"In the Hands of a Good Providence": Religion in the Life of George Washington

274 Pages·2008·2.318 MB·English

by  Mary V. Thompson

“In the Hands of a Good Providence”

“in the hands of a
good providence”
Religion in the Life of George Washington
Mary V. Thompson
University of Virginia Press
Charlottesville and London
University of Virginia Press
© 2008 by the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America on acid- free paper
First published 2008
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Th ompson, Mary V., 1955–
“In the hands of a good providence” : religion in the life of George Washington /
Mary V. Th ompson.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978- 0- 8139- 2763- 3 (alk. paper)
1. Washington, George, 1732–1799—Religion. 2. Washington, George, 1732–1799—
Political and social views. 3. Washington, George, 1732–1799—Family. 4. Washington
family. 5. Anglicans—Virginia—Biography. 6. Virginia—Religious life and customs.
7. Chesapeake Bay Region (Md. and Va.)—Religious life and customs. 8. Christianity
and politics—United States—Church of England—History—18th century. I. Title.
E312.17.T466 2008
973.4'3092—dc22
2008011310
For my parents, Chaplain Parker Campbell Thompson,
U.S. Army (retired), and the late Irene Kirkpatrick Thompson,
who overcame many obstacles to join the church and
serve the Lord who means so much to them
and
For Mrs. Alexander L. Wiener, Mount Vernon’s late
Vice Regent for Michigan (1964–1989), who always
wanted the story in this book to be told

Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xvii
1. Controversy A Man of Many Questions 1
2. Foundations Early Infl uences 11
3. Church Affiliation A Lifelong Anglican 30
4. Sundays Public Worship and Time for Refl ection 50
5. C onfirmation and Communion Questions
about a Rite and Sacrament of the Church 75
6. Prayer Private Devotions 91
7. Evidence of Belief Contemporary Statements 101
8. Outward Actions Charity and Toleration 124
9. Church and State Washington’s Vision for America 139
10. Conclusions Washington’s and Others’ 169
Notes 187
Bibliography 229
Index 243

Preface
Mount Vernon has attracted visitors in large numbers, beginning in
George Washington’s lifetime with those who were curious to see this fa-
mous man who had been something of an international celebrity since
the age of t wenty-t wo. In the nineteenth century, the estate itself devel-
oped almost religious connotations as a pilgrimage site or shrine. In the
twentieth and twenty- fi rst centuries, Mount Vernon has become a tourist
center, each year welcoming roughly one million visitors, who see evi-
dence of George Washington’s taste in decorative arts and clothing, study
Martha Washington’s needlework and expertise at domestic management,
and marvel at the agricultural innovations directed by Washington and
put into practice by his slaves. Until the opening of a new museum and
education center at the end of October 2006, however, what they did not
get a sense of was the spiritual life of the people who lived on the planta-
tion. While this topic has, at last, been touched on, still, the constraints
imposed by the medium of an exhibit case leave a lot of room for ques-
tions. Much of the lack of interpretation on this subject has refl ected not
only a modern reticence to discuss a potentially emotional issue and the
secularism of our society, but, perhaps even more, the reserve of the es-
tate’s most famous resident regarding his own religious beliefs and those
of the other individuals with whom he lived.
This is unfortunate, because the Washington family at Mount Vernon
lived in a period of incredible turmoil in the religious life of England and
its colonies. Some of this unrest even led to the family’s emigration to
America in the mid- seventeenth century. Following their arrival in the
New World, the Washingtons, like others in Virginia, had to fi nd ways
to adapt the Anglican practices they had known in the mother country
to the very diff erent conditions found in America. During George Wash-
ington’s lifetime, the modern evangelical movement was born; other de-
nominations, especially Baptists, Methodists, and Quakers, challenged