Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
Date: April 15, 2002
Byline: Robert M. Morris

Letter to the Editor: Washington's house and history of slavery

Robert Morris gave his house so his friend George Washington could have a place to live and work. He said, "There is no other man for whom I would have done it." Washington and John Adams both lived in that house and made it the center of the executive branch of the new republic for 10 years.

Morris gave up his home out of respect for the president. The National Park Service seems unwilling to make even the smallest sacrifice to honor these men, the office they held, and the other people who worked there (Commentary, April 7). The Park Service steadfastly refuses to mark the President's House in Philadelphia properly. The reasons they give are not convincing. They say it would be "confusing." They say no one asked them to mark the house. They want to treat the President's House just like any other building in town. Comrade Washington anyone?

The Park Service is planning a large paved area where visitors can gather before they go into the new Liberty Bell Pavilion. That paved area is exactly where the President's House stood. It is hard to imagine why they refuse to mark the location with a simple, low-cost floor plan of the Presidents' House in this plaza.

Robert M. Morris is a descendant of Robert Morris, financier or the Revolution.

Return to Start Page | In the News index