Thornton's 1804 essay on slavery






















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Table of Contents: Case of the Ingenious A

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"Dr. T-" Examined and the Case of the "Ingenious A" "Saturday, Feby 1st a fine day. The ground covered with the deepest snow we have ever seen here (in 5 yrs.) - river frozen over. Dr. T- engaged in drawing at his plan for a House to build one day or another on Sq. 171."     Or Why William Thornton Didn't Design the Octagon House and Isn't the "First Architect of the Capitol"    By Bob Arnebeck author of Through a Fiery Trial: Building Washington 1790-1800 and Slave Labor in Capitol: Building Washington's Iconic Federal Landmarks Introduction:  How Glenn Brown, an architect of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, helped his own career by making William Thornton the most famous American architect of the 18th century.  Chapter One:   A Tale of Two Properties (1755 to 1786) Lancaster, Tortola and a Scientific Education - The roots of Thornton's wealth, his Quaker education, medical degree and mentors  Chapter Two:   Going ...
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Chapter 10: Rivaling Tayloe

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The Doctor Examined, or Why William Thornton Did Not Design the Octagon House or the Capitol by Bob Arnebeck Table of contents Chapter 10: Rivaling Tayloe Mrs. Thornton by Stuart 1804 The General died at Mount Vernon on December 14, 1799. Thornton came with the Laws a day later. Years later, he would write that he offered to restore the frozen corpse to life, but was "not seconded." However, the corpse was not frozen. According to Jefferson's thermometer in the Virginia foothills, afternoon temperatures were around 40F. Tobias Lear reported the events surrounding the death and burial in meticulous detail. He didn't mention a frozen corpse or Thornton's offer. He did note that the attending physician and Dr. Thornton vetoed his suggestion that the burial be delayed so more family could attend the funeral. The doctors said the inflammatory nature of the General's fatal disease made the corpse susceptible to decay and had to be buried as soon as the General...
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Introduction

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Table of Contents                                                                            Doctor T. Examined, and the Case of the Ingenious A or Why William Thornton Did Not Design the Octagon House or the Capitol by Bob Arnebeck Introduction   1. William Thornton in 1804 In November 1792, William Thornton, M. D, returned to Philadelphia after a two year sojourn in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. After he married a 16 year old bride in October 1790, he took her to meet his mother and see his birthplace, a sugar plantation worked by slaves that would support him for the rest of his life. Born a Quaker, and raised by Quakers in Lancashire, England, he did oppose the slave trade and first went to America in 1785 to lead a crusade to return freed slaves back to Africa. There he would f...
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