President s day. First, sir, explain the significance of that moment thats portrayed over your shoulder there, the swearing in of George Washington. You see the first president being sworn in at federal hall in new york city. This would have been in 1789 in april. How well were the duties and the powers of the office that he was about to step into . How well were they defined at that moment when he was sworn in . They werent defined at all. There was nothing like it in america and really in the world. It was a new experiment of an elected magistrate who would at one point be the head of state like a king but at the same time also sort of the chief executioner of the laws, the chief executive in this case, the chief policymaker. And it wasnt exactly clear where the powers of the legislature and where the powers of the president would be defined. Washington created that office and many of the precedents, many of the things we come to think of as president ial really come down from his ex
Hard to imagine we could be a country without washingtons battlefield heroics. If you want to understand military history, look at washingtons campaign in new jersey and the hudson river, et cetera, its quite remarkable. Washington journal continues. From the ground of George Washingtons historic mt. Vernon, were joined now at the education and Museum Center there by doug bradburn, the president and ceo of George Washingtons mt. Vernon on this president s day. First, sir, explain the significance of that moment thats portrayed over your shoulder there, the swearingin of George Washington. Well, good morning, welcome to mt. Vernon. Behind me you see George Washington, the first president , being sworn in at federal hall in new york city. This would have been in 1789 in april. How well were the duties and the powers of the office that he was about to step into, how well were they defined at that moment when he was sworn in . Well, they werent defined at all. The presidency was a brand ne
Part of their great lives lecture series. [applause] [clears throat] wow. It is perhaps appropriate that on Thomas Jeffersons birthday, we bring to you one of our most prestigious speakers. One of jeffersons cleverest biographers. Professor Annette Gordon reed is the one who definitively cracked the case, as our speaker on tuesday might have said, on one of American Historys most complex and now expunged until now, expunged stories, which is the relationship between the jeffersons and the hemmings. Professor gordon reed is the Charles Morin professor of american legal history, and a professor of history arts and science at harvard university. She has a jaw dropping list of honors, i will read you a few. Fellowship from the dorothy and lose the Common Center for scholars and writers at the new york public library, a guggenheim fellowship, a macarthur fellowship, the National Humanities medal, and the woman of power and influence award from the National Organization for women in new york
Mountain Thomas Jefferson and his slaves. It is a subject, which the Thomas Jefferson foundation has been a pioneer in researching and present a largely the collected essays published earlier this year by the university of virginia press. Theyre entitled by virtue my happiness, slavery of Thomas Jeffersons monticello is regarded as an authority on the subject. The book was released to coincide with an exhibit on slavery of monticello in the Smithsonian National museum of African American history which is cocurated by the staff of the Thomas Jefferson foundation. 70 of the descendents of those commemorated attended the opening night. After 50 years of archaeological and historical research, Thomas Jefferson foundation is now in the next phase of interpretation and restoration project funded by the National Endowment of humanities by private reports that the project is called the landscape of slavery, mulberry road in monticello, which includes creation of many exhibits, key sites, a web
Joyce applebee, the great historian commented on this setting that after the 1784 limitation on slavery had failed, jefferson quote backed away from attacking the institution as his power to do something about it decrease. The other benchmark that i would like to point out is the Louisiana Purchase. There was a great opening of the west, great opening of the empire of the liberty, or when we acquired a territory that was great debate in congress. Should we have slavery there . And congress came very close to banning it and then passed prescriptions that so outraged the slaveholders who were already there that they threatened secession. They threatened to call in napoleon back in. People said if you dont allow slavery on lands there, they will depreciate in value by 50 . As all this is going on, it was a fresh mama, Congress Still have the will to restrict slavery. Jefferson sent a message saying slaves to be admitted to the territory. And then he went on in the creation of the legal sy