Mulberry Row was a complex community influenced by circumstances beyond Virginia. The American and French Revolutions and the War of 1812 made American commerce unstable, causing Jefferson to shift from tobacco to wheat cultivation and to add industries to Mulberry Row. His ability to achieve his goals depended on a work force of free, indentured, and mainly enslaved people. Monticello’s dozens of enslaved men, women, and children formed strong family bonds to counter their oppression.
