Farrar, Straus and Giroux
18 West 18th Street, New York 10011

Copyright © 2003 by Henry Wiencek

All rights reserved

Published in 2003 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

First paperback edition, 2004

The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:

Wiencek, Henry.

An imperfect god : George Washington, his slaves, and the creation of America / Henry Wiencek.— 1st ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-374-17526-8 (alk. paper)

1. Washington, George, 1732–1799. 2. Washington, George, 1732–1799—Views on slavery. 3. Washington, George, 1732–1799—Relations with slaves. 4. Presidents—United States—Biography. 5. Slavery—Political aspects—United States—History—18th century. 6. United States—Politics and government—1775–1783. I. Title

E312.17.W6 2003

973.4'1'092—dc21

2003006984

Paperback ISBN-13: 978-0-374-52951-2

Paperback ISBN-10: 0-374-52951-5

Map designed by Lili Wronker after Beverly Runge. Reprinted with permission of the University of Virginia Press

www.fsgbooks.com

eISBN 9781466856592

First eBook edition: October 2013