Along the Potomac River not far from mt. Vernon. When the commissioners of the Federal District named the new capitol for washington in 1791 it not only honored the wartime commander in chief but also at college to his guiding role in the selection of the young nation seat of government. Although he did not the government relocated here and it shaped the National Capitol for years to come. In George Washingtons final battle at highlights washingtons political skills and with those i work behind the scenes to establish the new city. Robert watson is a distinguished professor professor at Lynn University a senior fellow at the Florida Joint Center for citizenship the author of numerous books in history and politics including the go ship of brooklyn and americas first crisis, the war of 1812. Hes the editor of two encyclopedias the american president and american first ladies. Professor watson is served on the board the Harry Truman FoundationCalvin CoolidgeMemorial Foundation and the George Mcgovern library and center for public service. Professor watson has served as a visiting scholar with Many Organizations including the truman president ial library for ford president ial museum ellen i Holocaust Museum u. S. Military to west point. Now lets hear from Robert Watson. Thank you for joining us today. Flow everyone im Robert Watson and im here to talk about my latest book noel the epic struggle to build a capital city and a nation any American School child knows that George Washington was heroic and stoic. He was a great and courageous commander on the battlefield and of course one of our greatest president s who what he did and didnt say carved up the initiative for the presidency but what we dont always does that George Washington had another side to him specifically a visionary and a dreamer and he could be a political player. By the same token almost all americans have been to our capital city. Americans love their Capital Capital city. Its a spacious grand boulevard the memorials and monuments the majestic government buildings a treelined golf. Very few americans know the story of how the capital city came to be and almost didnt come to be. Thats why we are here today to talk about it. Our story begins in newburgh new york. This is along the edge of the hudson at the end of the revolutionary war. Not too far today from fdrs hyde park. The main battle of the revolutionary war was the battle of yorktown which is september not of 1781. That would be the last major battle of the war. For about two years this was what we could call a cold war for the british hunkered down in the city in George Washington americans went up the river to newburgh which you see on my slide and from those two years they just hunkered down there. It would be washingtons longest headquarters. Any type of challenge emerged. That was the challenge of without fighting the army had not been. They were hungry bitterly cold winter after another bitterly cold winter in washington was worried that the army would fall apart. Just as we were ready to seize victory in the revolutionary war. So with next flight. What happened in these images of newburgh in march of 1783 on march 10 the war would end up following fall. March 10 of 1783 there was an unsigned letter stipulating in washingtons newburgh camp calling for a mutiny, calling for rising up against George Washington could washington was alarmed to say the least. Appears this mutiny this insurrection was coming from inside his own headquarters and on march 11 a mutiny was met great they met a large building called the temple for the socalled conspiracy. Washington decided to respond. Did so brilliantly by letting the insurrection is to show their hands. On march 15 he called for a meeting in the temple. They all gathered and instead of washington being there early, he was eyes punctually comes eyes punctually lading comes through the back are pretty box up and general Horatio Gates and others had shown themselves as the mutineers. Washington demanded the surrender. He then gave a twopart speech. One come he explodes and you can see the wording here. The patients in the fortitude and long sufferings of this army an example of history. Washington is saying the army is ready to rise up and at their limits. They cannot take anymore. You can see here his argument. Its a depiction of washington addressing the army. There would have been many more soldiers so its not completely accurate depiction. Washington said consistent with the rules of propriety and how unmilitary and subversive of all order of discipline. Washington lays it on. He explodes like a volcano. Can you be afraid of the country if you are a mutiny or . Then after all that washington comes down. Washington calmed down and says i want to read a letter from congressman jones of virginia. The army had never seen washington wear spectacles. The army had never seen washington appear older. He was a man among children in massive and powerful man. Washington reaches into his pocket and pulled out this letter he wants to read. He holds at arms length and he pulled out his spectacles and put someone. No one has seen him wearing glasses. Washington shakes his head puts the spectacles in and a letter back in his pocket and says gentlemen will you permit me to put on my spectacles so i have not only grown gray. Almost in the service of my country. After he puts them in his pocket he asked the men from the heart and i ask one more full measure of patriotism by patriotic virtue, stay with me. We are going to win this. Here comes out of the side of washington walks off the stage. Talk about the theatrics of the moment in letting the army down. After he dies general henry knox they are tillery jibril takes the stage and asked a minute they would sign a document showing their support of washington. They charge to the front of the stage and sign the document. Thats the socalled new bird mutiny or conspiracy almost an uprising for the end of the war. Washington brilliantly and theatrically puts it down but what he realizes is this new government this new country is going to be and fragile. It it could be harder to bring the government and run a government and to win the war for the opportunity to frame the government. This is the philadelphia mutiny. June 201783 weeks later a group of several hundred unpaid disgruntled veterans march on philadelphia to where we know today as constitution hall. Some of our nations elected officials are inside the building. They are surrounded by angry unpaid mutineers. Our citizens of philadelphia come pouring out of the taverns night have the unruly and angry soldiers who are ready to take legislators hostage. Congress is worried the Pennsylvania Assembly is worried that they had to flee for their lies but they asked George Washington to put down this mutiny. Washington tells the mutineers to go home. Just go home. He pardons people and for a second time brilliantly handles a near mutiny. By this time washington realizes this new experiment is going to be very difficult. Washington starts to put together a vision a dream if he will throw her kind of nation we need to have. The war ends in 1783 and pretty much the question is now what . What happens next . We are in a political civic and economic back into the loyalist who were loyal to the crown they left and that meant the positions the bankers and the architects all left. This new young republic has little in the way of schools and colleges and libraries and trained professionals. The countrys wartorn. Veterans have not been. The currency is. Everybody on everyones mind is the question now what if you had a neguse an answer except for George Washington. Washington puts together what is known as the circular letter to the state. This is basically his farewell in newspapers around the country took this letter. This letter and you can see the beginnings of washingtons vision a small nation the capitol city and the kind were robust and vigorous country that we would have been washington says we have the debt of honor. We need to repay that dense. Our veterans. We need more training and positive relations abroad. Mostly we need to be united. This nation needs a set of National Identity. You are to take the time in 1783 and asked Thomas Jefferson about this nation he would answer it wasnt a sense of National Identity or capitol u united states. A small letter u state so washington knew we needed sense of unity. We need a sense of National Pride and spirit. We need to come together as a nation otherwise this will never happen. Next slide. This country went from 1775 at the start of the revolutionary war all the way until 1800, 25 years a quarter of a century without a permanent capital city without the seat of government. You can see some of the possible cities that were considered. Over 30 cities were considered as a possible seat of government or capitol. Everyone in connecticut in hartford and new haven to everyone in delaware in wilmington everyone in massachusetts part of boston. Nobody wanted to capital that be in another state. Theyll new political power would follow the capitol and no one wanted another city to have a leg up. For 25 years there was a fight over where the capitol city should. Next slide. We were working under the articles of the confederation a loose quote unquote renewed friendship. It took several giraffes and years to even ratify the articles. The problem the articles didnt have courts and it had a unicameral legislature. They couldnt raise money to pay back the veterans. They couldnt govern. It was utterly and wholly ineffectual the galactic capital city and we lacked a functioning government and this is what washington responds to. Next slide. On everyones mind and it was written in newspapers we fought for this . Washington weighs in and he says we are a United People and our united for a federal purpose or we are an independent sovereignty contradicting each other. Washington says i see no greater people than this union or political factions will we know his party start to form. The north against the southeastern seaboard against the west the urban areas for versus more rural areas and within these factions are read rsn antifederalists instead of an Opposition Party much like recent years its an obstructionist arrangement with gridlock. And this crisis is aware washington emerges. In the 1780s farmers are rising up ready to declare war against their own government of pennsylvania and new york are fighting one another. They cant agree on how to trade across state borders. Washington says he has errors to correct. We need a stronger government. Washington ask Alexander Hamilton in 1786 hamilton calls for convention in the city of annapolis and maryland. Only handful of state showed up. Everybody argued embarrassingly walked out. Its no way to start a government. Washington stays with the bushes along with hamilton the following year 1787. They they are going back to philadelphia hoping that lightning strikes twice and after improving the articles they would create a new constitutional system of government strengthen our government and find ways were more united country. What we dont know people know about the founding of the Electoral College over how do we pick a president but there was another byars call it the other. Did we have a capital city . Should we have multiple capitals . Where should it be . What should it look like and the nature and size of the . At one point to satisfy everybody ben franklin flew out the throughout their day we should have multiple capitals. It was like the trojans. They would get a horse and congress would hide in it and congress would get out and do its business. This is the other founding debate. We have multiple books from George Washington and other framers that the debate over the capital city was even more contentious even more potentially ruinous than all the other founding debate at the Constitutional Convention in philadelphia. The debate over the capital city almost undermines the station just as we are getting started. So those are the other founding debates. Enter into this vacuum George Washington who has this vision for the country. Washington state without faith or will the destiny of unborn millions involved in a called the the most explosive debate of the entire session in philadelphia. Selecting a seat of government washington said is proving to be pregnant with difficulty and danger danger so washington is cognitive of the fact that this debate could undermine the country yet without a Strong Capital city he did not know if this country could endure so washington and the officials proposes the following things number one a Strong National government. Number two copy once to unite the people behind a national character. Only capital city could imbue such a character. Our government has named it is not seen as federal and the european powers. A great and glorious capital city would give credibility to this new fledgling republic. Washington wanted a grand capital city, city he said for the ages. Thomas jefferson the end of this one is simple federal town. Washington wanted rome built on the Potomac River. He wanted it near the Potomac River. Washington had one other leaders would jokingly call potomac fever. It was equal to the seine the danube and the rhyme altogether. Like the potomac is hardly equal to any of those let alone all of them. The potomac and the Community Next to the future capital city with the chesapeake went met access to the atlantic. It was transportation and rudimentary communication but it would unite maryland virginia and the edges of the tributaries of the potomac would run west in what is today the ohio territory pittsburgh and so forth and so on. The potomac for connects north and south and connect east and west and was served to function and served to unite the new capital city with the Atlantic Ocean and so on and so forth. Thats washingtons idea. In the constitution over the debate over the capital city article i section 8 it agreed to capital city should be 10 miles square. Thats 100 miles. To what it means to capital city is almost. This capitol city will be larger than paris london and the great capitals of the world yet it would be dealt out of boggs and wood. The question remained where would the 10mile square the . Initial argument with new york city would serve as our interim capitol. Washington is a nongraded march 4 at 1789. This is washington arriving even later yet. Betsy was the getting dressed. Washington is a migrated new york city in midapril of 1789. New york city at federal hall and on the right is osgoods home on cherry street. New york city would be. An interim capitol. No one seemed happy. New york city. Next they will slow to ratify the constitution that this is why hamilton jay and washington was worried well i go to new york city x. Would that undermine everything and do we have a a president if they dont have a steady . Everybody likes new york city today for Thomas Jefferson claimed in new york city new york city in spring and the fall but never have 10 months of winter and only two of summer. Fischer ames said that new york city he longed for at the company of springfield. He described new york citys overrun by hogs dogs and and not much else. No one likes new york city. They months in new york city. The deal would be cut in new york city on june 20 of 1790 and was probably the second most famous dinner party in history just behind the last supper. The dinner party and you can see the pictures they are Jefferson Madison and hamilton and madison and jefferson were allies in federalist and hamilton was their nemesis is a federalist. There were two big issues they were trying to contend with. One is where should the capital city be in the other issue was how do we build it and should it be is simple town or glorious romanesque capitol . The second argument we were in debt after the war. Jefferson calls for a dinner party. He and madison are going to team up and defeat hamilton. What a would happen at the dinner party was they would resolve all these issues and decide basically on where the capitol would be and hamilton would end up playing jefferson and madison like a guitar. He played the victim and got everything he wanted. Virginia said we are are paying are dead in the south didnt want to pay their debt. Hamilton wanted the debt to be. So he surrenders and says okay you dont have to pay your debt. Jefferson and madison know if the south is going to pay it that what that means is the federal government can come in and assume the debt under the treasury. Who is the secretary of the treasury . Hamilton. Hamilton would become one of the most powerful americans and hamilton wanted a stronger federal government and jefferson wanted a weaker federal government. Hamilton giving up the fact that virginia is to guarantee that hamilton would have a strong federal government of bank and a strong treasury so hamilton does whatever he wants. The second argument is worse a capital going to be . Jefferson and madison wanted in the south and virginia. What they did knows what hamilton knew George Washington had decided the capitol should be in virginia near hi