economically for profit and for the neurotic tendencies for power ,possession and prestige.

If we had lived in the 18th century, would we have done it any differently?  People with a character orientation like Trump would have pursued similar behavior based on the ego needs previously mentioned. In other words, ego needs, character orientation, within the influences of culture and society result in similar behaviors.per history..  

It's not about what we say or write as we, in various degrees ,lie, omit, rationalize,deny, distort,and  overlook in order to persuade, influence,escape responsibility, reality and to dominate.  It's about  our behavior ,actions -what we do .That’s our story and the rest is simply fiction and illusion.  For example,take  the terrific studio recording by the Beatles  "All you need is love.”.  The words and melody are  wonderful ,pleasing ,soothing, familiar and entertaining  but are  wish fulfillments- a fantasy . The " father" of our country.  Washington was acknowledged for his military brilliance but  was  also greedy, morally suspect, prejudiced and discriminatory . And, the brilliant intellectual Jefferson was greedy, prejudiced, discriminatory, ambivalent and morally inept but met his affiliative and sexual ego needs  with Sally Hemings ,his enslaved object . Essentially, our Republic’s ground floor was oriented and aligned with  prejudice and discrimination which continues today. The  discrimination  and  prejudice of the many  others  were demonstrated clearly every day , every year by their laws, politics,socioeconomics and ,religious acts .Therefore, their  unjust ,prejudicial and discriminatory actions on grounds of ethnicity  were embedded in their orientation of character and personality within the history, culture and society of Homo Sapiens  Freud  and others  have clearly described man and his contradictions , authoritarian conscience ,narcissism, irrationality and sado masochistic actions .The history of  this Republic  is repetitive and based on  the “kaleidoscope" of ego needs , character  orientation within  culture and  a capitalistic society. Discrimination with acts  of dominance, exploiting others for sex ,power , possession, and prestige suggest a  narcissistic quality for  personal gain, survival and define a group of  privileged Americans . .

Reference

Murray, Henry A. Explorations in Personalty