George Washington’s Obsession They Don’t Teach You About
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Ona Judge was born into slavery on George Washington’s Mount Vernon plantation. After her escape in 1796, Washington became obsessed with recapturing her. His relentless pursuit reveals the profound contradiction of his views of slavery and freedom.
This episode of In The Margins is part of PBS’ America@250 collection, celebrating the country’s 250th anniversary. Democracy is built on participation. Get involved at https://vote.org/pbs
In The Margins is a series that covers the history they didn’t teach in school, exploring obscure, yet captivating tales that offer unique insights into their time and place.
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Want to learn more? Check out:
Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar
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@pbsorigins
June 10, 2026 at 9:48 pm
If you’re ever injured in an accident, you can check out Morgan & Morgan. You can start your claim in just a click without having to leave your couch: https://ForThePeople.com/PBS
@InternationalRob
June 10, 2026 at 9:48 pm
This is good information. Just one thing. He was only the first president under the Constitution. There were already a string of presidents under the Articles of Confederation and before that too. As far as I'm concerned, John Hancock was the first as he was the president of the Second Continental Congress at the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
@davidbennett9691
June 10, 2026 at 9:48 pm
The "Founding Fathers" were the Epstein class of the 18th century. No wonder the US is such a mess.
@FredMertzification
June 10, 2026 at 9:48 pm
There is NO reason to give a fraction of a fk about what the bastard thought about slavery when the bastard owned slaves. He was nothing but a rich bastard who was reluctant to compel his fellow "founders" to repay the debts that they incurred to finance their stupid revolution.
@k_harvey
June 10, 2026 at 9:48 pm
OH PBS you will never disappoint me but Hegseth may think otherwise 😅
@edwardgoering1237
June 10, 2026 at 9:48 pm
Sure everybody looks thru our history thru a Lens of Today IN 1860 our Population 31 Million 5 million Slaves Remember those people back then for the most part wasn't much more educated than the Slaves
@code-52
June 10, 2026 at 9:48 pm
U.S. History covers major leaders and wars. To learn more, you have to educate yourself or take history classes in college. I can't believe how ignorant people are to think otherwise.
@SaraReid-g8c
June 10, 2026 at 9:48 pm
Thank you for teaching this to me.
@JBW-z9k
June 10, 2026 at 9:48 pm
Many years ago, I read about an oral history that Washington had fathered a son with a slave. He gave him a rudimentary small pocks vaccine. The article showed his descendants living in Peoria, Illinois. The two women shown in a photograph looked so much like George Washington that it was freaky. Now with DNA, I wonder what the story would tell. So why did he want the runaway woman so much? Interesting.
@GothTradeUnionist
June 10, 2026 at 9:48 pm
I regret that I quoted George Washington for my senior graduation quote.
@TheUnatuber
June 10, 2026 at 9:48 pm
Hey Donnie, this is a shithole country and has been from the start!
@delancyj67
June 10, 2026 at 9:48 pm
This is the most American story I've ever heard. Sex, Slavery, Hypocrisy, and Monied Interests just like today.
@geneotrexler8246
June 10, 2026 at 9:48 pm
..Common Forms of Modern SlaveryForced Labor:
* Roughly 27.6 million people are coerced into working against their will under threat of punishment. This is heavily prevalent in private industries like agriculture, manufacturing, construction, and commercial fishing.
*Forced Marriage: About 22 million people live in marriages they did not consent to, often facing severe restrictions on their freedom and bodily autonomy.
*Human Trafficking: The illegal trade and exploitation of human beings through force or fraud for labor or commercial sex, like Jeffery Epstein and his friends.
*Debt Bondage: Individuals are forced to work to pay off a loan or debt, but the terms are manipulated so the debt can never actually be repaid
@davelassiter392
June 10, 2026 at 9:48 pm
It will be interesting to see how future historians view affirmative action, DEI, and the myriad racist policies that currently seek to benefit one race or gender over another.
@BigCityReem
June 10, 2026 at 9:48 pm
4:24 "That the most powerful people in the country could skirt the law when it served them." This applies to present day.
@veronicajade20
June 10, 2026 at 9:48 pm
Washington was literal garbage – just like Jefferson. 😒
@CJusticeHappen21
June 10, 2026 at 9:48 pm
Just watch Jon Erwin's Young Washington show nothing of Washington's truth and all of his myth.
@Dan-z9r1k
June 10, 2026 at 9:48 pm
Washington had thousands of acres of land when he died that had not been developed. Do you think he would have paid his workers to clear it and build? Nope. He would have made the slaves do it. His father was aa slaveholder and that's all George Washington knew to be. He was an enslaver to the death.
@percival1137
June 10, 2026 at 9:48 pm
He was also the first president to use Federal troops against American citizens during the Whisky Rebellion. Many of those attacked were the same men Washington relied on so heavily for their knowledge of the woods, expert riflemanship and Kentucky long rifles, the deadliest firearm of it's time. All over an unconstitutional tax on the whiskey makers, passed to exterminate competition, as, among many other enterprises, he was a distiller. Remember, it was taxes that we fought the bloody brits for. He wasn't a very good person. Taxes are slavery.
@philsophkenny
June 10, 2026 at 9:48 pm
😮
@DustinStich-k4l
June 10, 2026 at 9:48 pm
Washington didn't even technically own her.
@seeleunit2000
June 10, 2026 at 9:48 pm
He was a hypocrite.
Maybe he was against it in theory, but in practice he had no problem using black people as a workforce without paying them.
@kellenlean2076
June 10, 2026 at 9:48 pm
At the end of the day, he was just as evil as the rest. He just hid it better. A tale as old as time.
@MenkaurePilusa
June 10, 2026 at 9:48 pm
Ahh, being told American history by an Indian. So nice.