One of the most noteworthy of receptions that greeted Washington along his route was at the bridge at Trenton, New Jersey, the site of Washington's first victory in battle during the Revolutionary War. There, he was greeted by a large garland constructed over the bridge and girls throwing flower petals in front of his path.Monday, July 20, 2009
Reception at Bridge At Trenton On His Way to His Inauguration
One of the most noteworthy of receptions that greeted Washington along his route was at the bridge at Trenton, New Jersey, the site of Washington's first victory in battle during the Revolutionary War. There, he was greeted by a large garland constructed over the bridge and girls throwing flower petals in front of his path.
Reception Upon Arriving at New York Harbor On His Way to His Inauguration
Upon reaching Elizabethtown, New Jersey on April 23, 1789, Washington was escorted across New York Harbor harbor to Manhattan in a specially built barge rowed by thirteen sailors in white. He was also accompanied by a committee consisting of three newly elected U.S. Senator and five newly elected Representatives. While being rowed across the harbor, Washington was saluted by all the ships that had congregated in the harbor to greet him, including a Spanish ship that displayed an array of flags of all nations and fired a thirteen gun salute in Washington's honor. Meanwhile, upon reaching the New York side of the harbor, Washington was greeted with another thirteen gun salute from the fort there and an even larger crowd of people and officials.Inauguration as Our Nation's First President
On April 30, 1789, George Washington was sworn in as our nation's first President. For the inauguration ceremony, he worn a plain American-made brown suit with buttons with eagles embozzed on them, white stockings, and a ceremonial sword. The inauguration ceremony took place at Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City. It was conducted on a balcony overlooking a cheering crowd below. After the brief ceremony, Washington and the other dignitaries returned to the Senate chamber inside where Washington gave his inaugural speech.President George Washington and His Cabinet
Pictured in this illustration are President George Washington and his cabinet. From left to right, illustrated are George Washington, Secretary of War Henry Knox, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, and Attorney General Edmund Randolph. Not pictured because he was not technically a part of the Cabinet was Vice President John Adams. Historians generally agree that George Washington put together the most brilliant group of cabinet officers in our nation's history. Unlike subsequent presidents that often polled their cabinet officers in making decisions, however, George Washington made all presidential decisions. He would often seek memos from his cabinet officers to seek their differing opinions, but he never put decisions to a vote. Instead, his cabinet was modeled after his counsel of generals underneath himself where he sought their views, but there could only be one commander. From today's perspective, Washington might be accused of micro-managing. But given the small size of the federal government when he was President and the lack of the type of White House support staff that modern presidents have to assist them, George Washington had no choice but to become involved in almost all the details of running the new government. This was one of the reasons why George Washington was the most qualified to become the nation's first president - since he had experience in running a large plantation (that was larger than the entire federal government when Washington was President) and had experience in commanding the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Also, George Washington was the one person that the country could unite behind in putting aside their regional differences.1790 Painting by Edward Savage of George Washington and His Family
In this 1790 painting of George Washington and his family by Edward Savage, Martha Washington is pointing to map of the planned new capitol for the nation to be named the District of Columbia - or Washington, D.C. Standing behind Martha Washington is Billy Lee, the long-time personal valet to George Washington. He was the one slave of Washington's to be immediately freed upon his death because of his service as Washington's personal valet throughout the American Revolutionary War.
WHAT DID GEORGE WASHINGTON REALLY LOOK LIKE?
Despite the many variations in the manner that George Washington was portrayed in paintings, there are also many consistent features in such paintings. These include the Roman shaped nose, the crease in Washington's chin, his high forehead, the scar on one cheek, and the general shape of his hair. But actually we are fairly confident that we know what George Washington really looked like. This is because in October of 1785 a life mask and a life bust were made of George Washington at Mount Vernon by French sculpture Jean-Antoine Houdon. He had been commissioned to make a statue of George Washington by the State of Virginia which now stands in the rotunda of the Virginia State Capitol, after being recommended for such a task by Thomas Jefferson. The statue was made in France using Gouveneur Morris as the life model for sculpting George Washington's body. But the face of the statue came from a life mask that Houdon made of Washington at Mount Vernon. Afterwards, while still at Mount Vernon, Houdon also made a clay bust (see above) that Houdon presented as a gift to George Washington before he left. It is now on display in the museum at Mount Vernon, while the Morgan Library in New York City owns the original Houdon life mask of George Washington.PORTRAITS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON BY CHARLES WILLSON PEALE
The first painting of Washington from life was painted by Charles Willson Peale in 1772. For the portrait, Washington put on his uniform that he had worn during the French and Indian War (see above). Later during the Revolutionary War, Charles Willson Peale served on Washington's staff and painted numerous other paintings of Washington both during and after the Revolutionary War. The last time that he painted Washington from life was at Mount Vernon during a week long sitting where he was accompanied by his sons and brother. Portrait of George Washington at Age 40 by Charles Willson Peale
When Charles Willson Peale painted George Washington from life in 1772, he painted a second version of his painting of George Washington in his uniform from the French and Indian War that was of Washington's head only.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Portrait of George Washington by Rembrandt Peale
Rembrandt Peale was one of the sons of Charles Willson Peale. He was able to paint George Washington from life when he accompanied his father on a trip to Mount Vernon. After George Washington's death, Rembrandt Peale painted the above portrait as an idealized image of the way that he thought that George Washington could best be remembered.1787 Portrait of George Washington by James Peale
James Peale was the brother of Charles Willson Peale. Above is a portrait of George Washington painted by James Peale in 1787.1790 Portrait of George Washington by Charles Peale Polk
Charles Peale Polk was a nephew of Charles Willson Peale. Above is a portrait of George Washington painted by Charles Peale Polk in 1790.JOHN TRUMBULL PORTRAITS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON
John Trumbull was an individual who served as an aide to George Washington during the American Revolutionary War. He then travelled to London to study painting and made several paintings of George Washington from memory. In addition to his portrait paintings of George Washington, John Trumbull is famous for the large murals that he painted of the American Revolution which hang in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.
PORTRAITS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON BY PAINTER GILBERT STUART
The painter Gilbert Stuart first painted a portrait of George Washington from life in 1795 showing the right side of Washington's face and again in 1796 showing the left side of Washington's face. From these two life paintings, Gilbert Stuart painted many other portraits of George Washington. One of these portraits painted by Gilbert Stuart was used for the image on the one dollar bill. For this reason, Gilbert Stuart's interpretation of the way that George Washington has become the dominant image of George Washington in the public's mind today.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Washington's death
George Washington died in the master bedroom at Mount Vernon on December 14, 1799. The previous day he had gone on a horseback tour of his estate in freezing rain. Returning to his Mount Vernon soaked to the skin, he originally complained of a sore throat. During the night, however, the sore throat turned into a restriction of his throat that increasingly prevented him from breathing. His personal physician tried bleeding him several times to save his life, to no avail. He died in the master bedroom of Mount Vernon the following day with his closest companions at Mount Vernon by his bedside.Washington burial vault at Mount Vernon
George Washington was initially buried in the original family burial vault at Mount Vernon. Before his death, however, he had specified that a new brick burial vault be built to replace the crumbling original family vault. George Washington's body was moved to this new burial vault in 1831 after construction on it was completed.Washington's tomb in the U.S. Capitol
When the U.S. Capitol was designed, a tomb underneath the rotunda was created with the intention that it be the burying place of George Washington. It was only because George Washington specified in his will that he instead be buried at the family burial vault at Mount Vernon that he is not buried under the U.S. Capitol.Friday, May 22, 2009
The first biography of Washington was written in 1800 by Mason Locke Weems (Parson Weems)
The first biography of George Washington was written by Mason Locke Weems, also known as Parson Weems. He had served as the clergyman for Truro Parish chuch which George Washington attended before Weems went on to become a bookseller. While criticized for being fanciful in the stories he wrote about George Washington, including the story of Washington chopping down the cherry tree, Weem's biography of Washington is nevertheless important in helping us to understand the reverence in which George Washington was held by the country after his death.The first authoritative biography of Washington was written In 1805-1807 By Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall
To write his 5 volume biography of George Washington, John Marshall had been given all of Washington's personal and public papers by Bushrod Washington, another U.S. Supreme Court justice who was the nephew of George Washington and had inherited the papers. John Marshall had previously fought in the American Revolution under George Washington. After the Revolution ended, he became the leading lawyer in Virginia and was eventually appointed both Secretary of State and Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by John Adams, both positions which he briefly held jointly. As Secretary of State, John Marshall administered the presidential oath of office to newly elected President Thomas Jefferson, a distant cousin of John Marshall's. Despite being cousins, Marshall and Jefferson became hated rivals, with John Marshall being the principal spokeman of the Federalists and preserver of the traditions of George Washington and with Thomas Jefferson being the leader of the newly-formed opposition Democrat-Republican Party and an opponent of many of the policies of the Federalists. Ironically, despite Jefferson's opposition to a strong federal government, Jefferson ended up signing the Louisiana Purchase which doubled the size of the United States. Meanwhile, the political philosophy of George Washington lived on through John Marshall, who was our longest serving Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and who is credited with establishing the judiciary as the third principal branch of our govenment with his decision in Marbury v. Madison which stated that only the U.S. Supreme Court had the power to decision what laws were constitutional (i.e. judicial review).Another author to write one of the first biographies of Washington was Aaron Bancroft who authored the "Life of George Washington" in 1807
Aaron Bancroft was an American clergyman who was a minuteman who fought at the battles of Lexington & Concord and at Bunker Hill. His son, George Bancroft, became a noted American historian, U.S. Secretary of the Navy, and ambassador to Great Britain. Like John Marshall, Aaron Bancroft wrote his biography to perpetuate the values and ideals of George Washington. He wrote his biography of George Washington after first writing an eulogy of George Washington upon Washington's death.Another Author to Write A Biography of Washington in 1807 Was David Ramsay
David Ramsay, M.D. was twice elected as a delegate to the Continental Congress. In 1789, he became one of the first historians of the American Revolution, publishing his two volume "History of the American Revolution." In 1807, he then published his biography of George Washington. David Ramsay was the son-in-law of John Witherspoon, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and delegate to the Continental Congress. John Witherspoon was one of the most important philosophers behind the American Revolution, having come from Scotland and been influenced by the writers of the Scottish Enlightment. In fact, Witherspoon was a descendant of John Knox, the founder of the Scottish Presbyterian Church. As President of the College of New Jersey (later renamed Princeton University), John Witherspoon was to have an important influence on many others, included both James Madison and Aaron Burr who were students who studied under him at Princeton. David Ramsay was also the son-in-law of Henry Laurens, and thus was related to South Carolina Governor Charles Pinckney. Finally, he was the brother of Congressman Nathaniel Ramsay, who was the brother-in-law of the famous painter Charles Willson Peale who had served on Washington's staff during the American Revolution and who went on to become along with Gilbert Stuart and John Trumbull one of the three primary painters of portraits of George Washington.In 1834-37, Jared Sparks, the President of Harvard, wrote a 12 volume biography of Washington
In 1834-37, Jared Sparks, the President of Harvard University who succeeded Edward Everett in this post, wrote a 12 volume biography of George Washington that included the writings of Washington. He then followed this was another biography of Washington in 1839. The latter is significant not only for its writings, but also for the many beautiful prints of Washington included in it.In 1855-59, the noted author Washington Irving wrote a biography of Washington
Today, the author Washington Irving is perhaps best remembered for his short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." During his life, however, Irving was best known as a biographer of George Washington and various other famous individuals. His "Life of Washington" has gone through numerous printings after it first came out in 1855-59 and is still available in bookstores. Like the biography of Washington written by Jared Sparks, one reason for the popularity of Irving's biography of Washington was because of the numerous prints of Washington included in the volumes.In 1860, Benson Lossing authored a biography of Washington with input from Washington's grandson
In 1860, Benson Lossing joined the list of authors who published popular biographies of George Washington. To write his biography, he interviewed and drew extensively upon the remembrances of George Washington Parke Custis, the adopted grandson that George Washington raised as his own son, and thus perhaps knew George Washington more intimately than anyone else. In this regard, above is a photograph of George Washington Parke Custis. Meanwhile, Benson Lossing became the most published American historian of his day, writing a pictorial field guide to the American Revolution where he interviewed many of the survivors (such as the wife of Alexander Hamilton) and inspected almost every known significant document and artifact from the American Revolution known to be available at his time. It is unfortunately that the practice of footnotes had yet to be developed, since Lossing provides detailed information about many aspects of the American Revolution, Mount Vernon, and George Washington whose source has since been forgotten. Yet one has to assume that Lossing had sources for his statements since so much of his writings have since been confirmed by the research of other historians and the discovery of original documents. Benson Lossing was a prolific writer who also wrote field guides to the War of 1812 and the Civil War, writing perhaps the first illustrated history of both wars. His first book, which was biographic sketches of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, was published in 1848. His next book, which was a field guide to the American Revolution, was published in 1850-52. Prioring to his writing a biography of Washington in 1860, he authored a book entitled "Mount Vernon and Its Associations" in 1859, which is still a classic about the history of George Washington's home. In 1870, he wrote another book on Washington entitled "Washington and the American Republic." And in 1873 he wrote his "Our Country: A Household History of the United States for All Readers, From the Discovery of America to the Present" - a book that helped to bring a history of the U.S. into all homes for the young and old alike.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
