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TIL that George Washington's dentures were likely made with teeth taken from slaves

Coyote Starrk

Coyote Starrk

The Fallen
Oct 30, 2017
53,491
I am probably super late to this particularly horrifying party, but I came across someone on Twitter mentioning that George Washington's teeth were made from the teeth of slaves. And at first I was a bit confused because I had always thought they were made from ivory. Or at least that's what I was taught in school. But nope. Turns out they were at least partially made out of teeth pulled from the mouths of slaves.


Here is an excerpt from the official Mount Vernon website on the issue

According to George Washington's ledger, on May 8, 1784, he paid 6 pounds 2 shillings to "Negros for 9 Teeth on Acct of Dr Lemoin".

Whether the teeth provided by the Mount Vernon enslaved people were simply being sold to the dentist for any patient who needed them or intended for George Washington, is unknown. Since Washington paid for the teeth it suggests that they were either for his own use or for someone in his family. It is important to note that while Washington paid these enslaved people for their teeth it does not mean they had a real option to refuse his request.
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Washington and Teeth from Enslaved People

www.mountvernon.org www.mountvernon.org


Am I an idiot and this is super widely known or this a more recent thing? Because I've gone my whole life thinking his teeth were made of ivory. This is fucking horrific.
 
Cordy

Cordy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,516
I've always thought he had wooden teeth. I didn't know this but I'm not surprised. America's built on racism so it makes sense that the first president would be wearing the teeth from us. Nasty and horrible.
 
Guzim

Guzim

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,497
Coyote Starrk said:
I am probably super late to this particularly horrifying party, but I came across someone on Twitter mentioning that George Washington's teeth were made from the teeth of slaves. And at first I was a bit confused because I had always thought they were made from ivory. Or at least that's what I was taught in school. But nope. Turns out they were at least partially made out of teeth pulled from the mouths of slaves.


Here is an excerpt from the official Mount Vernon website on the issue



Washington and Teeth from Enslaved People

www.mountvernon.org www.mountvernon.org


Am I an idiot and this is super widely known or this a more recent thing? Because I've gone my whole life thinking his teeth were made of ivory. This is fucking horrific.
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I learned about it within the past five years. I bet most Americans still think he had wooden teeth.
 
Powdered Egg

Powdered Egg

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
17,070
They try to hide the full scale of their barbarity. Someone last year posted an old newspaper clipping selling boots made out of leather skinned from Black people.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if Whites ate parts of us for lulz. I'm not itching to Google that either.
 
Mariolee

Mariolee

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
10,320
Definitely did not know, if only because no one really talks about George Washington's teeth past the "wooden teeth" tale in 1st grade.
 
Nude_Tayne

Nude_Tayne

Member
Jan 8, 2018
3,678
earth
There was a whole The Dollop episode on Colonial Dentistry/George Washington's Monster Mouth. It's pretty interesting/insane what they did back then.
 
Wag

Wag

Member
Nov 3, 2017
11,638
I didn't know this, thanks for sharing.

Most of the founding fathers (including Washington) had slaves so I don't find this too surprising.
 
Watchtower

Watchtower

Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,728
No, you're not dumb, didn't know this either. Childhood tales always made it seem like his teeth was literally wood (cherry trees probably?) but ivory wouldn't be a bad "adult" guess.

But no, that's just....what the fuck. What in the actual fuck.
 
chronos4590

chronos4590

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,359
Powdered Egg said:
They try to hide the full scale of their barbarity. Someone last year posted an old newspaper clipping selling boots made out of leather skinned from Black people.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if Whites ate parts of us for lulz. I'm not itching to Google that either.
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I ........ I'm not sleeping well tonight

Edited: removed until i find the source Again. Don't want to make an irresponsible claim without citation
 
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TaySan

TaySan

SayTan
Member
Dec 10, 2018
31,657
Tulsa, Oklahoma
I knew he had wooden teeth, but not the rest of the information. This country so racist from the beginning it's sad hearing it.
 
Lost Lemurian

Lost Lemurian

Member
Nov 30, 2019
4,304
I feel like we talked about this in high-school, but that was a long time ago and our history teacher was a bit of a maverick.

Some sources try to say that early dentures were carved from hippo or elephant ivory, and while there may be some examples of those, most were made from slave teeth.

Also, all those fancy wigs everyone wore? Slave hair.

Turns out the slave trade was a horror show of unending nightmares that has been consistently downplayed because it makes us white people look really, really bad.
 
Joe

Joe

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,675
I believe they were also horrifically painful for him to wear, so hopefully that's some solace.

But yeah, back in those days, most dentures were made from human teeth. Though, it wasn't often from the teeth of enslaved people, at least outside of the US. I know it was common for scavengers to scour battlefields afterwards and harvest the teeth of dead soldiers to be made into dentures. Waterloo Teeth were particularly prized.
 
TheGhost

TheGhost

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
28,137
Long Island
How did Washington die again? This dude's mouth was fucked and sticking other humans teeth in there must have fuuuucked his shit up. I wish I didn't click on this, that and those shoes made of slave skin makes me want to puke.
 
jph139

jph139

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,445
I mean, he owned people. Like, the way you would own a cow, or a table, or a bookshelf. He purchased human beings. I know we sugar coat what exactly that means sometimes, and the narrative of the "good slaveowner" is really pervasive, but if you're treating black people like objects, this sort of thing is the natural conclusion.

And also, dentistry was grody as shit until very, VERY recently.
 
Joe

Joe

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,675
Also, when Washington died, I believe his physician did a bunch of crazy shit to Washington's body over the course of weeks, because he was convinced that science had advanced far enough that he could bring him back from the dead.
 

Deleted member 5359

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
11,326
Yeah, I learned this recently, too. I've been to Mount Vernon three times (thanks, middle school) and I still didn't know.
 
Rhaknar

Rhaknar

Member
Oct 26, 2017
42,878
wait, what about the wooden teeth? Day of the Tentacle lied to me? :(

this new (?) information is fucked up but somehow not surprising >_<
 
Nepenthe

Nepenthe

When the music hits, you feel no pain.
Administrator
Oct 25, 2017
21,016
When you are viewed as nothing but an animal by those in power, don't be surprised when they treat your bodies like products.
 
antonz

antonz

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
5,309
Joe said:
Also, when Washington died, I believe his physician did a bunch of crazy shit to Washington's body over the course of weeks, because he was convinced that science had advanced far enough that he could bring him back from the dead.
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They tried all kinds of crazy things with leeches etc. that they say likely ended up killing him. Dentistry at that time was complete barbarism at that time. I am surprised people were willing to go through the things they had to at that point
 
TheAndyMan

TheAndyMan

Banned
Feb 11, 2019
1,082
Utah
Powdered Egg said:
They try to hide the full scale of their barbarity. Someone last year posted an old newspaper clipping selling boots made out of leather skinned from Black people.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if Whites ate parts of us for lulz. I'm not itching to Google that either.
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Was it this?

LEATHER FROM HUMAN SKIN [Philadelphia News.] Printed in The Mercury, Saturday March 17, 1888

I remember that two or three years ago I incidentally referred to a prominent physician of this city wearing shoes made from the skin of negroes. He still adhered to that custom, insisting that the tanned hide of an African makes the most enduring and the most pliable leather known to man.
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Joe

Joe

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,675
Also, a ton of the founding fathers were on opium, like, constantly. They'd mix it with alcohol, I believe, and beyond the obvious benefits, they did it because opium can make you constipated, and basically everyone has the shits 24/7, so it helped.

Medicine was wild back then
 
Teh_Lurv

Teh_Lurv

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,109
I heard this fact years ago on an NPR segment. IIRC from that segment, Washington considered himself progressive for using dentures made from the teeth of slaves. Many White people in the 18th Century would only use dentures made with teeth from White people.
 

Hound

Member
Jul 6, 2019
1,857
Shocked that the slave owner who started a world war and then became indignant when the government wanted his colony to pay the debt for its own defense would turn out to be morally compromised.
 
wenis

wenis

Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,144
Powdered Egg said:
They try to hide the full scale of their barbarity. Someone last year posted an old newspaper clipping selling boots made out of leather skinned from Black people.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if Whites ate parts of us for lulz. I'm not itching to Google that either.
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I mean... Jamestown was confirmed to have participated in cannibalism.


I don't feel bad jumping to the assumption they probably ate their slaves as well. To think they considered the natives "savage". Pffft. Projection.
 
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