Tower Hill Quotes

“George thought of slavery as the white man’s burden. He spoke of 'the curse of Slavery,' but insisted that masters were the true victims, obliged to feed, clothe, and shelter inferior people. He blamed eastern Virginia’s weedy fields and dilapidated houses on 'a spell laid on us by the Spirit of Slavery which keeps down our Genius, our enterprise, our natural propensity to better our condition.' He envied northern employers who did not have to provide for the children or old age of their free workers: 'They are exempt from the curse of Slavery and consequently have no useless Women & Children beside their own white Families & their Laborers to support & maintain without intermission.' George felt sorry for himself rather than for enslaved people—but he would never free himself from slavery.”
― Alan Taylor, Tower Hill: A Plantation on the Edge of Rebellion