1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,359 Speaker 1: On this episode of News World, as part of Founding 2 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:07,360 Speaker 1: Father's Week, I'm talking about the lives and legacies of 3 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:18,880 Speaker 1: our original founders and the impact they've had in our country. 4 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:24,000 Speaker 1: I wanted to start the entire podcast series with George 5 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:30,319 Speaker 1: Washington because literally we all stand on his shoulders to 6 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:33,720 Speaker 1: the degree that this is a country that has a 7 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:38,640 Speaker 1: remarkable ability for freedom, that is open to everyone, and 8 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:43,320 Speaker 1: that creates a framework within which normal people can lead 9 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:48,040 Speaker 1: unusual in extraordinary lives. All of that started and was 10 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:50,760 Speaker 1: based on Washington. One of the best biographies of Washington 11 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:55,720 Speaker 1: describes him as literally irreplaceable, that he is the man 12 00:00:55,960 --> 00:01:00,160 Speaker 1: that was the essential person for the entire creation of America. 13 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:03,360 Speaker 1: And I think that's true. Every time close than I 14 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:05,800 Speaker 1: go down to Mount Vernon and we look at that 15 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:08,399 Speaker 1: house he lived in with Martha, and we look out 16 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:11,800 Speaker 1: on the Potomac, and we realized that he had this sense. 17 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:16,920 Speaker 1: He loved being a farmer, he loved the land. He 18 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:20,680 Speaker 1: had a sense of solidness, partly because he was so 19 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:24,000 Speaker 1: big physically. I always tell people that if you played 20 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 1: Washington in the modern era, you should be basically an 21 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:30,840 Speaker 1: NFL offensive blindman. He was physically so large for a 22 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:33,679 Speaker 1: time when the average man was about five six. He 23 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:36,120 Speaker 1: was also considered the best horseman in the colonies, which 24 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:38,479 Speaker 1: if if you're that big physically and you're that good 25 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:44,520 Speaker 1: a horseman, he's astonishing. And Washington had this strength, both 26 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 1: physical and moral. Part of his physical strength just came, 27 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:52,440 Speaker 1: I think biologically. He was just that big. And he 28 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:55,520 Speaker 1: worked as a farmer, he worked as a frontiersman, and 29 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 1: he used his body his whole life. When he was 30 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:01,440 Speaker 1: serving in the legislature. People often get this Washington was 31 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:04,800 Speaker 1: a professional politician. He ran for office. In fact, there 32 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:06,640 Speaker 1: was a very funny story. He'd been out on the 33 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:09,680 Speaker 1: West and thought of himself as a hero and ran 34 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:13,160 Speaker 1: for office the first time. And in that era, he 35 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:16,160 Speaker 1: had a one day election campaign. Everybody gathered at the 36 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:21,240 Speaker 1: polls and the candidates bought alcohol and got free beer, 37 00:02:21,639 --> 00:02:25,680 Speaker 1: free wine, free whiskey. And Washington said, no, I am 38 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:28,359 Speaker 1: a military hero. I don't need to buy anything from one. 39 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:32,280 Speaker 1: And he came in last. The following election, he bought 40 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 1: the largest quantity of alcohol ever bought in a Virginia election, 41 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:37,919 Speaker 1: and he won. People said, oh, you're being learned the 42 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:41,960 Speaker 1: trade here, which also fed Washington's general pattern many many 43 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:44,920 Speaker 1: experts have studied his campaigns and said he made many 44 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:49,079 Speaker 1: mistakes once you never finally making the same mistake twice. 45 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:51,480 Speaker 1: So he's down in Burger at the House of Burgesses. 46 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:54,239 Speaker 1: And I always recommend to people to go to Williamsburg 47 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:58,880 Speaker 1: because it is such a remarkable recreation of that era, 48 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 1: and can go to the taverns, and Washington went to 49 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:04,480 Speaker 1: in the evenings. They didn't have TV, they didn't have 50 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:07,280 Speaker 1: computer games, so they'd sit around playing cards and drinking 51 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:10,519 Speaker 1: and talking with each other. And there was a very 52 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 1: famous squire named Governor Bird. And Governor Bird would find 53 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:19,080 Speaker 1: some stranger and he said, I'll bet you a shilling 54 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:23,560 Speaker 1: that George Washington can break a walnut between his thumb 55 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:26,560 Speaker 1: and his first finger. Now I urge you sometime to 56 00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:30,920 Speaker 1: try this, because it takes extraordinary strength. And so he'd 57 00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:35,000 Speaker 1: go over washingtony playing cards or telling stories, and he said, 58 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 1: Colonel Washington, with at this stage he had become an 59 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:43,160 Speaker 1: honorary colonel in the Virginia Middle Militia, would you mind 60 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:48,640 Speaker 1: breaking a walnut? And Washington would break the walnut. He'd 61 00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 1: collect the shilling that presumably bought Washington a drink for 62 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:55,120 Speaker 1: the favor, but it was again a sign of an 63 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:59,880 Speaker 1: age when people valued being strong physically. Washington was the strongest. 64 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:03,200 Speaker 1: But it is our show morally strong in the sense, 65 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:05,680 Speaker 1: first of all you can you can get from Mount 66 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:08,640 Speaker 1: Vernon the rules he wrote at fourteen years of age, 67 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:11,120 Speaker 1: which he had copied out of several books, and which 68 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 1: were rules for being a gentleman. And he wanted very 69 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:20,760 Speaker 1: much to have respect. He wanted what the Romans had 70 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:24,359 Speaker 1: called virtu the sense that you are a virtuous person, 71 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:26,760 Speaker 1: not in our modern sense of sin, but in the 72 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:29,560 Speaker 1: sense that you have served the community. You are bigger 73 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:32,120 Speaker 1: than than normal history. You're going to live on in 74 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:34,880 Speaker 1: history as a person who's done his job. And so 75 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:40,000 Speaker 1: Washington wanted to project this sense of authority, the sense 76 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:42,960 Speaker 1: of I am and it said, in fact, I'm noble 77 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:46,200 Speaker 1: in a world with or there's no nobility in the 78 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:48,440 Speaker 1: new world at that point. It's a famous story of 79 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:54,560 Speaker 1: Washington in Philadelphia, and I think at the Constitutional Convention 80 00:04:55,279 --> 00:05:00,039 Speaker 1: and Governor Morris takes a five pound bet that he 81 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,880 Speaker 1: he can walk over and slap Washington on the shoulder, 82 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:07,159 Speaker 1: and he goes over, he gets close, he gets closer. 83 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:10,760 Speaker 1: Washington turns and looks down on him, because Washington looked down, 84 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:14,640 Speaker 1: and everybody except Jefferson and Morris stands and looks at 85 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:19,080 Speaker 1: him and says good evening. In the general, Washington walks 86 00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:22,400 Speaker 1: back over the ississ your five pounds. It is physically 87 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:27,640 Speaker 1: impossible to touch Washington because he is projects this almost 88 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:32,280 Speaker 1: force field of dignity that you can't penetrate. And he 89 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:35,960 Speaker 1: used that to enormous effect. Now, ironically, when he was 90 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:39,719 Speaker 1: a general, for example, serving the places that were pretty 91 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:42,440 Speaker 1: desperately valley forge in the winter, he would go out 92 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:45,039 Speaker 1: and throw medicine balls with the troops. He would do 93 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:47,400 Speaker 1: He was physically very engaged. So it's not that he 94 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:51,560 Speaker 1: was incapable of being close. He loved to dance. He 95 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:54,480 Speaker 1: was capable of being close. But when he decided that 96 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:58,920 Speaker 1: he was aloof, he was aloof beyond anyone normally being 97 00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:01,920 Speaker 1: able to deal with him, and that was very important. 98 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:05,400 Speaker 1: He didn't start that way, but he grew into that person. 99 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:09,960 Speaker 1: He started as a relatively poor kid, went to the Caribbean, 100 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:12,640 Speaker 1: got a slight case of smallpox, which turned out to 101 00:06:12,680 --> 00:06:16,080 Speaker 1: be really valuable because it meant that he was vaccinated. 102 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:21,280 Speaker 1: He also was in a position where he watched life 103 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:24,960 Speaker 1: in the Caribbean and realized he didn't particularly like that life. 104 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:30,280 Speaker 1: Came back home. Was not wealthy. Personally, he's adequately well off, 105 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:31,880 Speaker 1: but he knew he'd have to earn a living, so 106 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:34,840 Speaker 1: became a surveyor. By the time he is nineteen years 107 00:06:34,839 --> 00:06:37,200 Speaker 1: of age, he is surveying. In fact that he got 108 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:39,599 Speaker 1: a little Washington, which is a town that has a 109 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:43,440 Speaker 1: remarkable inn called the Inn, A little Washington, which is 110 00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:45,680 Speaker 1: a Michile in the first place to get a Michan 111 00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:50,360 Speaker 1: star in America. Washington laid out the entire town at 112 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:52,719 Speaker 1: nineteen years of age. Now to give you a sense 113 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:54,600 Speaker 1: of how the world's different. Look at a map, a 114 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:59,520 Speaker 1: little Virginia, and it is about seventy miles west of 115 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:02,720 Speaker 1: Washington and about fifty miles south. That was the frontier, 116 00:07:03,279 --> 00:07:08,400 Speaker 1: not Kentucky, not Texas. I mean Western Virginia was the frontier. 117 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:11,280 Speaker 1: And Washington spent a large part of his youth in 118 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:14,360 Speaker 1: the frontier, first as a surveyor, where he aren't fairly 119 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:17,320 Speaker 1: good money. He also learned something people tend to forget. 120 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:23,000 Speaker 1: Surveyors can look at topography, so when he's a general 121 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:26,280 Speaker 1: officer later he looks at a battlefield with a level 122 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:30,840 Speaker 1: of technical knowledge that no other general officer has because 123 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:34,360 Speaker 1: he knows he knows the distances, because he's surveyed, he 124 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:37,160 Speaker 1: knows the rolling hills, he knows how to look for gullies. 125 00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:39,760 Speaker 1: He knows how in an age when you didn't have 126 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:42,360 Speaker 1: helicopters and you didn't have tanks, and you didn't have cars, 127 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:44,760 Speaker 1: even a small rise is a big deal if the 128 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:47,440 Speaker 1: other guy's got to come up it, because it wears 129 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:50,920 Speaker 1: them out and slows them down. And so he's very 130 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:54,040 Speaker 1: good at looking at terrain and he learned no this 131 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:56,080 Speaker 1: by the time he was nineteen and twenty years of age. 132 00:07:56,480 --> 00:07:59,600 Speaker 1: He's given an assignment. He's very precocious. He's very close 133 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:01,800 Speaker 1: to the Afax family and they are among the largest 134 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:05,760 Speaker 1: landowners in the colony of Virginia. He gets an assignment 135 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:08,840 Speaker 1: to go west. This is supposed to be a peaceful assignment. 136 00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:12,360 Speaker 1: The French should come down from Canada. They have occupied 137 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:16,560 Speaker 1: the place where the Ohio River is formed by two 138 00:08:16,640 --> 00:08:19,760 Speaker 1: rivers coming together, where the Three River Stadium is nowadays. 139 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:22,640 Speaker 1: He's given a letter to take to them that says 140 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:25,480 Speaker 1: you got to get out of here, and the French 141 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:28,600 Speaker 1: basically think you're a nice young guy about we're not 142 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:31,920 Speaker 1: getting out of here, so Washington picks a fight. He's not, 143 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:33,600 Speaker 1: as he was not assigned to pick a fight. He's 144 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:36,920 Speaker 1: just very pugnacious. He's very young. And he then ends 145 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 1: up at a place called Fort Necessity where they stop. 146 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:44,040 Speaker 1: And I've been out visiting Fort Necessity, which still exists 147 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:49,520 Speaker 1: as a national historical monument, and this is clearly a 148 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:52,319 Speaker 1: sign that he's not applying his survey or skills because 149 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:55,079 Speaker 1: the fort is in the bottom of a valley where 150 00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:58,360 Speaker 1: the other guys up above are shooting down at you. Furthermore, 151 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:01,960 Speaker 1: they have huge rain, the place gets totally wet, their 152 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:05,079 Speaker 1: powder gets wet. They have no choice except the surrender. 153 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:08,640 Speaker 1: It very fortunate for America he wasn't killed. I mean, 154 00:09:08,679 --> 00:09:11,240 Speaker 1: at that point, the French and Indians, who are their allies, 155 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:14,480 Speaker 1: are really pissed off at Washington and here's this young 156 00:09:14,520 --> 00:09:17,840 Speaker 1: guy out here picking a fight. And you can literally 157 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:20,480 Speaker 1: argue that the Seven Years War, which we call the 158 00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:22,880 Speaker 1: French Indian War, the Seven Years War, which is a 159 00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:26,600 Speaker 1: global war, gives in India. He goes in Europe, it's 160 00:09:26,640 --> 00:09:29,440 Speaker 1: in North America, it's in the Caribbean, is started by 161 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:32,800 Speaker 1: George Washington, who just picks this fight, and the fight 162 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:36,240 Speaker 1: starts going down. The Washington comes back home. Imagine this 163 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:39,560 Speaker 1: the early twenties, your first biggest signmon. It's a total mess. 164 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:42,440 Speaker 1: So what does he do? He writes a pamphlet. He says, 165 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:44,800 Speaker 1: I was really right. I did exactly the right thing 166 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:46,480 Speaker 1: and the only thing you could have done, and none 167 00:09:46,520 --> 00:09:48,560 Speaker 1: of it was my fault. And I'm really proud of 168 00:09:48,559 --> 00:09:50,839 Speaker 1: the well I played well. The average person doesn't know 169 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:53,000 Speaker 1: anything about what's going on. There's no television, there's no 170 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:57,520 Speaker 1: live coverage from Fort Necessity, and so the only explanation 171 00:09:57,520 --> 00:10:00,920 Speaker 1: of what happened is Washington's and copies of it get 172 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:04,160 Speaker 1: to London, and he's now a persona, He's a real person. 173 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:08,120 Speaker 1: So along comes the British. Finally said okay, this is 174 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:10,240 Speaker 1: going to be a real war. We got to get engaged. 175 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:13,520 Speaker 1: They send an army and Washington gets some of his 176 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:16,920 Speaker 1: first basic lessons, and this is selling. People often forget 177 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:21,400 Speaker 1: Washington learned a lot about war by being at war. 178 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:26,840 Speaker 1: He didn't learn about war by reading theoretical works. And 179 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:31,360 Speaker 1: so they need a colonial advisor. No, the British aristocracy 180 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:35,480 Speaker 1: was totally contemptuous of the colonials. I thought they were 181 00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:38,760 Speaker 1: basically stupid and lazy and cowardly. And furthermore, they want 182 00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:42,160 Speaker 1: British aristocrats. They're also contemptuous of British soldiers and are 183 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:47,400 Speaker 1: contemptuous of Hesh mercenaries because they're British aristocrats. So Washington 184 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:49,840 Speaker 1: is assigned and he has some advice for him. He says, 185 00:10:50,559 --> 00:10:52,559 Speaker 1: it is not helpful to march down the middle of 186 00:10:52,600 --> 00:10:55,880 Speaker 1: the road in red outfits because the other side will 187 00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:58,800 Speaker 1: cheat and they will fire from behind trees and you're 188 00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:01,839 Speaker 1: going to get killed. And General Braddock explains to them, 189 00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:07,440 Speaker 1: you obviously don't understand European warfare, but just relax. They 190 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:09,800 Speaker 1: actually leave. If you go to the Army War College 191 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:12,560 Speaker 1: at Carlisle, you can see the post from which they left, 192 00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:16,040 Speaker 1: and they again remember the Carlo Panslania, which is next 193 00:11:16,080 --> 00:11:19,920 Speaker 1: to Harrisburg, is the beginning of the frontier. So they're 194 00:11:19,920 --> 00:11:24,320 Speaker 1: now marching through the Pennsylvania forest and surprise, surprise, they 195 00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:28,880 Speaker 1: get attacked by people who are cheating. They're wearing outfits 196 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:31,079 Speaker 1: that blend into the forest, and the French are not 197 00:11:31,240 --> 00:11:34,920 Speaker 1: wearing the normal white French uniforms, which they do when 198 00:11:34,920 --> 00:11:37,440 Speaker 1: they're informal warfare, but when they're fighting in the woods, 199 00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:40,640 Speaker 1: they're wearing stuff that fits the woods. The Indians, of course, 200 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:43,440 Speaker 1: have no uniforms anyway, and so the combined French and 201 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:48,079 Speaker 1: Indian force attacks. Braddock is killed almost immediately. The British 202 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:51,800 Speaker 1: force is disintegrating. I mean, they're confused, they're scared, they've 203 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:54,240 Speaker 1: lost the commander. And the one guy who's on the 204 00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:59,439 Speaker 1: tallest horse is Washington, and so Washington starts to rally them, 205 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:01,160 Speaker 1: get them real organized, get them the hell out of 206 00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:05,040 Speaker 1: the way, because they're in real danger of being a massacred. Washington, 207 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:07,880 Speaker 1: in that fight has four bullet holes in his coat 208 00:12:08,559 --> 00:12:11,000 Speaker 1: and has two horses shot out from He reached his 209 00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:13,520 Speaker 1: brother the next day that God must have really been 210 00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:16,319 Speaker 1: protecting him, because at some point one of those bullets 211 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:18,480 Speaker 1: should have hit him, and there was lucky. And then 212 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:21,240 Speaker 1: he began a system being up on these horses, which 213 00:12:21,280 --> 00:12:24,160 Speaker 1: is important for his men's morale because they can see 214 00:12:24,160 --> 00:12:25,959 Speaker 1: they at least have a leader, even if his y colonial. 215 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:28,720 Speaker 1: But at the same time it sort of makes your target. 216 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:32,199 Speaker 1: About a decade later, he runs into an Indian chieftain 217 00:12:32,240 --> 00:12:35,079 Speaker 1: at a tribal council, and the chieftain says, God must 218 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:37,240 Speaker 1: have some big role for you, because I personally shot 219 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:39,920 Speaker 1: at you thirteen times. He said, all of us were 220 00:12:39,920 --> 00:12:42,080 Speaker 1: trying to kill you because he was so obbyous, and 221 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:46,680 Speaker 1: we just couldn't couldn't hit you. That's important later because Washington, 222 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:49,760 Speaker 1: after that fight, in his own mind as a man 223 00:12:49,800 --> 00:13:10,320 Speaker 1: of destiny. So he goes back home, marries a very 224 00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:15,520 Speaker 1: wealthy widow who brings him Mount Vernon, and I think 225 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:18,720 Speaker 1: a genuine love match. She has two children. They never 226 00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:21,760 Speaker 1: have children on their own. Washington raises the children as 227 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:24,760 Speaker 1: his own, and he and Martha entertainment. This is one 228 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:29,400 Speaker 1: of the things to remember Colonial Virginia if you were 229 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:34,080 Speaker 1: reasonably wealthy in Washington. In Land was the wealthiest columnist, 230 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:37,959 Speaker 1: not as wealthy as the Fairfaxes. But the Fairfaxes eventually 231 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:40,720 Speaker 1: leave during the Revolution, at which point he becomes the 232 00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:44,280 Speaker 1: wealthiest person in America in Land, not in money. But 233 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:46,880 Speaker 1: you always entertain. If you look at if you go 234 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:49,080 Speaker 1: to Mount Vernon and you look at the register of 235 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:52,640 Speaker 1: who comes by, there are always people coming to visit. 236 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:57,640 Speaker 1: I mean, at one point later in his life, James 237 00:13:57,640 --> 00:14:00,920 Speaker 1: Madison comes over and spends I think six weeks living 238 00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:05,120 Speaker 1: with Washington, writing, arguing and writing about the Constitution and 239 00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:08,760 Speaker 1: the dis used to this. This is their life. Washington 240 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:12,680 Speaker 1: regularly will ride up to Alexandria, and if you want to, 241 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:16,160 Speaker 1: you can go to Gatsby's Tavern, which still exists, which 242 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:20,080 Speaker 1: was the site of Washington's birthday parties, and would they'd 243 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:21,880 Speaker 1: all ride up together and have a great party and 244 00:14:22,200 --> 00:14:24,560 Speaker 1: have a few drinks. They tended to party during the 245 00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:28,920 Speaker 1: daytime so they could get home around dark. But it 246 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:31,320 Speaker 1: was this was all real. It was a social life. 247 00:14:31,360 --> 00:14:33,440 Speaker 1: It was a nice life. And Washington's faced with the 248 00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:36,480 Speaker 1: same problem as every other American, which is, you are 249 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:41,920 Speaker 1: trying to have a cash based economy with no cash 250 00:14:42,920 --> 00:14:45,720 Speaker 1: and you're dealing with British merchants who are constantly cheating you, 251 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:48,200 Speaker 1: cheating you in the sense that they want to pay 252 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:50,520 Speaker 1: you less for what you sell and charge you more 253 00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:53,680 Speaker 1: for what they sell. So you're always juggling. It's very 254 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:58,359 Speaker 1: tight financial burden and you're not particularly happy with the British. 255 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:02,520 Speaker 1: And Washington irving in public life as a legislator, but 256 00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:06,920 Speaker 1: mostly he's a farmer and a gentleman who is nice 257 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:09,720 Speaker 1: to people. Who come wandering through. And then the British 258 00:15:09,800 --> 00:15:12,560 Speaker 1: decide that they're going to pay for the debt coming 259 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:15,800 Speaker 1: out of the Seven Years' War by raising taxes on 260 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:20,160 Speaker 1: the Americans. And the rationale is not crazy. The rationale is, look, 261 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:22,240 Speaker 1: we saved you from the French, we saved you from 262 00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:25,320 Speaker 1: the Indians. Things are relatively safe. You ought to pay 263 00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:28,800 Speaker 1: your fair share. Now the American attitude is very different. 264 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:32,000 Speaker 1: The American attitude is, you know, it's not our fault 265 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:34,200 Speaker 1: that you're a profigate government in London and that you 266 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:37,880 Speaker 1: waste all your money and they're surrounded by corruption, and no, 267 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:40,200 Speaker 1: we're not going to pay anything. You know, we're happy 268 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:42,400 Speaker 1: to have you around. But frankly, since we no longer 269 00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:44,400 Speaker 1: have any threat from the French, why do we need you? 270 00:15:45,120 --> 00:15:47,720 Speaker 1: And so you have this weird moment where the British 271 00:15:47,800 --> 00:15:50,320 Speaker 1: think that generosity is going to leave the Americans out 272 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:53,000 Speaker 1: of gratitude don't want to pay taxes, and the Americans 273 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:55,360 Speaker 1: are saying no, the very fact that one means we 274 00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:58,640 Speaker 1: don't need you, and Washington in the faction that's fine. 275 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:00,680 Speaker 1: You know, I don't think I want to pay any Texas. 276 00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:03,280 Speaker 1: I mean, I don't like those guys anyway, they're always 277 00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:05,800 Speaker 1: trying to cheat me. He's not a firebrand, he's not 278 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:08,680 Speaker 1: out there saying let's rebell, let's do something. But he's 279 00:16:08,760 --> 00:16:12,880 Speaker 1: clearly in the group around Patrick Henry and others who 280 00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:16,600 Speaker 1: want to stand up to the English. And then, of 281 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:20,040 Speaker 1: course you end up with a series of events. Again, 282 00:16:20,320 --> 00:16:24,160 Speaker 1: thinking yourself as a planter sitting on the Potomac River 283 00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:27,800 Speaker 1: having a nice life. You're not connected by cable TV, 284 00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:30,760 Speaker 1: you're not connected by the internet. You know, you don't 285 00:16:30,760 --> 00:16:34,280 Speaker 1: get any text messages, occasionally read things, and so one 286 00:16:34,360 --> 00:16:36,840 Speaker 1: day you read or you hear from somebody who's riding 287 00:16:36,920 --> 00:16:40,760 Speaker 1: through spending the night that there was the massacre in 288 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:44,920 Speaker 1: Boston and the British, the British troops had shot Americans 289 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:49,120 Speaker 1: who were protesting. Well, you sort of start thinking about that, 290 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:52,560 Speaker 1: and could that happen here? Could it happened at Williamsburg? 291 00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:55,160 Speaker 1: Do I feel a little pissed off that the British 292 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:59,840 Speaker 1: are shooting Americans? And the alienation starts to build, and 293 00:17:00,880 --> 00:17:04,800 Speaker 1: a call goes out to come to Philadelphia and let's 294 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:07,080 Speaker 1: talk about how bad this is getting. And the British 295 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:10,280 Speaker 1: decide to impose taxes that the Americans really getting mad 296 00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:16,439 Speaker 1: about particularly tax on tea, which leads to the Bostonians 297 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:19,960 Speaker 1: dressing up as Indians and having a tea party, throwing 298 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:23,560 Speaker 1: all the Indian East Indian Company tea into the river. 299 00:17:23,760 --> 00:17:26,840 Speaker 1: And ironically, the British thought they were being clever because 300 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:29,919 Speaker 1: they actually had organized it so that the price or 301 00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:33,680 Speaker 1: tea would be less under the new rules, even though 302 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:37,280 Speaker 1: you paid taxes and the Americans got none. Now it's 303 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:40,840 Speaker 1: the principle, we don't care that it's cheaper, we care 304 00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:43,160 Speaker 1: that part of the money goes to you, and we're 305 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:46,240 Speaker 1: not going to pay your money. And so they're cheerfully 306 00:17:46,240 --> 00:17:48,800 Speaker 1: throwing all of these bales of tea, which are very valuable, 307 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:52,800 Speaker 1: into the Boston harbor, which really makes the British pretty mad. 308 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:55,080 Speaker 1: And so the British decide that they're going to close 309 00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:58,879 Speaker 1: down on Boston and ultimately isolate the city of Boston 310 00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:01,840 Speaker 1: to punish it, in the theory that that will then 311 00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:04,879 Speaker 1: scare the rest of the Americans into being obedient. But 312 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:07,560 Speaker 1: what it really does is just makes him angry. So 313 00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:10,880 Speaker 1: the call goes out, they meet and what is called 314 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:13,800 Speaker 1: the Continental Congress, which is a huge breakthrough. I mean, 315 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:17,639 Speaker 1: these people hadn't thought of themselves as Americans. There were Virginians, 316 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:22,919 Speaker 1: they were Georgians, they were Massachusetts. They spoke very different 317 00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:25,480 Speaker 1: dialects in the sense of the tone of their language, 318 00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:29,160 Speaker 1: the patterns they ate differently, and they hadn't really begun 319 00:18:29,200 --> 00:18:33,000 Speaker 1: to identify that they were Americans. And now they have 320 00:18:33,119 --> 00:18:35,120 Speaker 1: this problem in Washington. Is one of the people who 321 00:18:35,160 --> 00:18:38,479 Speaker 1: is drifting towards being more and more alienated and more 322 00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:41,119 Speaker 1: and more angry, and he's ultimately affected, I think in 323 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:45,520 Speaker 1: part by Benjamin Franklin. Franklin is a world class scientists 324 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:48,840 Speaker 1: recognized all over the world. He is a very successful 325 00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:52,280 Speaker 1: businessman who makes enough money by forty to sell his 326 00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:55,679 Speaker 1: businesses and to vote himself to public life. He writes 327 00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:59,520 Speaker 1: Poor Richards Almanac every year and is very widely known 328 00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:04,640 Speaker 1: as the first postmaster General of the colonies, and therefore 329 00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:07,439 Speaker 1: has connections at all of the colonies because he handles 330 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:10,240 Speaker 1: the mail. And he is sent by the Colony of 331 00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:14,280 Speaker 1: Pennsylvania to London to plead with the British and to 332 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:17,560 Speaker 1: basically say, look, there's some things we need solved and 333 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:20,280 Speaker 1: we can be nice. And he spends about seven or 334 00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:25,359 Speaker 1: eight years in London and he ends up suddenly realizing 335 00:19:26,119 --> 00:19:30,520 Speaker 1: they'll never accept him. They're aristocrats. He's not an aristocrat, 336 00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:33,120 Speaker 1: even though he's a world famous scientist, even though he's 337 00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:37,200 Speaker 1: wealthier than some of the aristocrats. There'll never be anything 338 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:43,240 Speaker 1: in British society. And it's just totally infuriates And somebody 339 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:46,040 Speaker 1: once wrote that he left America as an Englishman and 340 00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:49,800 Speaker 1: he returned as an American, and so his spirit made 341 00:19:49,840 --> 00:19:53,240 Speaker 1: He's very widely respected. The people like Washington looked to 342 00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:56,080 Speaker 1: him and say, you know, you've been there, you've lived there. 343 00:19:56,160 --> 00:19:59,600 Speaker 1: What do you think And he's basically saying, I don't 344 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:01,800 Speaker 1: think we have any choice. These people are never going 345 00:20:01,840 --> 00:20:05,800 Speaker 1: to treat us fairly. They think they were servants. And 346 00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:09,680 Speaker 1: so the spirit begins to build, and the British began 347 00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:13,040 Speaker 1: sending troops to Boston. They're determined to crush the spirit 348 00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:16,040 Speaker 1: of resistance, and they think that if they can break Boston, 349 00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:20,280 Speaker 1: that will symbolically shift the whole country. Now, one of 350 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:24,359 Speaker 1: the myths about Washington is that he's sort of self effacing, 351 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:29,200 Speaker 1: that he's this guy who really wasn't ambitious. But I've 352 00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:30,919 Speaker 1: always saw one of the most telling things in the 353 00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:35,720 Speaker 1: comminal Congress, there is only one person wearing a military uniform. 354 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:38,679 Speaker 1: He's also one of the two biggest people of Jefferson 355 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:41,760 Speaker 1: and the other Jefferson stim but tall, very tall. The 356 00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:45,399 Speaker 1: Washington is big. I see this huge guy walking around 357 00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:50,840 Speaker 1: on the uniform of a Virginia militia and saying to everybody, 358 00:20:51,359 --> 00:20:54,840 Speaker 1: of course, I wouldn't want to go to Boston. I 359 00:20:55,240 --> 00:20:56,919 Speaker 1: don't want you to think I'm a military man just 360 00:20:56,920 --> 00:21:00,280 Speaker 1: because I'm standing here in my uniform, but just it 361 00:21:00,359 --> 00:21:03,320 Speaker 1: was the appropriate thing to wear. And gradually they all 362 00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:05,919 Speaker 1: look around and he's saying, baha, because they have a 363 00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:10,440 Speaker 1: problem politically. They need a Southerner to go to Boston 364 00:21:11,359 --> 00:21:15,520 Speaker 1: because they need to unify colonies. They can't appoint a 365 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:18,560 Speaker 1: Bostonian or a New Hampshire right to be commander of 366 00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:23,240 Speaker 1: the army because they'll have no linkage to New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, 367 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:26,200 Speaker 1: and Virginia is the biggest colony and wealth and population 368 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:31,080 Speaker 1: at that point, so they can turn to Washington. He says, 369 00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:35,080 Speaker 1: with great reluctance, I will accept this burden, although I 370 00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:38,600 Speaker 1: fear that I will be inadequate and I probably will fail. 371 00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:41,760 Speaker 1: But as long as you recognize that I'm only doing 372 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:46,200 Speaker 1: this because you wanted me to. I will go to Boston. 373 00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:49,720 Speaker 1: And I think it's hard for us to realize. You're 374 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:54,760 Speaker 1: this guy who's in many ways in aristocrat. He's very wealthy. 375 00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:57,320 Speaker 1: You know, he rides a horse very well in the 376 00:21:57,400 --> 00:21:59,680 Speaker 1: style of arist If you're a farmer, you don't ride 377 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:02,080 Speaker 1: a horse the way George Washington does. He rode to 378 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:04,800 Speaker 1: the Foxes and he shows up, and you have to 379 00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:09,320 Speaker 1: think about this. You have a new England Army and 380 00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:12,560 Speaker 1: this weird guy shows up from Virginia, speaking in slightly 381 00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:16,119 Speaker 1: strange English and with an attitude of being sort of 382 00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:20,400 Speaker 1: a little muste and a little you know, and he's 383 00:22:20,400 --> 00:22:23,160 Speaker 1: got to really think about this because he realizes he's 384 00:22:23,160 --> 00:22:25,320 Speaker 1: got to find a way to get all these lenders 385 00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:29,560 Speaker 1: to follow him, or he's got a problem. And so 386 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:31,800 Speaker 1: he really works at it, and he spends a lot 387 00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:34,920 Speaker 1: of time with the troops. And again, I think there's 388 00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:39,720 Speaker 1: an advantage that we underestimate. If you imagine this as 389 00:22:39,760 --> 00:22:43,040 Speaker 1: a movie scene, you'd have this, as I said, a 390 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:44,959 Speaker 1: guy in the modern era who's the size of an 391 00:22:45,119 --> 00:22:50,040 Speaker 1: NFL offensive lineman. But you're walking around the camp. Well, 392 00:22:50,119 --> 00:22:52,800 Speaker 1: it's pretty obvious when he walks around the camp because 393 00:22:52,800 --> 00:22:56,240 Speaker 1: he towers over everybody. He's also the strongest guy in 394 00:22:56,280 --> 00:22:59,480 Speaker 1: the army. Well, it gives them a certain sense of 395 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:03,439 Speaker 1: immediate acceptance that he should be the leader. And he 396 00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:07,560 Speaker 1: designs a very intelligent strategy and they move the cannon 397 00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:10,400 Speaker 1: in a position where the British have to flee. And 398 00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:12,440 Speaker 1: so Washington, in a matter of a couple of months 399 00:23:12,440 --> 00:23:15,320 Speaker 1: has driven the British out of Boston, which is an 400 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:19,480 Speaker 1: enormous achievement. And at that point you can imagine everybody's 401 00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:24,240 Speaker 1: excited and everybody's positive, and there's a problem because of 402 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:28,600 Speaker 1: the British chavonaty and they're not leaving. They just left Boston. 403 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:32,199 Speaker 1: They went to Canada or regroup, and they're probably going 404 00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:33,840 Speaker 1: to come back to New York, which is in many 405 00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:37,440 Speaker 1: ways the keytown for the whole the whole war, because 406 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:40,040 Speaker 1: it's it's a big port at links. If you can 407 00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:43,080 Speaker 1: break New York, then you cut off New England from 408 00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:46,480 Speaker 1: the rest of the country. So Washington takes his army 409 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:49,920 Speaker 1: and marches to New York, and they feel them pretty 410 00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:53,600 Speaker 1: good about themselves. And in his first grade outing he's 411 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:59,680 Speaker 1: been very successful and he has their clish independence read 412 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:04,640 Speaker 1: to every money, and they're all pumped up, and they 413 00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:08,280 Speaker 1: have a real problem. It's not a very good army. 414 00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:11,000 Speaker 1: They're not trained very well, they don't have very good equipment, 415 00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:13,760 Speaker 1: and they're up against the best army in the world 416 00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:19,080 Speaker 1: in the British Land and just knock them all over 417 00:24:19,119 --> 00:24:21,960 Speaker 1: the place, capture a bunch of them, kill a bunch 418 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:24,920 Speaker 1: of them, and they're in real danger of being annihilated. 419 00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:28,600 Speaker 1: And one of those miracles of Washington refers to when 420 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:32,359 Speaker 1: he has said later in life that anybody who thinks 421 00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:37,760 Speaker 1: that God wasn't watching over us, he used the word providence, 422 00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:44,120 Speaker 1: misunderstands how it happened. Because what happens is the Gloucester 423 00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:47,320 Speaker 1: fishermen come and say, look, we can get the army 424 00:24:47,359 --> 00:24:51,000 Speaker 1: across and get you out of Brooklyn before you're annihilated. 425 00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:54,840 Speaker 1: If we go at night and the Royal Navy probably 426 00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:57,760 Speaker 1: won't see us, and we'll get certainly a large part 427 00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:00,439 Speaker 1: of you across. Well, the night lady said to do this, 428 00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:06,280 Speaker 1: a huge fog rolls in and the British can't see anything. 429 00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:10,320 Speaker 1: And so Washington's getting these troops and he goes last. 430 00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:13,000 Speaker 1: He's getting all these troops in these boats. They're rolling 431 00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:16,920 Speaker 1: across to Manhattan, but they've been beaten. There's no question 432 00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:19,840 Speaker 1: they they just ran head out into the British and lost. 433 00:25:20,840 --> 00:25:25,680 Speaker 1: They get into Manhattan, well, they're this huge problem. One 434 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:30,440 Speaker 1: British man of war has more artillery than the entire 435 00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:33,120 Speaker 1: American army has at any point in the Relish War. 436 00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:38,000 Speaker 1: These are big ships. They're the equivalent of modern naval aircraft. Players. 437 00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:41,399 Speaker 1: They're powerful and if you're close to water, they're going 438 00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:44,960 Speaker 1: to just knock you about with artillery. And so they're 439 00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:49,600 Speaker 1: driven out of Manhattan. Were they losing him? And at 440 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:53,680 Speaker 1: one point General Rene of Rhode Island is probably his best. 441 00:25:53,720 --> 00:25:56,600 Speaker 1: General has this clever idea. We're going to name this 442 00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:59,760 Speaker 1: fort Fort Washington, and the moral effect of defending for 443 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:05,040 Speaker 1: Washington three thousand men will stand firm well or Washington 444 00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:09,080 Speaker 1: falls because in fact they're not capable of fighting the version. 445 00:26:09,920 --> 00:26:13,720 Speaker 1: So Washington suggests agreement in the future they should probably 446 00:26:13,760 --> 00:26:16,920 Speaker 1: not try, and gimmicks looked, and he flees across to 447 00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:19,800 Speaker 1: White Plains, and then he flees across into New Jersey 448 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:23,560 Speaker 1: and a week by week he gets smaller, tirer, more defeated. 449 00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:28,760 Speaker 1: Washington who's a very smart guy about people in a 450 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:32,320 Speaker 1: way that you wouldn't expect given his austerity. Washington knows 451 00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:36,240 Speaker 1: that Thomas Paine has written tremendously important pamphlet on the 452 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:40,879 Speaker 1: revolution and probably the best selling pamphlet describing the revolution, 453 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:43,400 Speaker 1: and so he goes to him and he says, look, 454 00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:46,159 Speaker 1: you wrote that when everything was great in the summer. 455 00:26:47,359 --> 00:26:49,720 Speaker 1: We had a problem because all of us thought we 456 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:52,200 Speaker 1: were going to win easily, and now we're getting beat 457 00:26:52,920 --> 00:26:57,080 Speaker 1: and I need a new pamphlet, and so paid, I 458 00:26:57,080 --> 00:26:59,119 Speaker 1: don't need you to be a rifle. Pain's actually in 459 00:26:59,119 --> 00:27:02,000 Speaker 1: the army and he says, you'd written common Sense. It's 460 00:27:02,119 --> 00:27:06,040 Speaker 1: the most widely read explanation of the revolution, and he says, 461 00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:09,680 Speaker 1: go to Philadelphia and write, explain to us what we're 462 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:16,359 Speaker 1: living through. And so Pain writes the Crisis which begins. 463 00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:21,400 Speaker 1: These are the times the trimen souls and people read 464 00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:23,919 Speaker 1: it and they said, they go, oh, yeah, this is 465 00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:28,119 Speaker 1: what I'm living through. And Pain basically says, luck, you know, 466 00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:30,240 Speaker 1: hell is going to grab on to you as long 467 00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:32,200 Speaker 1: as it can, and it's not going to be easy 468 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:34,960 Speaker 1: to be and you've got to be and he compares 469 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:37,640 Speaker 1: basically fighting the British trying to fight your way out 470 00:27:37,680 --> 00:27:41,520 Speaker 1: of hell. And people read it and they go, look, okay, 471 00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:43,399 Speaker 1: it's not going to be easy. It's not going to 472 00:27:43,440 --> 00:27:47,639 Speaker 1: be this week. So Washington ends up Christmas Day. The 473 00:27:47,760 --> 00:27:53,000 Speaker 1: week before Christmas, he's dropped from thirty thousand men to 474 00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:59,480 Speaker 1: five thousand. Of the five thousand twenty five hundred or sick, 475 00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:03,520 Speaker 1: so he's actually got twenty five hundred effectives. Of the 476 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:06,959 Speaker 1: twenty five hundred effectives, one third do not have boots 477 00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:10,800 Speaker 1: and are actually marching in burlout bags, leaving a trail 478 00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:14,600 Speaker 1: of blood. So Washington is sitting here twenty five hundred 479 00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:19,400 Speaker 1: men left. Across the river in New Jersey, Washington Pennsylvania. 480 00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:22,280 Speaker 1: Across the river in New Jersey is the British Army, 481 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:27,080 Speaker 1: and Washington brings all of his generals and says, we 482 00:28:27,119 --> 00:28:30,040 Speaker 1: have a really big problem. We don't win a victory. 483 00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:35,440 Speaker 1: Most of our men actually expire in their enlistment sometime 484 00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:41,200 Speaker 1: in January. If they don't have some reason to stay, 485 00:28:41,320 --> 00:28:44,440 Speaker 1: we will have no army left. So we have to 486 00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:50,000 Speaker 1: win something. So I propose let's cross the Delaware at 487 00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:55,720 Speaker 1: night during a snowstorm in the ice. March eleven, miles 488 00:28:55,760 --> 00:29:00,920 Speaker 1: to travel surprise the British Army, actually the cash who 489 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:05,000 Speaker 1: were there, who were paid mercenaries, but which was an 490 00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:09,120 Speaker 1: honorable job back then, and then we'll have won a 491 00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:11,880 Speaker 1: great victory and then people will be excited and be okay. 492 00:29:12,400 --> 00:29:14,320 Speaker 1: Every one of his generals looks at him like he's 493 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:18,240 Speaker 1: and said, and they go, we've been we've been losing. 494 00:29:18,320 --> 00:29:22,960 Speaker 1: Now since September, we've shrunk down from thirty to twenty 495 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:26,920 Speaker 1: five hundred, and Washington has a plan which has three 496 00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:29,360 Speaker 1: units that are going to cross the river at three 497 00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:32,720 Speaker 1: different places in the coordinated attack, which even a first 498 00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:34,480 Speaker 1: class professional army would have had a hard time to 499 00:29:34,480 --> 00:29:38,520 Speaker 1: do it. And they're just staring at him. And it's 500 00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:40,800 Speaker 1: really important at this point to go back and think 501 00:29:40,840 --> 00:29:47,239 Speaker 1: about Washington in the ambush, because he's sitting there as 502 00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:49,480 Speaker 1: a guy who's had two horses shot off from under 503 00:29:49,560 --> 00:29:52,080 Speaker 1: him and four bullet holes, and he sent him you 504 00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:54,720 Speaker 1: got to take risks. You know. They are all guys 505 00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:56,840 Speaker 1: who hadn't had that experience, and they're going, I don't 506 00:29:56,680 --> 00:29:58,480 Speaker 1: want to take are you crazy? I don't want to 507 00:29:58,480 --> 00:30:01,120 Speaker 1: take this risk? And then he as the winning argument. 508 00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:07,200 Speaker 1: He says, look this army disappears. The revolutions over, the 509 00:30:07,240 --> 00:30:12,600 Speaker 1: revolution's over. We're all going to be harm so you 510 00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:16,720 Speaker 1: don't have anything to us, So we might as well 511 00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:19,400 Speaker 1: try to wound, because at least that way we have 512 00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:23,680 Speaker 1: a shot. So they cross over, and interestingly he has 513 00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:28,560 Speaker 1: the officers who can read, reading pains the crisis to 514 00:30:28,680 --> 00:30:32,080 Speaker 1: the troops as they get in the boats. Again, this 515 00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:35,200 Speaker 1: is not this isn't a very subtle man he has. 516 00:30:35,360 --> 00:30:38,400 Speaker 1: He's got to get them morale up and then stay line. 517 00:30:38,560 --> 00:30:41,360 Speaker 1: Malsey dun One said all power comes out of the 518 00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:45,400 Speaker 1: end of a rifle, and somebody corrected it and said, no, 519 00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:48,040 Speaker 1: all power comes from the person is willing to shoot 520 00:30:48,040 --> 00:30:52,520 Speaker 1: the road. And it's exactly right. You've got to keep 521 00:30:52,600 --> 00:30:55,640 Speaker 1: them morale up. So he takes his twenty five men 522 00:30:56,360 --> 00:30:59,959 Speaker 1: and then, in a situation which can only be describe 523 00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:05,160 Speaker 1: as a miracle, they cross over. There's this huge snowstorm 524 00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:09,080 Speaker 1: coming from the north, which means it's coming to their back, 525 00:31:09,160 --> 00:31:12,120 Speaker 1: but it's coming to the face of the Hessian troops. 526 00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:18,280 Speaker 1: The Hashians run into a small Virginia unit which is 527 00:31:18,280 --> 00:31:21,080 Speaker 1: off on its own without any authority, which arouses them 528 00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:23,480 Speaker 1: about two or three in the morning, they jump up 529 00:31:23,520 --> 00:31:25,680 Speaker 1: to the stand arms. They're all getting cold and wet, 530 00:31:26,080 --> 00:31:28,520 Speaker 1: and this small unit takes off. The Washington runs into 531 00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:31,840 Speaker 1: this unit and thinks they've ruined the chance of success. 532 00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:35,080 Speaker 1: The Hessians are going to be awake, probably gonna get slaughtered. 533 00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:39,160 Speaker 1: ABO what the hell with choice? Well, just the opposite happened. 534 00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:41,880 Speaker 1: The Hashians stand outside for about an hour. They get 535 00:31:41,920 --> 00:31:44,760 Speaker 1: totally soaked. They realize that this was just a burly 536 00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:47,280 Speaker 1: unit that was wandering through. They all go to bed. 537 00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:49,880 Speaker 1: It's not that the Hassions were drunk. The Hashians were 538 00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:51,640 Speaker 1: in the middle of a snowstorm. Now here's the key 539 00:31:51,680 --> 00:31:55,360 Speaker 1: thing to remember. In Europe, there are no real battles 540 00:31:55,400 --> 00:32:00,200 Speaker 1: fought in winter. From I think seventeen sixty seven to 541 00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:04,560 Speaker 1: nineteen forty four, the German Army never launches a winter offence. 542 00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:08,000 Speaker 1: Frederick eight launch is the last one. I think it's 543 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:10,720 Speaker 1: in seven to sixty seven, and then the Battle of 544 00:32:10,720 --> 00:32:15,200 Speaker 1: Aldron forty four because winter is hard, I mean, it's 545 00:32:15,240 --> 00:32:18,800 Speaker 1: cold and it's miserable. Americans deer hunt in the winter. 546 00:32:19,640 --> 00:32:22,719 Speaker 1: Americans are all in the woods in the winter. So 547 00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:25,600 Speaker 1: the Americans are gone, Oh we got a snowstone, Okay, 548 00:32:26,120 --> 00:32:27,920 Speaker 1: passions are gone. We're going to Snowstone a stay in 549 00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:30,800 Speaker 1: the house because no rational European army would be out 550 00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:35,640 Speaker 1: in a snowstone, so they're safe. Well, they wake up 551 00:32:35,640 --> 00:32:38,040 Speaker 1: in the morning and Trendon back then is a very 552 00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:41,959 Speaker 1: small town and has just two streets, and so if 553 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:44,560 Speaker 1: you put cannon at the end of the two streets, 554 00:32:44,880 --> 00:32:48,080 Speaker 1: you control the town. And the Hashians are all in 555 00:32:48,120 --> 00:32:51,880 Speaker 1: these little houses and they can't get out of them, 556 00:32:51,920 --> 00:32:56,480 Speaker 1: and they finally get semi organized. Washington captures eight hundred 557 00:32:56,920 --> 00:33:00,480 Speaker 1: first class professional soldiers for the loss of one American 558 00:33:01,560 --> 00:33:04,480 Speaker 1: and then does a very intelligent thing. They run like 559 00:33:04,560 --> 00:33:09,040 Speaker 1: hill because the British army's going and they get across 560 00:33:09,120 --> 00:33:12,719 Speaker 1: the river before the British can get there. Now victory 561 00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:15,840 Speaker 1: really matters. They go from twenty five hundred effectives within 562 00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:19,160 Speaker 1: two weeks to fifteen thousand because people, this is cool, 563 00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:23,080 Speaker 1: we're winning, saying the fact up as a football, you know, 564 00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:24,800 Speaker 1: people like to go to the game where they win. 565 00:33:24,960 --> 00:33:27,040 Speaker 1: So they show up in Washington is enough troops to 566 00:33:27,040 --> 00:33:30,240 Speaker 1: go back across the river, and one of those important 567 00:33:30,280 --> 00:33:35,640 Speaker 1: examples of Washington system, they get to Trenton this time 568 00:33:35,840 --> 00:33:38,560 Speaker 1: corn Wallace and the British are ready. They are charging 569 00:33:38,600 --> 00:33:44,840 Speaker 1: down the road from Princeton. Washington calls a council of war, 570 00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:47,680 Speaker 1: and in the Council of War they are two farmers. 571 00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:52,640 Speaker 1: And I always said I'm teaching military courses. I always 572 00:33:52,680 --> 00:33:55,280 Speaker 1: say that the officers, why do you think they are 573 00:33:55,280 --> 00:33:58,160 Speaker 1: two farmers? Because they are the only two people who 574 00:33:58,240 --> 00:34:01,560 Speaker 1: knew the territory. So the British would never have done 575 00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:04,720 Speaker 1: this because as an aristocrat, you don't listen to farmers. 576 00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:08,160 Speaker 1: They haven't had military training. They only have one great advantage. 577 00:34:08,160 --> 00:34:11,000 Speaker 1: They actually know the neighborhood. Well, it turns out that 578 00:34:11,040 --> 00:34:14,520 Speaker 1: there is a sunken road on the south side of Trenton. 579 00:34:15,360 --> 00:34:19,040 Speaker 1: He goes from Trenton to Princeton that you cannot see 580 00:34:19,320 --> 00:34:21,600 Speaker 1: if you're on the northern road from Princeton to Trenton. 581 00:34:22,680 --> 00:34:24,839 Speaker 1: So Washington takes his in Tara Harm. He runs down 582 00:34:24,840 --> 00:34:27,319 Speaker 1: the road and the British are running towards Trenton. He's 583 00:34:27,360 --> 00:34:32,360 Speaker 1: running towards Princeton, And my favorite Washington painting is Washington 584 00:34:32,400 --> 00:34:37,400 Speaker 1: and Princeton with the cannon sitting there and the British 585 00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:40,600 Speaker 1: captured British flags behind it, and Washington at this point 586 00:34:40,760 --> 00:34:45,720 Speaker 1: is about forty four years old, is standing jauntily leaning 587 00:34:45,719 --> 00:34:48,520 Speaker 1: on a British cannon, looking like the fox hunner who 588 00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:52,000 Speaker 1: has caught the fox. I mean it's the best picture 589 00:34:52,040 --> 00:34:54,360 Speaker 1: because we tend to see Washington backwards. We see the 590 00:34:54,400 --> 00:34:57,600 Speaker 1: guy who's president late in his life. This is still 591 00:34:57,600 --> 00:35:05,960 Speaker 1: a young, energetic, aggressive guy. So the revolutionists survived, and 592 00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:10,160 Speaker 1: Washington's now in a position to continue to develop the army. 593 00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:15,759 Speaker 1: But it's an important remember this is not everybody worships Washington. 594 00:35:16,440 --> 00:35:19,080 Speaker 1: I mean, if you're not in the army with Washington, 595 00:35:19,080 --> 00:35:21,560 Speaker 1: you're thinking, this guy's not had a very good run here. 596 00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:25,120 Speaker 1: I mean, okay, did okay in Boston? Got cleaned out 597 00:35:25,120 --> 00:35:27,319 Speaker 1: in New York, I cleaned out in New Jersey. I 598 00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:30,960 Speaker 1: mean can we do better? Of course, during this period, 599 00:35:31,680 --> 00:35:36,560 Speaker 1: when the Americans win at Saratoga, with the British army collapses, 600 00:35:37,280 --> 00:35:40,640 Speaker 1: you suddenly have an interest in somebody other than Washington. 601 00:35:40,960 --> 00:35:44,080 Speaker 1: So there's about a third of the continent of Congress 602 00:35:44,280 --> 00:35:48,480 Speaker 1: would like to fare Washington and is actively plotting. And 603 00:35:48,640 --> 00:35:51,000 Speaker 1: one of the reasons when Washington ends up the next 604 00:35:51,080 --> 00:35:54,680 Speaker 1: year going into Valley Forge, where he'd been promised it'd 605 00:35:54,719 --> 00:35:58,840 Speaker 1: be food there'd be equipment to build houses, etc. And 606 00:35:58,880 --> 00:36:18,880 Speaker 1: they had nothing. People in Congress are deliberately setting him 607 00:36:18,960 --> 00:36:22,400 Speaker 1: up to fail because they wouldn't get rid of it. 608 00:36:23,560 --> 00:36:26,400 Speaker 1: And again you get a sense of washington subtlety. Washington, 609 00:36:26,800 --> 00:36:30,800 Speaker 1: who had no children himself, had basically adopted the Marquis 610 00:36:30,800 --> 00:36:33,680 Speaker 1: de Lafayette, who was in his early twenties, as kind 611 00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:38,640 Speaker 1: of like a stepson. He loved Lafayette, Lafayette loved him, 612 00:36:38,680 --> 00:36:41,440 Speaker 1: and so Lafayette happens to write a letter to the Congress. 613 00:36:42,440 --> 00:36:45,960 Speaker 1: It says, you know, French King thinks so highly of 614 00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:50,800 Speaker 1: General Washington that if something were to happen to him 615 00:36:50,840 --> 00:36:54,040 Speaker 1: and he was no longer in command, I really fear 616 00:36:54,200 --> 00:36:59,880 Speaker 1: that all French money, French ammunition, French uniforms, French assistance 617 00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:03,920 Speaker 1: would disappear. And I, certainly, because of my deep belief 618 00:37:03,920 --> 00:37:08,399 Speaker 1: in the Revolution, wouldn't want that to happen. Well, that's it. 619 00:37:09,280 --> 00:37:13,920 Speaker 1: Washington has reasserted that he's in charge. He also understands 620 00:37:13,920 --> 00:37:16,120 Speaker 1: that he still doesn't have a very good army. And 621 00:37:16,360 --> 00:37:20,480 Speaker 1: a guy shows up named mon Streuven, who is a 622 00:37:20,560 --> 00:37:23,799 Speaker 1: character in his own right. I mean almost somebody could 623 00:37:23,800 --> 00:37:29,880 Speaker 1: do an entire novel but he's a German officer, claims 624 00:37:29,920 --> 00:37:33,120 Speaker 1: more credit than he really deserves, claims higher rank than 625 00:37:33,160 --> 00:37:37,160 Speaker 1: he really deserves, shows up and says, you know, I 626 00:37:37,200 --> 00:37:40,000 Speaker 1: can train your army, and this is one of those miracles, 627 00:37:40,040 --> 00:37:43,000 Speaker 1: a little bit like Washington listening to farmers. He's when 628 00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:46,160 Speaker 1: Strouyman looks around for a little while and realizes, if 629 00:37:46,200 --> 00:37:50,600 Speaker 1: I try to apply European systems, they will all rebel 630 00:37:51,880 --> 00:37:55,320 Speaker 1: because they're Americans. So I can't just go and enforce 631 00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:58,319 Speaker 1: the ban in Europe. I can force obedience because the 632 00:37:58,360 --> 00:38:02,640 Speaker 1: peasants expect me to force In the US all you know, 633 00:38:02,680 --> 00:38:05,680 Speaker 1: those have thrown me out. And so he figures out, 634 00:38:05,760 --> 00:38:09,640 Speaker 1: you have to tell Americans why you're doing it. But 635 00:38:09,719 --> 00:38:11,680 Speaker 1: if you'll tell them why you're doing it, they actually 636 00:38:11,760 --> 00:38:15,400 Speaker 1: learned faster than the Europeans. And so he begins to 637 00:38:15,400 --> 00:38:19,280 Speaker 1: train his army. And when they're in Valley Forge, Orton 638 00:38:19,280 --> 00:38:22,839 Speaker 1: again is very careful about a number of things. They 639 00:38:22,880 --> 00:38:25,080 Speaker 1: have a huge bakehouse which makes all the bread for 640 00:38:25,120 --> 00:38:30,680 Speaker 1: the army, and they turn it into a theater, and 641 00:38:30,719 --> 00:38:33,280 Speaker 1: so they make bread in the morning. In the evening 642 00:38:33,360 --> 00:38:37,880 Speaker 1: they have plays. Orshaton's favorite play is Kato, which is 643 00:38:37,920 --> 00:38:42,640 Speaker 1: a remarkable study. In the eighteenth century Britain, you could 644 00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:45,120 Speaker 1: not directly attack the king because that would be treason. 645 00:38:46,160 --> 00:38:48,480 Speaker 1: So they tended to write about the Romans, because you 646 00:38:48,480 --> 00:38:51,399 Speaker 1: could write about tyranny and corruption in Rome, and that's 647 00:38:51,440 --> 00:38:54,200 Speaker 1: not really attacking the king, although everybody who sees the 648 00:38:54,200 --> 00:38:57,799 Speaker 1: play knows you're talking about the king. So Cato is 649 00:38:57,840 --> 00:39:03,800 Speaker 1: about the Roman senator who, at the time of Caesar, 650 00:39:05,600 --> 00:39:10,320 Speaker 1: refuses to accept Caesar as the head of the government, 651 00:39:11,200 --> 00:39:15,919 Speaker 1: and Caesar ultimately chases him across the Mediterranean and ends 652 00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:19,440 Speaker 1: up face to face and says, look, I want you 653 00:39:19,480 --> 00:39:22,319 Speaker 1: to live. You're my friend, I really believe in you. 654 00:39:22,880 --> 00:39:26,479 Speaker 1: All you have to do is swear loyalty and you'll 655 00:39:26,520 --> 00:39:30,800 Speaker 1: be rich and happy to us joy and Kato basically says, 656 00:39:31,200 --> 00:39:34,520 Speaker 1: you know, my son's already been killed. Freedom is worth everything, 657 00:39:34,560 --> 00:39:38,919 Speaker 1: and would rather die as a free person than live 658 00:39:38,960 --> 00:39:42,279 Speaker 1: swearing loyally. View this is Washington's favorite play. He cried 659 00:39:42,280 --> 00:39:44,920 Speaker 1: every time he saw it, and it was the center 660 00:39:45,040 --> 00:39:48,680 Speaker 1: in the way of Washington's own belief that he is 661 00:39:48,719 --> 00:39:51,920 Speaker 1: in rebellion because he is a freeman and he is 662 00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:55,319 Speaker 1: not going to give him and so they would I 663 00:39:55,320 --> 00:39:58,759 Speaker 1: think they showed it three times that winner, and then 664 00:39:58,800 --> 00:40:01,600 Speaker 1: they showed other things. He was very concerned about morale. 665 00:40:02,080 --> 00:40:03,960 Speaker 1: How do you keep morale up? And they began to 666 00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:06,840 Speaker 1: build a real army. They collide with the British shortly 667 00:40:06,840 --> 00:40:10,239 Speaker 1: after Valley Forge and they beat them head to head, 668 00:40:10,680 --> 00:40:13,560 Speaker 1: and the British suddenly realized they have a real problem. 669 00:40:13,840 --> 00:40:16,640 Speaker 1: They can no longer count on the Americans breaking them. 670 00:40:16,880 --> 00:40:21,000 Speaker 1: Washington then chases them across New Jersey and the British 671 00:40:21,080 --> 00:40:24,080 Speaker 1: ended up going back into New York City where the 672 00:40:24,160 --> 00:40:27,160 Speaker 1: Royal Navy can sustain them. Now by this stage you've 673 00:40:27,200 --> 00:40:29,400 Speaker 1: also got a French army showing up, you have a 674 00:40:29,440 --> 00:40:32,640 Speaker 1: French navy occasionally showing up, your French money showing up, 675 00:40:32,680 --> 00:40:39,080 Speaker 1: which is really important. But Washington can't win. You cannot 676 00:40:39,120 --> 00:40:42,359 Speaker 1: break into New York. You can't drive the British out 677 00:40:42,400 --> 00:40:44,800 Speaker 1: of New York. And what the British have done is 678 00:40:44,840 --> 00:40:49,520 Speaker 1: they've got Washington sucked into basically laying siege to New York, 679 00:40:50,280 --> 00:40:53,440 Speaker 1: while the British army is moving troops into South Carolina 680 00:40:53,440 --> 00:40:57,279 Speaker 1: and Georgia and trying to reconquer the colonies from the 681 00:40:57,280 --> 00:41:01,120 Speaker 1: South coming north, which turns out also to fail because 682 00:41:01,640 --> 00:41:05,600 Speaker 1: Washington sains Green. He was his best general, and they 683 00:41:05,719 --> 00:41:09,760 Speaker 1: organized a girl of warfare and ultimately organized regular warfare 684 00:41:10,160 --> 00:41:13,120 Speaker 1: and gradually started chewing up the British in the South. 685 00:41:13,360 --> 00:41:16,680 Speaker 1: But as the Southern War is a really miserable, nasty war, 686 00:41:17,160 --> 00:41:19,000 Speaker 1: and it was good that Washington couldn't go there because 687 00:41:19,000 --> 00:41:23,560 Speaker 1: he would not have liked it. It isn't who he wanted. 688 00:41:23,840 --> 00:41:27,120 Speaker 1: He believed deeply you had to have a regular army 689 00:41:27,560 --> 00:41:30,719 Speaker 1: that had discipline because it was the base of civilization. 690 00:41:31,680 --> 00:41:33,520 Speaker 1: He did not want to be involved in grill of war. 691 00:41:33,840 --> 00:41:36,400 Speaker 1: He knew how to him He'd fought the Indians. He 692 00:41:36,480 --> 00:41:39,320 Speaker 1: understood a lot about how to fight a global he 693 00:41:39,400 --> 00:41:41,880 Speaker 1: thought in the end would be so bitter and so 694 00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:45,279 Speaker 1: bloody that it would shatter the society. And so he 695 00:41:45,680 --> 00:41:48,600 Speaker 1: really worked hard to keeping on together. And one of 696 00:41:48,640 --> 00:41:50,840 Speaker 1: the great gambles. If you ever get a chance to 697 00:41:50,920 --> 00:41:56,399 Speaker 1: look at him at Washington sitting in New York, French 698 00:41:56,520 --> 00:42:00,400 Speaker 1: armies actually sitting in Rhode Island, and all of a 699 00:42:00,440 --> 00:42:05,360 Speaker 1: sudden Cornwallis, who has a large British army, finds himself 700 00:42:05,920 --> 00:42:09,480 Speaker 1: cooped up at Yorktown in Virginia. I remember this is 701 00:42:09,520 --> 00:42:13,280 Speaker 1: people are marching with no trains, no airplanes, no cars, 702 00:42:14,520 --> 00:42:19,319 Speaker 1: and Washington has to make a decision. If I leave 703 00:42:19,400 --> 00:42:24,400 Speaker 1: New York, there's people are really getting terrible. For seven years, 704 00:42:25,400 --> 00:42:30,480 Speaker 1: I leave New York, I marched down through Philadelphia and 705 00:42:30,719 --> 00:42:38,000 Speaker 1: get to Yorktown. Will Cornwallis still be there? Will the 706 00:42:38,040 --> 00:42:42,120 Speaker 1: French navies show up? And will the French army walk 707 00:42:42,480 --> 00:42:46,319 Speaker 1: go with me? And can I raise the money to 708 00:42:46,440 --> 00:42:51,799 Speaker 1: pay the troops? And if it works, I might be 709 00:42:51,800 --> 00:42:54,600 Speaker 1: able to win the battle that will lead to victory 710 00:42:54,640 --> 00:42:58,360 Speaker 1: in the war. If it fails, we may well collapse 711 00:42:58,400 --> 00:43:01,480 Speaker 1: him because we've been this so long and was so tired. 712 00:43:02,400 --> 00:43:04,400 Speaker 1: This is one of the great strategic game. I take 713 00:43:04,480 --> 00:43:09,319 Speaker 1: some norm if you imagine the courage to sit there 714 00:43:09,320 --> 00:43:12,160 Speaker 1: and think this through and go, you know what I'm 715 00:43:12,200 --> 00:43:16,160 Speaker 1: gonna do is I'm gonna move. I'm gonna I'm gonna 716 00:43:16,239 --> 00:43:20,000 Speaker 1: decoy the British just enough forces left behind that they 717 00:43:20,040 --> 00:43:22,600 Speaker 1: think I'm still in New York and we're going to 718 00:43:22,680 --> 00:43:25,839 Speaker 1: march as fast as we can. And when I get 719 00:43:25,840 --> 00:43:27,919 Speaker 1: to Philadelphia, I'm going to see Governor Morris, some big 720 00:43:28,560 --> 00:43:30,360 Speaker 1: him to bring together all the rich people in the 721 00:43:30,360 --> 00:43:33,239 Speaker 1: city to sueis enough money to pay the army to 722 00:43:33,320 --> 00:43:38,040 Speaker 1: keep moving. And hopefully by the time I get to Yorktown, 723 00:43:38,880 --> 00:43:42,359 Speaker 1: if you're marching, this is a long march. Hopefully by 724 00:43:42,400 --> 00:43:45,680 Speaker 1: them the French navy will have shown up, so we 725 00:43:45,719 --> 00:43:48,439 Speaker 1: can cut Cornwallis off. So he can't the British navy 726 00:43:48,480 --> 00:43:55,480 Speaker 1: can't take him off Yorktown. Well, it is said that 727 00:43:55,640 --> 00:44:02,960 Speaker 1: when Washington crossed the last rig and could see Yorktown 728 00:44:03,840 --> 00:44:06,640 Speaker 1: and beyond Yorktown could see the French fleet, that he 729 00:44:06,760 --> 00:44:11,799 Speaker 1: physically jumped off his horse and did a jig. He's 730 00:44:11,800 --> 00:44:13,600 Speaker 1: the only people said, it's the only time in the 731 00:44:13,680 --> 00:44:16,520 Speaker 1: entire war that he saw him just lose control. He 732 00:44:16,640 --> 00:44:21,560 Speaker 1: was so excited because he had him. So the French 733 00:44:21,560 --> 00:44:24,319 Speaker 1: and the British, I mean the French name Americans lay 734 00:44:24,320 --> 00:44:29,600 Speaker 1: siege Cornwallis, who's a good professional British officer and later 735 00:44:29,600 --> 00:44:32,680 Speaker 1: on goes on to become a very successful governor General 736 00:44:32,680 --> 00:44:37,319 Speaker 1: of India, recognizes after a couple of days that you know, 737 00:44:37,360 --> 00:44:41,440 Speaker 1: he can't win. So he sends the word that he's 738 00:44:41,480 --> 00:44:46,359 Speaker 1: prepared to surrender to the French, and the French sender 739 00:44:46,400 --> 00:44:50,480 Speaker 1: went back. Now he swarded to Washington and then Cornwallis says, 740 00:44:50,560 --> 00:44:53,800 Speaker 1: I am not swarting to Washington. I'm sending a junior officer, 741 00:44:54,400 --> 00:44:57,879 Speaker 1: at which point of Washington says, fine, I'm sending conjuniors. 742 00:44:58,560 --> 00:45:01,439 Speaker 1: So General Lincoln, I think a brigadier general at the time, 743 00:45:01,920 --> 00:45:05,480 Speaker 1: accepts the surrender of the British and supposedly the band 744 00:45:05,520 --> 00:45:16,239 Speaker 1: plays the world turned up. Said that now Washington at 745 00:45:16,280 --> 00:45:19,240 Speaker 1: that point does the most or I think which people 746 00:45:20,280 --> 00:45:24,759 Speaker 1: really undervalue. They go back north because the war is 747 00:45:24,800 --> 00:45:28,080 Speaker 1: not over. I mean, the fighting's over now, the diplomats 748 00:45:28,080 --> 00:45:30,200 Speaker 1: are negotiating. You got to work out over the details, 749 00:45:30,520 --> 00:45:32,799 Speaker 1: so you have to keep an army. Indeed, and his 750 00:45:32,920 --> 00:45:35,560 Speaker 1: officers get really angry because they're not getting paid. The 751 00:45:35,640 --> 00:45:38,280 Speaker 1: Congress in that period was setting a standard the current 752 00:45:38,280 --> 00:45:42,360 Speaker 1: Congress's match. It was often irresponsible, often failed to do 753 00:45:42,360 --> 00:45:44,640 Speaker 1: what it should do, often had to really done policies, 754 00:45:44,800 --> 00:45:47,719 Speaker 1: and in this period they weren't paying the army. So 755 00:45:48,719 --> 00:45:51,319 Speaker 1: a group of the officers get together and decide that 756 00:45:51,520 --> 00:45:55,120 Speaker 1: Washington should become a dictator. And there was a precedent 757 00:45:55,200 --> 00:45:58,399 Speaker 1: for this because one hundred years earlier than was Civil War, 758 00:45:59,120 --> 00:46:03,279 Speaker 1: Cromwell had urged and established a dictation and in fact 759 00:46:03,360 --> 00:46:06,120 Speaker 1: a lot of people had worried about Washington. It need 760 00:46:06,120 --> 00:46:09,480 Speaker 1: to be too powerful and too popular, precisely because he 761 00:46:09,520 --> 00:46:12,560 Speaker 1: would become Cromwell. There's a great scene where the officers 762 00:46:12,560 --> 00:46:15,960 Speaker 1: have met in the school room, and Washington was in 763 00:46:17,280 --> 00:46:22,200 Speaker 1: and as he recounted, he took out his glasses in 764 00:46:22,320 --> 00:46:25,400 Speaker 1: order to remind him that he'd grown old in the 765 00:46:25,440 --> 00:46:28,560 Speaker 1: service of his country. And he pulls out this letter, 766 00:46:28,640 --> 00:46:31,160 Speaker 1: and he feeds a letter, the essence of which is, 767 00:46:31,719 --> 00:46:35,080 Speaker 1: do you really think that we rebelled against George the 768 00:46:35,120 --> 00:46:40,920 Speaker 1: third to create George the first? This would destroy everything 769 00:46:41,840 --> 00:46:45,840 Speaker 1: that we fought for four years. The officers all, so, okay, 770 00:46:46,800 --> 00:46:50,279 Speaker 1: don't be dictator. I guess we'll continue. He then does 771 00:46:50,320 --> 00:46:54,480 Speaker 1: something that is remarkable, and George the Third says, if 772 00:46:54,520 --> 00:46:57,880 Speaker 1: Washington gives up power, it'll be the greatest man of 773 00:46:57,920 --> 00:47:02,319 Speaker 1: the center. So Washington on the way home, having been 774 00:47:02,400 --> 00:47:04,520 Speaker 1: I always tell people when they get frustrated and they 775 00:47:04,560 --> 00:47:07,200 Speaker 1: get tired of trying to do something. Washington spends eight 776 00:47:07,320 --> 00:47:10,120 Speaker 1: years in the field. He's a noun vernon for two 777 00:47:10,120 --> 00:47:14,319 Speaker 1: weeks in the entire war, and he loves member. So 778 00:47:14,400 --> 00:47:17,360 Speaker 1: now he's on the way home. So he goes to Annapolis, 779 00:47:17,400 --> 00:47:20,120 Speaker 1: where the Commonal Congress's meeting, and you can actually go 780 00:47:20,200 --> 00:47:22,640 Speaker 1: to the State House. They still have the room and 781 00:47:22,680 --> 00:47:26,160 Speaker 1: they have it set up with statues. The Congress is sitting, 782 00:47:27,800 --> 00:47:31,320 Speaker 1: Washington is standing in the Congress is sitting to show 783 00:47:32,520 --> 00:47:37,839 Speaker 1: that he is obedient to them, but that they are 784 00:47:37,920 --> 00:47:40,680 Speaker 1: his superior to collective, and he gives them his sword. 785 00:47:40,760 --> 00:47:43,920 Speaker 1: He literally says, I've now done my job. I'm returning 786 00:47:43,920 --> 00:47:48,320 Speaker 1: to you the sword that I was given back in Philadelphia, 787 00:47:48,520 --> 00:47:50,840 Speaker 1: and he then goes home. He's at home, he's happy 788 00:47:51,960 --> 00:47:57,399 Speaker 1: as being a farmer. Martha's happy. And things don't work 789 00:47:57,440 --> 00:48:01,600 Speaker 1: pretty well. And it turns out people forget this. Virtually 790 00:48:01,680 --> 00:48:04,840 Speaker 1: every state, as they've now become ceased to be calumnist, 791 00:48:05,600 --> 00:48:09,920 Speaker 1: has to rewrite his constitution. They all fail. And so 792 00:48:10,080 --> 00:48:13,640 Speaker 1: yet people getting pretty good practice of writing constitutions, and 793 00:48:15,560 --> 00:48:19,800 Speaker 1: people got involved in a variety of fairly dumb ideas, 794 00:48:19,960 --> 00:48:24,680 Speaker 1: repudiating the debt, inflating the currency, and people begin to 795 00:48:24,719 --> 00:48:27,080 Speaker 1: write Washington and say, you know, we're going to have 796 00:48:27,160 --> 00:48:29,240 Speaker 1: to do something to fix this. And this is not working, 797 00:48:30,000 --> 00:48:32,800 Speaker 1: and it's creating a vacuum where the British and the 798 00:48:32,920 --> 00:48:35,440 Speaker 1: French and the Spanish can come in and exploit this. 799 00:48:36,760 --> 00:48:39,760 Speaker 1: Washington write several of his friends and says, no, people 800 00:48:39,800 --> 00:48:43,839 Speaker 1: aren't tired enough you. They've got to finish celebrating. They've 801 00:48:43,880 --> 00:48:47,920 Speaker 1: got to finish getting over this. And I'm not going 802 00:48:47,960 --> 00:48:50,160 Speaker 1: to go now because if I go now, it'll be 803 00:48:50,160 --> 00:48:54,840 Speaker 1: too soon. And so he's very patient. Now again, everybody 804 00:48:54,840 --> 00:48:57,040 Speaker 1: in their brothers coming to Mount Vernon to spend the night, 805 00:48:57,120 --> 00:49:00,000 Speaker 1: to have dinner, to chat with him. He's receiving letters 806 00:49:00,040 --> 00:49:02,160 Speaker 1: from all over the country. Finally, a group gets together 807 00:49:02,200 --> 00:49:03,759 Speaker 1: in Annapolis and they get him to come to the 808 00:49:03,800 --> 00:49:08,880 Speaker 1: meeting and they say, we've got to fix the Articles 809 00:49:08,880 --> 00:49:11,360 Speaker 1: of Confederation because they're not working. We need to have 810 00:49:11,400 --> 00:49:16,400 Speaker 1: a meeting to fix the current system. So he's the 811 00:49:16,440 --> 00:49:18,960 Speaker 1: center of this. So if he's willing to sign the letter, 812 00:49:20,000 --> 00:49:23,120 Speaker 1: people will show up. If he doesn't sign the letter, 813 00:49:23,360 --> 00:49:26,640 Speaker 1: it would never happen. So he agrees he's the lead signer. 814 00:49:27,800 --> 00:49:30,080 Speaker 1: It basically says, I'm going to go to Philadelphia and 815 00:49:30,080 --> 00:49:31,640 Speaker 1: how to fix this. Why don't you come to journey, 816 00:49:31,840 --> 00:49:39,040 Speaker 1: So every stage sends a delegation to Philadelphia. In se Man, Again, 817 00:49:40,120 --> 00:49:43,440 Speaker 1: it's very different than people who think, first of all, 818 00:49:44,040 --> 00:49:47,120 Speaker 1: when they meet for fifty five days. It's in secret, 819 00:49:48,360 --> 00:49:52,520 Speaker 1: there's no press scop, there's no press secretary. They don't 820 00:49:52,520 --> 00:49:57,640 Speaker 1: tell anybody anything. Second, at several points it almost breaks down. 821 00:49:57,760 --> 00:50:01,360 Speaker 1: At one point, the oldest man there, Jamin Franklin, says, 822 00:50:01,680 --> 00:50:03,640 Speaker 1: we need we need to stop, have a day of 823 00:50:03,719 --> 00:50:06,600 Speaker 1: fast and prayer and get our head on street, because 824 00:50:06,640 --> 00:50:09,719 Speaker 1: right now we're just screwing up. They do that, They 825 00:50:09,719 --> 00:50:13,719 Speaker 1: get a sermon, they pray, they fast, they're together, they talk, 826 00:50:14,440 --> 00:50:17,239 Speaker 1: and people who study carefully make the point that I 827 00:50:17,280 --> 00:50:22,680 Speaker 1: think it is often very misunderstood about Washington. Washington is 828 00:50:22,880 --> 00:50:28,520 Speaker 1: presiding inevitably, and so he's sitting up here and you 829 00:50:28,680 --> 00:50:31,240 Speaker 1: actually go and look at the room and occurs him 830 00:50:31,360 --> 00:50:38,239 Speaker 1: in Philadelphia. But at lunch, at breakfast, at dinner, he's 831 00:50:38,360 --> 00:50:43,640 Speaker 1: constantly politics. What if we did this, What if we 832 00:50:43,760 --> 00:50:46,560 Speaker 1: fixed that? What if we pulled this to you? Maybe 833 00:50:46,600 --> 00:50:48,279 Speaker 1: if you work with so and so, you can work 834 00:50:48,320 --> 00:50:53,759 Speaker 1: something out. So his underlying influence is enormous, but it's 835 00:50:53,800 --> 00:50:58,120 Speaker 1: all private. It's not public speeches, it's not you know, 836 00:50:58,800 --> 00:51:04,040 Speaker 1: speaking from the chair. He represents the whole convention. And 837 00:51:04,120 --> 00:51:07,359 Speaker 1: they do something which is really quite remarkable. They're sent 838 00:51:07,480 --> 00:51:11,279 Speaker 1: there to fix the articles of Confederation. And by the 839 00:51:11,280 --> 00:51:13,040 Speaker 1: time they all get there, they go, this is stupid. 840 00:51:13,239 --> 00:51:15,880 Speaker 1: They are not going to work. Let's just write a constitution. 841 00:51:16,239 --> 00:51:18,600 Speaker 1: So what if you technically have a coup daytime. I mean, 842 00:51:18,960 --> 00:51:21,239 Speaker 1: you have a group of people who decide they're going 843 00:51:21,280 --> 00:51:24,800 Speaker 1: to fix the whole thing. They have no authority to 844 00:51:24,880 --> 00:51:28,400 Speaker 1: do it. They just dessert it. They then publish it. 845 00:51:28,520 --> 00:51:33,680 Speaker 1: And again Washington when this thing started, and Madison in particular, 846 00:51:33,760 --> 00:51:35,560 Speaker 1: was all over Washington, You've got to go do this, 847 00:51:35,640 --> 00:51:37,920 Speaker 1: you got to go do this. The reason Madison ends 848 00:51:38,000 --> 00:51:40,200 Speaker 1: up living in Non Vernon for I was Washington, Fine, 849 00:51:40,600 --> 00:51:42,759 Speaker 1: you come here, you do the reading, you put the 850 00:51:42,800 --> 00:51:45,080 Speaker 1: other writing, you do all the work, and when you 851 00:51:45,120 --> 00:51:48,279 Speaker 1: get that done, I'll think about going. But I'm not 852 00:51:48,400 --> 00:51:50,920 Speaker 1: going to do all that junk. You're the intellectual. I'm not. 853 00:51:50,960 --> 00:51:54,160 Speaker 1: I'm going to run my farm. And so Washington's happily 854 00:51:54,280 --> 00:51:56,920 Speaker 1: entertaining at night and walk going around running this farm. 855 00:51:57,239 --> 00:52:00,359 Speaker 1: Poor Madison's trapped. Who loves it is trapped a room 856 00:52:00,360 --> 00:52:04,520 Speaker 1: at Mount Vernon thinking through the whole thing. They then 857 00:52:04,560 --> 00:52:08,480 Speaker 1: do something's quite remarkable. They go to the Thirteen States 858 00:52:08,480 --> 00:52:12,080 Speaker 1: and they say, basically, you have to vote. We will 859 00:52:12,120 --> 00:52:16,760 Speaker 1: not be legitimate unless you vote. And the greatest political 860 00:52:16,800 --> 00:52:21,160 Speaker 1: brochure in history is the Federalist Papers, because that's what 861 00:52:21,200 --> 00:52:24,840 Speaker 1: it is. It's a campaign document, and Jay and Hamilton 862 00:52:24,880 --> 00:52:31,799 Speaker 1: and Madison write it, and you get Washington sending a 863 00:52:31,880 --> 00:52:34,759 Speaker 1: letter after the whole country saying basically, this is what 864 00:52:34,880 --> 00:52:38,240 Speaker 1: we've done. We need you to vote yes, this is important. 865 00:52:38,560 --> 00:52:42,200 Speaker 1: Not an overwhelming margin. The country says yes, and they 866 00:52:42,200 --> 00:52:44,200 Speaker 1: adopt a constitution, at which point, of course, they turned 867 00:52:44,239 --> 00:52:46,000 Speaker 1: a meeting and go, gosh, we're going to need a 868 00:52:46,080 --> 00:52:51,200 Speaker 1: first president. Now, Washington saying, wait a second, I'm in 869 00:52:51,280 --> 00:52:54,839 Speaker 1: Mount Vernon. I've done you know, I've done my share. No, no, no, 870 00:52:54,960 --> 00:52:57,880 Speaker 1: you've got to come up. So he agrees. He and 871 00:52:57,960 --> 00:53:00,560 Speaker 1: Martha yot to New York at the end of the 872 00:53:00,600 --> 00:53:04,000 Speaker 1: first term. And he's very consciously he is setting the 873 00:53:04,040 --> 00:53:06,960 Speaker 1: precedence which we still live by, and he knows that, 874 00:53:07,080 --> 00:53:10,800 Speaker 1: and he operates that way. He convinces Jefferson Anne Hamilton 875 00:53:10,840 --> 00:53:13,839 Speaker 1: to serve in the cabinet. They hate each other. They 876 00:53:13,880 --> 00:53:17,479 Speaker 1: each subsidize a newspaper to attack the other. He doesn't care. 877 00:53:17,920 --> 00:53:20,200 Speaker 1: He says, you guys are invaluable. You're going to stay here, 878 00:53:20,680 --> 00:53:22,279 Speaker 1: and if I got to be here, you got to 879 00:53:22,280 --> 00:53:40,320 Speaker 1: be here. Later. In the first term, New York newspapers 880 00:53:40,320 --> 00:53:44,600 Speaker 1: are attacking Martha for holding high tea, which they regard 881 00:53:44,640 --> 00:53:49,640 Speaker 1: as the first step towards monarchy. Washington is so angry 882 00:53:49,719 --> 00:53:53,360 Speaker 1: that he says, I'm going home. I've served a term. 883 00:53:53,400 --> 00:53:56,200 Speaker 1: It's over. I am not going to subject my wife 884 00:53:56,239 --> 00:53:59,719 Speaker 1: Martha to this kind of vicious behavior. The threat of 885 00:53:59,719 --> 00:54:04,360 Speaker 1: Waring leaving is so central to the survival of the 886 00:54:04,440 --> 00:54:08,080 Speaker 1: United States as a concept that Jefferson and Hamilton, who 887 00:54:08,080 --> 00:54:12,800 Speaker 1: have become bitter opponents, put aside their hostility, get together 888 00:54:13,280 --> 00:54:17,120 Speaker 1: jointly go to see him, and they say, you can't 889 00:54:17,160 --> 00:54:21,480 Speaker 1: go home. The country's not stable enough without your leadership, 890 00:54:21,560 --> 00:54:26,120 Speaker 1: without your prestige, the country won't last. You have to 891 00:54:26,160 --> 00:54:30,759 Speaker 1: stay for one more term. He very grudgingly agrees, if 892 00:54:30,760 --> 00:54:33,800 Speaker 1: he really is so angry about the news media treatment 893 00:54:33,800 --> 00:54:37,400 Speaker 1: of his wife, but they convince him that for the 894 00:54:37,520 --> 00:54:41,480 Speaker 1: country he has to stay, and as a patriot in 895 00:54:41,520 --> 00:54:43,840 Speaker 1: the end, he's going to do what the country needs. 896 00:54:44,200 --> 00:54:48,640 Speaker 1: And it's a very important, very difficult period. Britain and 897 00:54:48,760 --> 00:54:51,439 Speaker 1: France are engaged in a deep war which will last 898 00:54:51,520 --> 00:54:54,799 Speaker 1: until eighteen fifteen. He's trying to make sure the United 899 00:54:54,800 --> 00:54:57,880 Speaker 1: States doesn't get drawn in on either side, because he 900 00:54:58,040 --> 00:55:00,959 Speaker 1: understands it will just tear the country apart. So he's 901 00:55:01,000 --> 00:55:05,560 Speaker 1: being very careful about not getting into European politics and 902 00:55:05,680 --> 00:55:08,680 Speaker 1: not getting into conflict. At the same time, on our 903 00:55:08,680 --> 00:55:14,200 Speaker 1: western frontier, particularly in Pennsylvania, farmers have gotten really angry 904 00:55:14,400 --> 00:55:17,919 Speaker 1: about a tax break which was designed to help big 905 00:55:17,960 --> 00:55:21,719 Speaker 1: distillers in the East and actually hurts the small farmers 906 00:55:21,719 --> 00:55:24,440 Speaker 1: in the West who are producing corn, whiskey and small batches, 907 00:55:25,040 --> 00:55:28,280 Speaker 1: and so they're refusing to pay their taxes. And there's 908 00:55:28,320 --> 00:55:31,640 Speaker 1: what became known as the Whiskey Rebellion, and it takes 909 00:55:31,680 --> 00:55:36,160 Speaker 1: the prestige of Washington to insist that the law be enforced, 910 00:55:36,200 --> 00:55:39,680 Speaker 1: and he literally organizes an army which they are about 911 00:55:39,680 --> 00:55:44,000 Speaker 1: to send into western Pennsylvania in order to force people 912 00:55:44,000 --> 00:55:47,960 Speaker 1: to pay their taxes. Confronted by Washington's prestige and by 913 00:55:48,040 --> 00:55:51,760 Speaker 1: Washington's seriousness and by the size of the army he's raising, 914 00:55:52,120 --> 00:55:55,480 Speaker 1: the farmers ultimately cave. The laws are changed a little 915 00:55:55,480 --> 00:55:57,719 Speaker 1: bit so that they have a face saving way out. 916 00:55:58,160 --> 00:56:01,239 Speaker 1: The Whiskey rebellion disappears, but that's the kind of thing 917 00:56:01,280 --> 00:56:05,560 Speaker 1: going on that indicates how shaky this new country is 918 00:56:06,280 --> 00:56:09,840 Speaker 1: and how little people understand the concept of a central 919 00:56:09,880 --> 00:56:12,359 Speaker 1: government and that it has power which can reach all 920 00:56:12,360 --> 00:56:16,680 Speaker 1: the way to the boundaries of the country. Without Washington's prestige, 921 00:56:17,280 --> 00:56:20,840 Speaker 1: that might not have been survivable. He does stay, and 922 00:56:20,880 --> 00:56:22,880 Speaker 1: then he really has done. And one of the greatest 923 00:56:22,880 --> 00:56:26,319 Speaker 1: things he does is he goes home. And that's really 924 00:56:26,400 --> 00:56:31,399 Speaker 1: important because it sends a signal that power is loan 925 00:56:31,560 --> 00:56:35,080 Speaker 1: to you, you don't own it, and that you have 926 00:56:35,120 --> 00:56:38,680 Speaker 1: a duty to limit yourself to be disciplined. And with 927 00:56:38,760 --> 00:56:41,759 Speaker 1: the exception of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and World War Two, 928 00:56:42,280 --> 00:56:46,320 Speaker 1: no president has violated the Washington principle of a maximum 929 00:56:46,320 --> 00:56:49,160 Speaker 1: of two terms. And in fact, after Roosevelt, we pass 930 00:56:49,200 --> 00:56:52,759 Speaker 1: the Constitutional Amendment to block anybody from serving more than 931 00:56:52,840 --> 00:56:57,480 Speaker 1: two terms. So Washingtons set the principle that he served 932 00:56:57,560 --> 00:57:01,440 Speaker 1: the people, they didn't serve him, that power was deliberately limited. 933 00:57:02,040 --> 00:57:05,880 Speaker 1: He goes home, finally, to Mount Vernon, a place he loves. 934 00:57:06,680 --> 00:57:09,360 Speaker 1: He relaxes, he goes back to being a gentleman farmer. 935 00:57:09,480 --> 00:57:13,279 Speaker 1: He's just drowning in visitors because everybody wants to drop 936 00:57:13,360 --> 00:57:17,080 Speaker 1: by and see the great man. He's out riding on 937 00:57:17,120 --> 00:57:22,120 Speaker 1: a wet, cold, rainy day. He comes down with a fever. 938 00:57:22,880 --> 00:57:25,480 Speaker 1: In that generation, the doctors thought they would help you 939 00:57:25,520 --> 00:57:29,080 Speaker 1: by bleeding you. They put leeches on him, probably hurting 940 00:57:29,160 --> 00:57:32,160 Speaker 1: him by draining some of his blood, although there are 941 00:57:32,400 --> 00:57:36,040 Speaker 1: some modern studies that indicate the leeches actually had for 942 00:57:36,160 --> 00:57:38,600 Speaker 1: some kind of diseases. They were actually very helpful because 943 00:57:38,640 --> 00:57:42,000 Speaker 1: they had certain things that they've actually put in your body. 944 00:57:42,360 --> 00:57:45,440 Speaker 1: But in the case of Washington, they probably further weakened him. 945 00:57:45,680 --> 00:58:07,680 Speaker 1: His throat seized up, and he finally died. Martha was 946 00:58:07,760 --> 00:58:11,520 Speaker 1: left alone. She promptly did something which every historian ever 947 00:58:11,600 --> 00:58:14,920 Speaker 1: since has regretted. She burned all of their personal letters 948 00:58:15,960 --> 00:58:19,160 Speaker 1: because she felt it was private. She didn't want people 949 00:58:19,200 --> 00:58:21,320 Speaker 1: to see what Washington had written to her, or she'd 950 00:58:21,320 --> 00:58:25,720 Speaker 1: written to Washington, and so she literally shortly after his death, 951 00:58:26,160 --> 00:58:30,080 Speaker 1: eliminates all of the personal records, which had grown up 952 00:58:30,120 --> 00:58:33,960 Speaker 1: over a long lifetime and would have been fascinated. The 953 00:58:34,080 --> 00:58:38,040 Speaker 1: country mourns him. The country realizes that he only had 954 00:58:38,080 --> 00:58:41,360 Speaker 1: been the father of the country, that he really was 955 00:58:41,640 --> 00:58:46,040 Speaker 1: first in their hearts, and that he was the symbol 956 00:58:46,800 --> 00:58:49,080 Speaker 1: of what a free society was supposed to be, which 957 00:58:49,120 --> 00:58:51,720 Speaker 1: is why our national capital's named for him, and why 958 00:58:51,760 --> 00:58:56,280 Speaker 1: the Washington Monument stands there as a memorial to a 959 00:58:56,360 --> 00:59:01,040 Speaker 1: man who had literally created the modern system of freedom 960 00:59:01,080 --> 00:59:03,280 Speaker 1: under the rule of law that we've come to take 961 00:59:03,320 --> 00:59:06,920 Speaker 1: for granted. So when you look around the world and 962 00:59:06,960 --> 00:59:09,560 Speaker 1: you see countries failing, you see people who are in 963 00:59:09,640 --> 00:59:13,320 Speaker 1: desperate trouble, you see places with a rule of law 964 00:59:13,400 --> 00:59:19,560 Speaker 1: doesn't exist, you look at kleptocracy, corruption, dictatorship, it's really 965 00:59:19,560 --> 00:59:23,080 Speaker 1: important to remember that the United States could have been 966 00:59:23,120 --> 00:59:26,160 Speaker 1: that kind of country. It's still consumedly be that kind 967 00:59:26,160 --> 00:59:30,600 Speaker 1: of country, but that people can make an enormous difference. 968 00:59:31,360 --> 00:59:34,720 Speaker 1: The founding fathers collectively and by their commitment to the 969 00:59:34,760 --> 00:59:38,760 Speaker 1: rule of law, to the Constitution, made that difference. And 970 00:59:38,840 --> 00:59:43,120 Speaker 1: the person who was indispensable, who really surmounted all of 971 00:59:43,200 --> 00:59:45,880 Speaker 1: the others. They all looked up to him, they all 972 00:59:45,920 --> 00:59:50,360 Speaker 1: followed his judgment. Who's President of Washington? First as a general, 973 00:59:50,680 --> 00:59:53,919 Speaker 1: then as president, but above all as a human being. 974 00:59:54,080 --> 01:00:00,360 Speaker 1: Washington personified the kind of dignified patriotism that was at 975 01:00:00,400 --> 01:00:03,120 Speaker 1: the heart of the rule of law. Each of us 976 01:00:03,320 --> 01:00:07,960 Speaker 1: can learn from Washington. Each of us can learn about freedom, 977 01:00:08,000 --> 01:00:12,240 Speaker 1: about discipline, about persistence. Each of us can come to 978 01:00:12,320 --> 01:00:16,560 Speaker 1: understand why he loved America so much and why he 979 01:00:16,600 --> 01:00:19,640 Speaker 1: loved freedom so much. And then we can teach others 980 01:00:20,040 --> 01:00:23,960 Speaker 1: that anybody anywhere on the planet can learn to be free, 981 01:00:24,520 --> 01:00:26,760 Speaker 1: can learn to live under the rule of law, can 982 01:00:26,840 --> 01:00:30,800 Speaker 1: learn to pursue happiness. And Washington, in that sense, is 983 01:00:30,840 --> 01:00:34,480 Speaker 1: a person for all of humanity, not just America, and 984 01:00:34,600 --> 01:00:40,720 Speaker 1: a person for all time, not just the eighteenth century. 985 01:00:44,840 --> 01:00:47,200 Speaker 1: I want to thank my long time writing partner and 986 01:00:47,240 --> 01:00:50,640 Speaker 1: fellow George Washington historian, Bill Fortune. I also want to 987 01:00:50,680 --> 01:00:54,040 Speaker 1: thank the Fred W. Smith National Library for the study 988 01:00:54,040 --> 01:00:56,959 Speaker 1: of George Washington at Mount Vernon and frankly a person 989 01:00:57,000 --> 01:00:59,440 Speaker 1: who did more than anybody else to create that library. 990 01:01:00,200 --> 01:01:11,120 Speaker 1: Gains News World is produced by Gingwish three sixty and iHeartMedia. 991 01:01:11,640 --> 01:01:16,360 Speaker 1: Our executive producer is Garnsey Sloan, our producer is Rebecca Howe, 992 01:01:16,600 --> 01:01:20,320 Speaker 1: and our researcher is Rachel Peterson. The artwork for the 993 01:01:20,360 --> 01:01:24,480 Speaker 1: show was created by Steve Penley. Special thanks to the 994 01:01:24,600 --> 01:01:28,400 Speaker 1: team at Gingwich three sixty. If you've been enjoying Newtsworld, 995 01:01:28,720 --> 01:01:31,760 Speaker 1: I hope you'll go to Apple Podcast and both rate 996 01:01:31,880 --> 01:01:34,920 Speaker 1: us with five stars and give us a review so 997 01:01:35,120 --> 01:01:38,480 Speaker 1: others can learn what it's all about. Right now, listeners 998 01:01:38,520 --> 01:01:41,160 Speaker 1: of news World can sign up for my three free 999 01:01:41,320 --> 01:01:46,080 Speaker 1: weekly columns at Gingwich three sixty dot com slash newsletter. 1000 01:01:46,520 --> 01:01:48,880 Speaker 1: I'm newt Gingrich. This is news World