Re: Greatest POTUS FINAL - George Washington vs Thomas Jefferson
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrbaseball
Slavery was a very thorny issue for Washington and his struggles with it are explained in detail in Ron Chernows excellent biography Washington: A Life. He was basically going broke just feeding and clothing them.
Really? I read somewhere that, adjusted for inflation, Washington was possibly the richest President ever.
He had tons of land but no liquid wealth. He actually had to borrow money to get to his inauguration. He had constant cash flow problems and was always worried about money. Feeding and housing all of his slaves was a huge drain on his finances since only a portion were productive while many were either children and enfeebled. Of course Jefferson was bankrupt but kept spending and borrowing his entire life a drunken sailor.