George Washington’s first career was as a surveyor and mapmaker. He participated in his first surveying expedition when he was 15 years old. Two years later, he was appointed surveyor for the newly created frontier county of Culpeper, Virginia. By the time of his death, he had surveyed more than 200 tracts of land and owned almost 70,000 acres. On display is his survey of a plot of land in Virginia for his brother Lawrence (1718–1752). Gift of André de Coppet, Class of 1915. André de Coppet Collection, Manuscripts Division.
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In preparing to become the country’s first president, Washington asked his aide David Humphreys (1752–1818) to help him draft remarks for an inaugural address to the first Congress. Washington rewrote Humphreys’ lengthy draft (now lost) in his own hand, but eventually decided to deliver a much shorter speech. Only fragments like this one remain of his copy of Humphreys’ version. Gift of André de Coppet, Class of 1915. Manuscripts Division, André de Coppet Collection.
This document records the slaves that George Washington and his younger brothers inherited after the death of their brother, Lawrence (1718–1752). By the time George Washington died, several hundred slaves lived on his estate. However, he evidently came to believe that slavery contradicted the principles of the new nation. In his will, he arranged for his slaves to be freed after the death of his wife Martha (1731–1802), and provided pensions for their care and education. Gift of André de Coppet, Class of 1915. André de Coppet Collection, Manuscripts Division.