the biggest misconception about George
Washington is that he had wooden teeth
and this is one of the myths that
children still repeat today George
Washington's suffered from horrible
dental disease for many many years it
plagued him his entire life he's pouring
money into dentistry he's getting teeth
hold the revolution he was becoming
toothless dentures were not made of wood
they were made of human teeth some of
his own he kept them they also had ivory
and other animal teeth animals cows were
used their teeth were filed down we also
know that those dentures were made from
the teeth of enslaved people
Washington owned hundreds of slaves he
actually paid money to have healthy
teeth removed for enslaved people to
then be placed in his mouth to extract
teeth from someone without anesthetic
was traumatic it was horribly painful it
was inhumane this is somebody that the
wealthy elite could do that says a lot
about power a lot about control and a
lot about the elite nature of owning
enslaved people and doing what you want
to their bodies slavery for him was
central in terms of one's status but it
was also crucial to financial success he
had lots of land it was no good unless
you had enslaved people to work the land
so it was very important to acquire both
if you want it to be what they would
have called a Virginia gentlemen our
founding fathers who were fighting for
liberty and independence and justice we
denied that to a whole race of people in
the end he does the right thing in his
will he frees his slaves upon the death
of his wife now he could say he doesn't
free him in his own way but he's the
only a member of the Virginia dynasty to
do this Jefferson doesn't do it Madison
doesn't do it Monroe doesn't do it at
Patrick Henry doesn't do it we just have
to understand him as a complicated
person who was flawed and who made
decisions sometimes on behalf of the
nation he sometimes on behalf of himself
and that
me does not diminish him as a president
or leader it just helps us have a more
complicated and accurate interpretation
of our first president
you
[Applause]
you