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In 1784, five years before he became president of the United
States, George Washington, 52, was nearly toothless. So he hired a dentist to
transplant nine teeth into his jaw – having extracted them from the mouths of
his slaves.
That’s a far different image from the cherry-tree-chopping
George most people remember from their history books. But recently, many
historians have begun to focus on the roles slavery played in the lives of the
founding generation. They have been spurred in part by DNA evidence made
available in 1998, which almost certainly proved Thomas Jefferson had fathered
at least one child with his slave Sally Hemings. And only over the past 30
years have scholars examined history from the bottom up. Works of several
historians reveal the moral compromises made by the nation’s early leaders and
the fragile nature of the country’s infancy. More significantly, they argue
that many of the Founding Fathers knew slavery was wrong – and yet most did
little to fight it.
More than anything, the historians say, the founders were
hampered by the culture of their time. While Washington and Jefferson privately
expressed distaste for slavery, they also understood that it was part of the
political and economic bedrock of the country they helped to create.
For one thing, the South could not afford to part with its
slaves. Owning slaves was “like having a large bank account,” says Wiencek,
author of An Imperfect God: George
Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America. The southern states
would not have signed the Constitution without protections for the “peculiar
institution,” including a clause that counted a slave as three fifths of a man
for purposes of congressional representation.
And the statesmen’s political lives depended on slavery. The
three-fifths formula handed Jefferson his narrow victory in the presidential
election of 1800 by inflating the votes of the southern states in the Electoral
College. Once in office, Jefferson extended slavery with the Louisiana Purchase
in 1803; the new land was carved into 13 states, including three slave states.
Still, Jefferson freed Hemings’s children – though not Hemings
herself or his approximately 150 other slaves. Washington, who had begun to
believe that all men were created
equal after observing the bravery of the black soldiers during the
Revolutionary War, overcame the strong opposition of his relatives to grant his
slaves their freedom in his will. Only a decade earlier, such an act would have
required legislative approval in Virginia.
36. George Washington’s
dental surgery is mentioned to
[A] show the primitive medical practice in the past.
[B] demonstrate the cruelty of slavery in his days.
[C] stress the role of slaves in the U.S. history.
[D] reveal some unknown aspect of his life.
37. We may infer from the
second paragraph that
[A] DNA technology has been widely applied to history
research.
[B] in its early days the U.S. was confronted with delicate
situations.
[C] historians deliberately made up some stories of
Jefferson’s life.
[D] political compromises are easily found throughout
the U.S. history.
38. What do we learn about
Thomas Jefferson?
[A] His political view changed his attitude towards
slavery.
[B] His status as a father made him free the child
slaves.
[C] His attitude towards slavery was complex.
[D] His affair with a slave stained his prestige.
39. Which of the following
is true according to the text?
[A] Some Founding Fathers benefit politically from
slavery.
[B] Slaves in the old days did not have the right to
vote.
[C] Slave owners usually had large savings accounts.
[D] Slavery was regarded as a peculiar institution.
40. Washington’s decision
to free slaves originated from his
[A] moral considerations.
[B] military experience.
[C] financial conditions.
[D] political stand.
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