Washington, who had begun to believe that all men were created equal after observing the bravery of the black soldiers during the Revolutionary War, overcame the strong opposition of his relatives to grant his slaves their freedom in his will.

　　【长难句分析图解】

　　篇章超精读

　　①Still, Jefferson freed Hemings’s children – though not Hemings herself or his approximately 150 other slaves.

　　②Washington, who had begun to believe that all men were created equal after observing the bravery of the black soldiers during the Revolutionary War, overcame the strong opposition of his relatives to grant his slaves their freedom in his will.

　　③Only a decade earlier, such an act would have required legislative approval in Virginia.

　　参考译文

　　①但是，杰弗逊给了赫明斯的孩子自由——虽然没有给她本人和其他近 150 名奴隶自由。

　　②目睹了解放战争中黑人士兵的勇敢后，华盛顿开始相信人人生而平等，他不顾亲戚的强烈反对，在遗嘱中赋予他的奴隶自由。

　　③而仅仅在那之前十年的弗吉尼亚州，这种行为的实施还要得到立法机关的批准。