George Washington

George Washington’s Pursuit Of An Escaped Slave

... Mount Vernon relentlessly pursued a slave who escaped to freedom. Professor Erica Armstrong Dunbar chronicles the flight of Martha Washington’s personal maid from Philadelphia to New Hampshire in the recently published “Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge.”. The book received a major dollop of publicity in the New York Times, tied in with Mount Vernon’s own continuing efforts to fully tell the story of the more-than-300 slaves who “belonged” to the First Family. What is probably best known about that slave population is that George Washington on his death in 1799 willed his 123 slaves to be freed. He had owned slaves since he was 11 years old through the will on his father’s death in 1743. Dunbar explains that the president could free them because he had no direct heirs. His ...

Founder For All Americans

... Yes: “Presidents’ Day” is officially still Washington’s Birthday, though no longer always honored on Feb. 22, his actual birth date. And what was most remarkable about Washington was (to riff off a fellow whose birthday we celebrated last month) the content of his character. Richard Brookhiser rescued this view of Washington in his landmark 1997 book, “Founding Father.” Hidden behind myth, written off by revisionists as just another dead, white, male slave-owner, Washington was in fact a man for the ages. Born a Virginia aristocrat, he carefully cultivated his virtues — self-control, moderation, civility; his strengths physical and moral — to become the most widely admired presence first in the 13 colonies, then in the new nation. He created two American institutions. First was the army, which he commanded from 1775 to 1783, shaping a collection of untrained and undisciplined ragtag soldiers into a fighting force that defeated the world’s superpower, Great Britain. He also set the future course of the US government itself. Presiding ...

Now More Than Ever…americans Need To Remember George Washington

... Writing about George Washington on the day we commemorate his birthday usually would be a puff piece. However, this year of all years, it’s important to remember who George Washington was and what leadership he offered our country. For the better part of two centuries, Americans mythologized and practically deified the Founder of our country. Legends grew up about Washington and the cherry tree, as well as, the time he tossed the silver dollar across the Potomac. Another generation of Americans point to Washington’s flaws. Like most wealthy Virginians, he was a slaveholder. His will left provision for freeing his slaves and caring for the elderly and infirmed ones, but this doesn’t remove the stain of slavery. His military service record was also deeply flawed. In the French and Indian War, he surrendered Fort Necessity to the French. He lost far more battles than he won during the Revolutionary War. On a comparably petty note, like many men of the era, he was vain about his clothing. In either deification or deconstruction, many Americans have forgotten who Washington the man was. Washington now is an answer to ...

George Washington Warned Against The President Showing Signs Of Luxury And Ostentation

... author of Affairs of Honor: National Politics in the New Republic. Washington opted for a “middle style,” she says. She writes in her book about how each day at 2 pm he got out of his coach to walk in the muck of the streets, just like a normal. This was a part of Washington’s overall view of what it meant to be presidential. In a 1790 letter to British historian Catharine Sawbridge Macaulay Graham, Washington wrote of his lifestyle. We wish the happiness of your fire side; as we also long to enjoy that of our own at Mount Vernon. Our wishes, you know, were limited; and I think that our plans of living will now be deemed reasonable by the considerate part of our species. [My wife’s] wishes coincide with my own as to simplicity of dress, and every thing which can tend to support propriety of character without partaking of the follies of luxury and ostentation. Presidents since Washington have come and gone with more down-to-earth lifestyles, and far more gaudy. But safe to say the first president’s ethos probably wouldn’t have allowed for weekly golfing getaways. “People understood that these seemingly ...

Monument Has A Moment Of Darkness On George Washington’s Big Weekend

... the lights were on as usual. The cause of the outage was not immediately known. It was the third time this year the lights at the monument failed to do their job. It seemed to add one more indignity to the history of troubles that have plagued the monument since it was damaged in the August 2011 earthquake that was felt up and down the East Coast. The next year brought an announcement that the monument would be closed for repairs until 2014. But in recent years, one problem after another impeded operation of the elevator inside the monument, which opened to the public almost 129 years ago. The elevator, a vital part of the tourist experience, carried visitors from the ground to a lofty observation level that offers a panorama of Washington. The interior stairs have long been closed to the public. Without the elevator, the monument could scarcely operate as the tourist attraction it has been. Authorities finally decided to close the monument once more to modernize the heavily used elevator. But even closed, the monument plays a symbolic role. For the countless thousands who do not contemplate a trip to the top, it has nevertheless ...

Rebuilding George Washington's Childhood In Stafford County

... that was mostly intact and that was filled with Washington artifacts — great stuff,” Muraca said. Little is known about this early part of Washington’s life, and since this site was saved from development and preserved, archaeologists are piecing together more and more of our first president’s young history. Washington, his siblings and parents, Augustine and Mary, moved to what we know as Ferry Farm in 1738. At that time, it was referred to as the Washington Farm Home. He was six years old and lived there until he was 22. At that time, he moved to Mt. Vernon. George Washington’s father died when he was 11. Muraca said they were able to piece together what the home looked like, what material the rooms were made of and even what the plaster looked like based on the actual archaeological remains, paintings of the home, a description of someone that lived in the house, as well as a probate inventory of the names of the rooms and what kind of goods were in them. “It was called the Washington Farm Home. It isn’t called Ferry Farm until the 19 th century, ...

Rev. Richard Allen Eulogy For George Washington

... them an inheritance. Deeds like these are not common. He did not let "his right hand know what his left hand did" - but he who "sees in secret will openly reward" such acts of beneficence. The name of Washington will live when the sculptured marble and statue of bronze shall be crumbled into dust - for it is the decree of the eternal God that "the righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance, but the memorial of the wicked shall rot.". It is not often necessary, and it is seldom that occasion requires recommending the observance of the laws of the land to you, but at this time it becomes a duty; for you cannot honor those who have loved you and been your benefactors more than by taking their council and advice. And here let me entreat you always to bear in mind the affectionate farewell advice of the great Washington - "to love your country - to obey its laws - to seek its ...

George Washington Hikes Take You From 1753 To Cherry Pie

... of George Washington and mark the first president’s birthday with a slice of cherry pie. The George Washington/Cherry Pie Hikes are happening just days after his actual Feb. 22 birthday on Saturday Feb. 25. Jennings Environmental Education Center in Butler County near Moraine State Park and Slippery Rock is the base for multiple guided hikes. History hikes include re-enactors so participants can relive the December day in 1753 when Washington and his guide Christopher Gist encountered Native Americans in these very woods. They’ll hear the gunshot that could have ended Washington’s life when he was still 21. (He’d be 285 this year.). The annual commemoration is sponsored by Jennings with Washington’s Trail 1753, the Butler Chapter of the North Country Trail Association, Historic Harmony, the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau and North Country Brewing, which is ...

George Washington Birthday Parade Marches Through Old Town Alexandria Monday

... marches a one-mile route through the streets of Old Town Alexandria. With nearly 3,500 participants, the parade "honors one of the Alexandria’s favorite sons," according to a news release. The parade’s grand marshal is retired Police Chief Earl Cook, and the special guest is Olympic silver medal winner boxer Shakur Stevenson. For information about participating units, parking, maps, route and status, go to  __link__  or call 703-829-6640. The same day, several Historic Alexandria sites will celebrate by hosting special open houses with free admission. Gadsby’s Tavern Museum , 134 North Royal St., the  Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum , 105-107 South Fairfax St., and the  Friendship Firehouse Museum , 107 South Alfred St., will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and  The Lyceum, Alexandria’s History Museum , 201 South Washington St., will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. How did George Washington celebrate his birthday in the ballroom of Gadsby's Tavern? What was considered luxurious for overnight accommodations in the 18 th ...

George Washington Tweets? Advice For The President In About 140 Characters

... no question about it. I get it. The presidency is not easy. But it’s the job. Barack Obama @No Drama It’s not just dishonest, this selective sorting of the facts; it’s self-defeating. As my mom used to tell me, reality has a way of catching up with you. George Washington @American Fabius If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter. #presson. Vicente Fox @Vicente Fox Que Oh my dearest @real Donald Trump: NAFTA is a three way deal, you cannot go to suck Justin’s boots up and try to kick Mexico out. NOT fair. Barack Obama @No Drama We are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too. Unless your grandparents were Native Americans. Gerald Ford @Mr Nice Guy The political lesson of Watergate is this: Never again must America allow an arrogant, elite guard of political adolescents to bypass the regular party organization ...