Hercules Posey & the President’s House

Hercules Posey & the President’s House

The President's House was the first home of the U.S. president in the temporary capital of Phildelphia. While George Washington lived there, he had nine enslaved people that we know of., including the cook, Hercules.

Research:

  • “George Washington to Tobias Lear, 12 April 1791,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-08-02-0062 . [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 8, 22 March 1791 – 22 September 1791, ed. Mark A. Mastromarino. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1999, pp. 84–]
  • “President's House Civic Engagement Forum Grant Report 1.” USHistory.org. https://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/controversy/october_30_2004_report.php
  • “Tobias Lear to George Washington, 5 June 1791,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-08-02-0172 . [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 8, 22 March 1791 – 22 September 1791, ed. Mark A. Mastromarino. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1999, pp. 231–]
  • 1838 Black Metropolis et al. “Re: President Donald Trump’s Executive Order, ‘Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.’” 9/8/2025. https://preservationalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/NPS-Signage-Letter-9-9-25.pdf
  • Althouse, Michela. “President's House display on George Washington's slaves remains despite White House scrutiny — for now.” Philly Voice. 9/26/2025. https://www.phillyvoice.com/george-washington-slaves-presidents-house-exhibit-trump/
  • Andersen, Eva. “Philadelphia advocates say key panels of slavery exhibit still missing at President's House Site.” CBS News. 2/25/2026. https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/slavery-exhibit-philadelphia-presidents-house/
  • Bomar, Mary A. and Dennis R. Reidenbach. “Report on Site Review of Interpretive Programs by The Organization of American Historians.” National Park Service Independence National Historical Park. 9/8/2025. https://www.oah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Review-of-Independence-National-Historic-Parks-interpretive-programs.pdf
  • Cerino, Marco. “Feds detail plans for restoring President's House.” Philadelphia Tribune. 2/24/2026. https://www.phillytrib.com/news/local_news/feds-detail-plans-for-restoring-presidents-house/article_85ee7f4a-0b19-4d20-8933-951c7e2bfea0.html.
  • Chervinsky, Lindsay M. “The Enslaved Household of President George Washington.” The White House Historical Association. 9/6/2019. https://www.whitehousehistory.org/the-enslaved-household-of-president-george-washington
  • Custis, George Washington Parke. “Recollections and private memoirs of Washington.” Philadelphia, J. W. Bradley. 1861. https://archive.org/details/recollectionspri02cust/
  • Evans, Dorinda. “Portrait of a Man from the Island of Dominica (?).” Thyssen-Bornemisza Museo Nacional. https://www.museothyssen.org/en/collection/artists/reynolds-circle-sir-joshua/portrait-man-island-dominica
  • Fanelli, Doris Devine. “History, Commemoration, and an Interdisciplinary Approach to Interpreting the President's House Site.” The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography , Oct, 2005, Vol. 129, No. 4. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20093820
  • George Washington’s Mount Vernon. “A Case of Mistaken Identity.” https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/slavery/mistaken-identity
  • George Washington’s Mount Vernon. “Hercules Posey.” https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/hercules
  • Hinks, Peter. “A Shambles for the President's House.” Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies , Vol. 81, No. 2 (Spring 2014). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/pennhistory.81.2.0253
  • House Appropriations Committee. “H. Rept. 107-564 - DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS BILL, 2003.” https://www.congress.gov/committee-report/107th-congress/house-report/564
  • Joselow, Maxine. “Park Service Is Ordered to Take Down Some Materials on Slavery and Tribes.” 9/16/2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/climate/trump-park-service-slavery-photo-tribes.html
  • Lawler, Edward Jr. “The President's House Revisited.” The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography , Oct., 2005, Vol. 129, No. 4 (Oct., 2005). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20093817
  • Organization of American Historians. “Statement on the Freedom and Slavery Exhibit Removal at Independence National Historical Park.” 1/24/2026. https://www.oah.org/2026/01/24/statement-on-the-freedom-and-slavery-exhibit-removal-at-independence-national-historical-park/
  • Preservation Alliance. “We are outraged … “ 1/22/2026. https://preservationalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/President-House-Statement-1-22-26.pdf
  • “US national parks told to remove signs on mistreatment of Native Americans, climate, Wash Post reports.” 1/27/2026. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-national-parks-told-remove-signs-mistreatment-native-americans-climate-wash-2026-01-27/
  • Rufe, Cynthia M. “CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Plaintiff, v. DOUG BURGUM, et al., Defendants. Civil Action no. 26-434. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.paed.648842/gov.uscourts.paed.648842.53.0.pdf
  • Schuessler, Jennifer. “How Trump Brought the Fight Over American History to Philadelphia.” 2/5/2026. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/arts/george-washington-slavery-trump-history.html
  • Smith, Dinita. “Slave Site For a Symbol Of Freedom.” New York Times. 4/20/2002. https://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/20/arts/slave-site-for-a-symbol-of-freedom.html
  • Spears, Alan. “To Tell the Truth.” National Parks Conservation Association. Winter 2026. https://www.npca.org/articles/11218-to-tell-the-truth
  • Visit Philadelphia. “The President's House: Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation.” Via YouTube. 12/14/2010. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPxu2z2GEcc
  • Wiencek, Henry. "George Washington and Slavery" Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, (07 Dec. 2020). Web. 11 Feb. 2026. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/washington-george-and-slavery/
  • Young, Patrick. “The Signage at Manassas That Is Slated for Removal by the National Park Service.” The Reconstruction Era. 9/17/2025. https://thereconstructionera.com/the-signage-at-manassas-that-is-slated-for-removal-by-the-national-park-service/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episoder(2655)

Nikolai Vavilov: Who was the Indiana Jones of Botany?

Nikolai Vavilov: Who was the Indiana Jones of Botany?

Nikolai Vavilov traveled to 64 countries gathering seeds and plants and established the first seed bank. Stalin had the botanist sentenced to death, but his seed bank endured: Other scientists guarded...

10 Aug 201121min

More with David McCullough

More with David McCullough

In the second portion of their interview with author David McCullough, Sarah and Deblina, focus specifically on their favorite parts of his new book "The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris." Tune in ...

8 Aug 201125min

The Trial of Leo Frank

The Trial of Leo Frank

In 1913, 13-year-old Atlanta factory worker Mary Phagan stopped in for her pay -- and was never seen alive again. Authorities charged Jewish superintendent Leo M. Frank with murder. But did Frank kill...

3 Aug 201122min

Marian Anderson - The Lady from Philadelphia

Marian Anderson - The Lady from Philadelphia

An acclaimed African-American contralto, Marian Anderson was barred from singing in Constitution Hall in 1939. She sang at the Lincoln Memorial instead. The concert was broadcast around the country --...

1 Aug 201130min

How the Bayeux Tapestry Works

How the Bayeux Tapestry Works

The Bayeux Tapestry is considered the one of the most important images of the Medieval Age. It's a stunning piece of art, and it covers a crucial event in Western history: The Norman Conquest of Brita...

27 Jul 201121min

A Tale of False Dmitry

A Tale of False Dmitry

The false Dmitriy was actually one of three imposters claiming to be the son of Ivan the Terrible. So what made his story seem more believable to the Russian populace? Join Sarah and Deblina as they e...

25 Jul 201120min

The Rise and Fall of Carthage

The Rise and Fall of Carthage

Carthage was a trading hub of the ancient world, challenging the budding Roman Republic. In 264 B.C., Rome and Carthage began the Punic Wars, which continued for more than a century. Tune in to learn ...

20 Jul 201124min

The White Rajahs of Sarawak

The White Rajahs of Sarawak

In the 1830s, James Brooke sailed toward the Malay Archipelago and ended up becoming the Rajah of Sarawak. Brooke governed Sarawak until the 1860s and made several beneficial reforms. But what happene...

18 Jul 201118min

Populært innen Samfunn

rss-spartsklubben
giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
konspirasjonspodden
popradet
rss-henlagt-andy-larsgaard
rss-nesten-hele-uka-med-lepperod
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
grenselos
wolfgang-wee-uncut
synnve-og-vanessa
rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
frokostshowet-pa-p5
rss-dannet-uten-piano
alt-fortalt
min-barneoppdragelse
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
fladseth
opptur-med-annette-og-ingeborg