Washington is that washington is an enigma to the modern audience. Why . Because we dont really know who he was, how he looked. When i show you these images here, these images are of three of our noteworthy president s. Every 10 years or so, about 700 political scientist and historians around the country rank our president. Who knows how current president is going to rank. Whenever those rankings come out, these three guys here rank at the top. Sometimes it will be lincoln, sometimes it will be washington , sometimes it will be fdr, but the interesting thing about this is we do not know what george really looks like. We had images of lincoln, photographed images and you can follow those photographs over time and see how he changed, how he aged and of course we have images of fdr. We even have some images of him in his wheelchair. Generally, the press did not take images of him in his wheelchair, but with George Washington, he was there before photography, so we dont have photographs of him and what we have instead is artist representations. Representations are not always very accurate. You look at some representational abstract art, and does it really look like a cube . I dont know, maybe not. George washington, we have spent the better part of 14 weeks already kind of addressing him, talking about him. We know that he is a famous man. We know he was commander of the Continental Army. We know he served in the Continental Congress. We know he is subsequently going to become first president of the United States, so obviously he is a famous man in our history, but hes also a man who had faults, a man who had insecurities, a man who had vices. He was a human being, like all of us. Because he was a human being, he was also a complex man, a many sided man. And the problems with paintings is they dont show that kind of complex character. Is spend a to do little time talking about the myths of George Washington, and then we will talk about how he made choices that ultimately brought him to the point where he became the most revered man in america. You probably know that george is considered the father of our country, but george, when he married martha, he was not able to sire children. He was not able to give martha children, and could he really be the father of our country if he could not sire children himself . Think about when the country decided to make a monument to him. What did they choose to make . The monument is this giant, phallic shaped symbolm which is kind of ironic for the man who could not sire children himself, but even though he couldnt, here is George Washington with marthas children. When he married martha, he did children and became a paternalistic loving father to her children, so in that respect, it shows the character of a person who accepted her children. It showed paternalism, acceptance. Most of the stories we have of washington came from the first paternalistic loving father to her children, so in that respect,real biography of washi, written by mason weems. Written by mason weems. It was published shortly after washingtons death. And the washington that weems is a man that is like thor. He talks about washington throwing a Silver Dollar across the potomac river. A couple of problems with that story. First is anybody . There were no Silver Dollars. So how could he throw a Silver Dollar that didnt exist . Rivercond, the potomac where mount vernon is is a mile wide. I dont care if you are nolan ryan or roger clemens, you are probably not going to throw a Silver Dollar across a mile wide river. One of washingtons grandsons a young man,as George Washington had thrown a the riverlate across near his home, which is on the rappahannock. It might have been possible. Is trying to do is give you an image of a man who is largerthanlife, who had this great visible great physical ability, great athletic prowess. We know that george is a large man. He stood about 63, about my height. He had a long straight nose, high cheekbones. At his heaviest, he was significantly less than i am, somewhere in the neighborhood of 220 or so, and at his lightest, he was probably about 175, 180. That day and age, they did not have the obesity problems that butxperience today, virtually every school kid learned that George Washington had what kind of teeth . Wooden, false teeth, and that is just absolutely wrong. Here you can see a pair of his dentures. What is interesting about it, you notice here. That is a spring. It is a lead base that is springloaded so when you put this in, your jaw keeps it shut and when your mouth opens, the spring pops it open. The teeth themselves are animal teeth, pieces of ivory, and im convinced that if you had to wear that thing in your mouth, it would probably far more uncomfortable than wooden teeth. It is those teeth here that always play a central in washingtons life. You will see right here there is no tooth there, because even at his time in presidency, george had his own teeth. He is able to highlight his tooth as well. That mouth and those teeth become a big part of the story about who George Washington is. This portrait right here, this portrait one of the famous of yshingtons is done Gilbert Stuart. Stuart was a young painter. This was one of his earliest commissions. Stuart was absolutely terrified to meet the great general. So, during the sending, stuart tried to make washington more at ease. He said something to the effect of, general washington, you must let yourself forget that you are general washington and i am stuart the painter. Washington gave a wellintentioned reply. He said something to the effect of, theres no need for me to forget that im general washington and you are stuart the painter. It kind of insulted stuart. He felt that washington was giving him a backhanded slap. Because of that, Gilbert Stuart got to portray washington, one of those images we have of him, and this is one of the most famous. When you look at that, what is the central feature of that painting . What is it . The mouth . Look at it. It is kind of clenched. It looks like he is in some kind of discomfort, some kind of pain. The view thate, is that hewashington awkward, het he is umpy,approachable, he is gr perhaps, and that is not so. He wasnt a square jawed stiff by stuartthis image portrayed him. The George Washington that we know, that historians have documented, was a George Washington who loves to have a good time. But you remember what i told you about washington. He believed there was the personal man and then there was the public man. Those people who had the personal relationship would not display that personal relationship in public. The private man had a public persona and you stayed outside of arms reach. This is a George Washington who enjoyed playing cards, he enjoyed cockfights, horse races, this is the George Washington who loved to dance and it was reported that george was the best answer in all of virginia. This is the George Washington who loved to hunt and fish, loved going to the theater. In fact, his favorite play was a tragedy. It is a story of a young, selfless patriot who sacrifices himself to the greater patriot cause. Maybe because washington felt he was that guy. He also liked hamlet, julius caesar. Those were a couple of his favorites. This was the George Washington who had an eye for the attractive women. In the 18th century, she was considered an attractive woman. Not only was she an attractive woman, she was the widow of a gentleman, and she was very wealthy. So george is going to end up marrying up. He is not this square jaw st uffed shirt, he is not unapproachable, but he is the man that is going to keep himself in proper decorah decorum. I have referenced this to you several times about how he could not control his anger. He always had trouble controlling his anger. This particular episode happens during the Constitutional Convention. We will reference it again on gouverneur morris, a new yorker, a man of questionable virtue was drinking buddies with alexander hamilton. He was boasting that he could treat washington just like any other of his best friends. And morris and hamilton made a wager. Hamilton said if morris could treat washington like any other friend in public, then hamilton would buy dinner and wine for morris and 12 of his friends. On the night in question, a public event, George Washington as we know will become president of the Constitutional Convention and he was hosting an event that evening, and morris comes in. It was a public event, a big crowd. Morris immediately reaches out his hand to shake washingtons hand. Morris took the secondhand and began patting george on the shoulder, saying, general washington, my good friend, it is good to see you so well. What had happened, that familiarity. Washington pulled his hand back, took three steps back and he just glared at morris with this evil, angry stare, and the people who were there froze. They simply stood and watched morris slinked off into the crowd. Morris later told hamilton, i had won the bet, i will collect inner, but that is something i will never do again, because washington and morris would never be close enough that morris could pat him on the shoulder and treat him with a familiarity with which you would treat a close personal acquaintance. That is because washington maintained that dignity, that personal space. An that mean washington had uncontrollable anger he could not control . No, i just meantt he believed in proper decorum. Probably the greatest or most famous image of george, which was not done during his lifetime this image here. Doesnt look familiar . Where is the original . Down the street at the Carter Museum. Go down and take a look at it. This came from the story of mason weems. Mason weems says the young george, 40s sixth birthday for his sixth birthday, his father gave him a new hatchet. The boy was so excited about this gift that he went barking at literally every tree he could find. And he barked one of his fathers favorite cherry trees. Georgeng to weems, young threw his hands up and said, i did it, father. You know i cannot tell a lie. That is the image that school kids for the last 200 plus years have been told. Painting down at the Carter Museum about a mile or so from here shows mason weems pulling back the curtain, and it shows the young george being truthful to his father. The thing i find particularly iseresting about this image, look. Have on thed as you dollar bill. Is the young and. Young head. This is the old head they essentially. Look the same. There is no evidence this happened. Weems simply made the story up to portray washington as a man of great honesty, that even when the trouble might bring problem george. G weems tells us another story about the young George Washington the surveyor, who is out on the frontier, and bad in. Her is setting he finds a local tavern where you can spend the night. Whiskey. A dram of george offers a skin. Nskin in payment. Coonskinep keeps the and in turn gives washington 158 rabbit skins. That is a lot of rabbit skins to carry around. According to weems, george began buying drinks for everyone in the establishment, and during the evening, he turned 158 rabbit skins back over to the barkeep. What weems is trying to tell us in that story is that this is a George Washington who was generous. This is the George Washington that is kind. This is the George Washington that we want to remember. You think about the images hes honest, he has this great physical skill, he is generous and kind. He has a temper, but he can control it. Well, this is the man that has come down to us as more or less the savior of american mankind. Remember how we talked about providential inspiration . Providentiale as inspiration. Later, chief years Justice Joseph story made the comment from his commentaries on the constitution that george was the most of all america, the the first in war, the first in peace, and the first in the hearts of his countrymen. So what makes him first in the heart of his countrymen . Well, george as a young man, before the scope of this course born on february 11, 1731. Is that the day we celebrated his birthday . No. That was the julian calendar. In the early 1750s, they change to the gregorian calendar so it moved his birthday 11 days ahead, february 22. As a young man, he was with becoming a gentleman. Entail . Did a gentleman it meant owning wealth, property, potentially owning being, having a spouse, successful. The young george, when he was 11, his father died. Young george ended up having to live with his older halfbrother, lawrence. Lawrence was a gentleman. He had a grand home that he had named after admiral edward vernon, who served under king georges war. From that, young george saw what it meant to be a gentleman. He saw that status equated to wealth, so he wanted to become wealthy. Ive said george is not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he learns from others. While he was saying with his halfbrother, he learned that he too could become successful if he made the right choices. So as a young man, he became a surveyor and at the time, being a surveyor was on par with a doctor, lawyer. Because surveyors were always going out on the frontier to survey land. If you are good at it, you have a trained eye, you see land that is advantageous, the land that is not, and often times you could take your payment in land. Land is something that could bring wealth for the future. So the young man began acquiring land. The problem is in 1752, lawrence died. The question was, who would inherit mount vernon . Ultimately, one of lawrences daughters inherited it. She died shortly thereafter and it passed down to young george, so by 1753, here was a guy that had this grand plantation home and this is a view that most of us have of mount vernon. Love you is that view is the out from the porch looking onto the potomac river. Is that the front of the house . Or is that the front of the house . That is the other side. Its interesting. When lawrence was alive, he considered the front of the therethis, because it was on the potomac river. Potomac was the highway to the sea, the sea took you to england, and he saw himself as an englishman. As george takes over the home, george will consider this to be the front of the house, because this faces to the frontier. That faced to the land that i think thats a huge difference for lawrence and george and helps define who george is. He saw himself not so much as an englishman more as an american. George also had the good fortune in 1758 to mary Martha Dandridge who reportedly was the wealthiest women in virginia. And by marrying her, he married the widow of a gentleman, and by marrying her george became a gentleman. With her wealth and his drive and determination to secure wealth, the washingtons would become one of the wealthiest couples in america. He was a plantation owner, a farmer, initially growing tobacco but coming to the realization that tobacco was a leaching crop declining in value. So by the time of the revolution what was he starting to cultivate . Wheat. Remember you read Tobacco Culture and how Tobacco Culture was playing out. This is the George Washington who by the time of his death will own 11,000 acres. He had this ambition that made him inquisitive, sometimes contentious, and even after he established himself he would insist upon exact payment of every debt owed to him. In his youth, young george wanted to be a British Military officer. And at the beginning of this course, remember, we had made reference to how young george was the guy who started the seven years war. When had killed the young french diplomat and george rescued the remaining french prisoners but then he himself would be captured at Fort Necessity in july. And with that, he was forced to sign a document written in what language . French, which george doesnt read. In that document he accepted responsibility for the death of ensign jumonville. Well, because of that, he felt he had to redeem himself. During the seven years war, he negotiated to try to secure the british officers commission, and in fact he was promised an officers commission. He was on that expedition and of course what happened . The disaster failed miserably. The french and indians attacked , decimated the british force. He would be killed, washington would lead survivors back to safety and his successor jeffrey amherst would not honor the commitment to give washington an officers commission. And because of that, young george felt that he and other colonials would always remain in a subservient position. As long as they were british subjects. He would finally get the commission that he sought but it would not be until 1775 and it would not be a british army commission. It would be commander of continental forces in this revolutionary protest. As he takes command of the army, army, youngl george told the politicians he would not accept pay for his service, however he did expect that his expenses would be reimbursed. And in fact, through the course of the war year after year, george will be reappointed as the commander. Even though people like Horatio Gates and charles lee were angling to have him replaced, washington stays in command. He doesnt take the pay but he does accept expenses for his travel. And in fact every winter, martha would come stay with him. At one Point Washington even asked for her expenses because she is there. She keeps him happy, and also works to make the plight of the troops better. Over the last eight weeks weve talked about how washington was as a military commander. We pointed out that if you were a football coach here in texas, he would be fired. A record of 39 and 1. We detailed what engagements you want but if you are 3 9 and one, how do you keep men willing to fight for you . How do you keep them willing to sacrifice for the larger cause . Thats what george was good at. He was good at motivating men, convincing them that the cause they were fighting for was larger than them themselves. Those trees that he won,ries remember the new York Campaign where he had been beaten battered and bruised in brooklyn, driven to manhatten, then as far north as white plains, then rushing self just just asng south, cornwallis cavalry nipped at his heels. They crossed the Delaware River in 1776. What washington learned from that, during the new York Campaign washington had divided his army and the british had used concentrated force to crush those smaller pieces. Washington. The one thing you can say, hes not a military genius but he learns from his mistakes and surrounds himself with capable people and listens to their suggestions. What he learned from that campaign, when you divide your army, you make yourself susceptible to the enemy. As his army crossed over the delaware, he would begin striking at the divided british army. Remember i showed you that image, george was probably hunched down in the barge hanging on for dear life. One of those hit the boat and probably would not be a refreshing experience. Nonetheless. The army crossed over, they scored an easy victory. Six americans wounded. A week later he engaged British Forces at princeton. And wins the victory there. He has won two of his three vic you remember what that tie was. That was monmouth courthouse in the summer of 1778 as the british evacuated philadelphia and marched back to new york. Remember washington wanted to attack the rearguard of the british and when he refused toee engage the rearguard, washington took command himself and during the day they fought the british to a standstill in that stifling heat. That was his tie. The americans held the battlefield but the british had a tactical victory, because they were able to evacuate their armies to new york. Than that third vic three like winning the game last play of the game throwing that long pass. If he had been the coach in texas, 39 and 1 he would probably be maintained but nevertheless, winning the victory at yorktown 4 years after the great victory at saratoga, that brought the end to the struggle. The british still occupied. George kept the men committed to the cause and while showing he wasnt a military genius, he was a competent tactician, he was persistent, he was a natural leader of men. A guy able to convince soldiers time and time again to renew their enlistment. Joseph plumb martin time and again, what did he do . Reenlisted because of the cause was bigger than him. Heres a guy who had built his entire life acquiring things and becoming richer, holding more land in becoming a gentleman. Grabbing hold of things. He had been pretty good at it. For george makes a name for himself. He cements his place in history not where he grabs things but instead where he lets things go. In fact, remember last thursday we were talking about the trials and tribulations of the articles period. The economy was sour, there was political incompetency. There was no sense of political control and yet soldiers were still in the field because the british have not evacuated new york and there north of the city near west point, was the encamped american army. There, soldiers were grumbling especially the officers. They were led to believe they were not going to be paid for their time or their service. They were going to simply be dismissed and wiped away. Washington washington understood that. He understood their frustration and anger. And on march 15, 1783, washington would go to the cantonment there and meet with officers. There was a circular letter that have been floated and what they suggested was that the officers right up and march on the civilian government and seize control, a year before, a continental colonel had written george a letter in which he suggested george use the army and make himself a king, more or less a dictator. Washington read the letter and was mad as he wrote a scathing reply and when nicola got washingtons reply he sent three letters back to him over time persistently apologizing for such a suggestion. He was loyal to his commander and his government. On march 15, george spent the entire day crafting a speech, agonizing over every word he was going to say to those officers, and that evening he went to the officers meeting. These are battle trained soldiers, men who had trained through much of the conflict and as he went in, the cold, icy stares almost froze george himself. He was friends with a lot of these men but you would never know by the look on their faces. As george began to speak he tried to explain to these officers the larger cause they were fighting for and how they should remain loyal to that cause. He looked out and there was still this icy stare. He remembered he had a letter in his jacket from the Continental Congress, another letter where congress was promising that officers would be paid and given their land as promised, so he pulled that letter out, opened it up because he was going to read it to them, and all of a sudden he paused. He quietly made the comment, ive already grown gray in the service of my country. Now it seems that going blind. Blind. Im going and all of a sudden those icy stares melted. What george had just done, admitted his frailty. He admitted his week this. He admitted his vulnerability. That he had sacrificed so much for the cause that even his health was declining. As he looked out over the crowd many of those battle hardened soldiers had tears in their eyes. George simply folded up the letter, put it back in his coat, never read it and walked out of the meeting. The officers then voted unanimously to remain loyal to george and loyal to the government. In fact, one of his Staff Officers made the comment some years later that the United States are indebted for the republican form of government solely to the firm and determined republicanism of general washington at that time. That was a political performance and george had played it to a t. He had the chance to become king. King george the first of america. And he did not accept it. In fact, nine months later, George Washington traveled to annapolis maryland, and there he would finally once and for all surrender his sword to the civilian government. You can say perhaps this is his greatest achievement. As he arrived there that morning he had already said farewell to his troops, his Staff Officers, and rode into annapolis on his own. He entered into the maryland state house. You can go into this room today. When i taught at the Naval Academy i took my students there to show them this momentous setting. There the Continental Congress or the Articles Congress i should say, had convened. The galleries were full with what you see in the background. The white haired lady up there, who is that supposed to be . In the artist depiction its supposed to be martha. Martha wasnt there. She was back at mount vernon waiting for her husband to get back for christmas time. There was not throngs of women in the galleries. The building was near full but certainly martha was not there. Ultimately, when washington arrived, thomas mifflin, the president of the Articles Congress that year welcomed the general and he read a state meant, a statement that had been drafted by thomas jefferson. But before he read that statement, washington himself rose, having now finished the work assigned to me, i retire from the great theater of action. Bidding and affectionate farewell to this august body under whose orders i have so long acted, i offer my commission and take my leave of all of the employments of public life. Mifflin rose and read his statement in which he said youve conducted the great military contest with wisdom and fortitude invariably regarding the rights of the civil power through all disasters and changes. What washington had done had not done in 1000 years. Washington had all the power. Control of the military, and had simply turned it loose. In fact, he surrendered his sword, he left the state house, mounted his horse, and rode off to mount vernon. He was there by christmas time. The idea that the young man who had wanted everything and yet who had given up the ultimate prize so to speak, that attests to the growth and development of that young mans character. The man who made the right decisions for the right reason. And of course after this episode we know what will happen. As we will see on tuesday, a Constitutional Convention. Then we will see that george will become the president of the United States. He established the twoterm tradition that other president s would follow. Until Franklin Delano roosevelt. That was the crisis of world war ii as well. One of the more interesting scenarios that happened after washington had retired from president , a young painter, a Young American painter named Benjamin West was actually in britain and he was commissioned to paint the portrait of an aging king george the third. And george making small talk with Benjamin West, he said this general you had, George Washington, what is he doing now . And Benjamin West said well, he has retired to private life and he has returned to his farm in virginia and he is a private citizen. And george iii looked surprised and said something to the effect if washington could do this, he is the greatest man in the world. He had done that. He simply walked away when he had everything in his hands. And i think when you combine all the stories about washington and you see the choices that he makes, you start to see the development of his character. The choices that he made for the betterment of his nation rather than for the betterment of him. That is the type of character that a photograph or even that a portrait cannot portray. So, we will open up the floor for questions now. Any questions . You make up questions i will make up answers. How did they select george to be the commander . Of the Continental Army . He had attended the Continental Congress wearing a military uniform. And he had served in the seven years war. He saw himself as a military man. He read it offensively about military treatises. Most of those in the congress understood at the time that these colonies were on the path to war. Washington was going to be prepared. As he wore his uniform, he was making a statement that he was prepared to be the commander of this military force. It is interesting that john adams would make the nomination. And as he was making the nomination, his cousin, samuel adams, was sitting over there looking like he had eaten the cat he had such a smile on his face because samuel was convinced that his cousin was going to nominate him to be the commander of the military. But he nominated george because that brought virginia into the struggle. The most populous, the biggest, the most important colony. And by doing so it broadened the conflict from new england to the midatlantic and the south. When did the official recruitment or soldiers begin and was it george who initiated that . No. The Continental Congress issued a plea for soldiers. Throughout the war, the Continental Congress was constantly year after year making pleas for soldiers and offering different contracts. As we read about joseph plumb martin, he time and again would reenlist and would get some reward for doing so. Some soldiers would reenlist and jump their contract and blend into the general public again and find in another neighborhood, another place to reenlist to get the benefits. Some people are less scrupulous than others. I know after the failure of the articles of confederation he decided to come back into power. What was the main decision . Its interesting. In 1785 george agreed to host a meeting at mount vernon so they could talk about navigation of the chesapeake and Delaware River. You had delegates from virginia and maryland and new jersey there. What they realized as they were talking about the navigation and trade issues, they realized that this was a much bigger question than the three colonies. So, that is why you will get a convention the following year in annapolis where they try to bring all the colonies together and only about nine or so will show up in annapolis. What they agree there is that they will have another meeting in the spring of 1787 and you get 12 of the colonies there. The Rhode Islanders chose not to play well with others. Other questions . Okay, guys. On thursday we will come in and we will talk about the Constitutional Convention and then we will wrap it up next tuesday. Have a great day guys. The governments involvement in v. A. Health care is the most effective way for the government to honor veterans. That does not mean the government should not have the ability to go to the private sector the veteran should not have the ability to go into private sector when better care is available. Announcer watch book tv every weekend on cspan2. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2019] American History tv products are now available at the new cspan online store. Go to cspan store. Org. For americans new history tv, and check out all of the cspan products. Announcer next, an American History tv, museum of the american resolution associate curry and her looks at the revolution through the life of an irish soldier. Who fought alongside the british against the rebellious colonists. , library, and has foundation cohosted this event as part of a threeday international conference