Feb 20 Cracked and crumbling presidential busts patiently await a new home By Joshua Barajas The busts of the first 43 U.S. presidents, each standing at least 15 feet tall and weighing nearly 10 tons, are huddled on a property in rural Virginia. Continue reading
Nov 13 Gwen's Take: Of truth, myth and cherry trees By Gwen Ifill I have never been accused of chopping down trees, but like many children, I was taught early on about the value of honesty through an oft-told story about our first president and a cherry tree. Continue reading
Feb 16 Watch Exploring Robert E. Lee's connections to George Washington By PBS News Hour Robert E. Lee was the son of a Revolutionary War hero who was a trusted aide to George Washington. In 1861, after 25 years in the U.S. Army, Lee turned down an offer to command Union forces in the Civil… Continue watching
Dec 15 Watch 4:45 Bloodletting and blisters: Solving the medical mystery of George Washington's death By PBS News Hour Learn the gruesome details of President George Washington’s final hours on the 215th anniversary of his death. The retired commander-in-chief woke up at 2 a.m. on Dec. 14, 1799, with a sore throat. After a series of medical procedures, including… Continue watching
Dec 14 Dec. 14, 1799: The excruciating final hours of President George Washington By Dr. Howard Markel It was a house call no physician would relish. On Dec. 14, 1799, three doctors were summoned to Mount Vernon in Fairfax County, Virginia to attend to a critically ill, 67-year-old man who happened to be known as “the father… Continue reading
Oct 08 Watch Stop expecting American presidents to be great and allow them to be good, says author By PBS News Hour Continue watching
Oct 08 Why Washington -- not Lincoln or FDR -- had the hardest job of any U.S. president By Margaret Warner George Washington isn't the sexiest of American presidents in our public imagination, nor the most accessible. Perhaps we are all too weighed down by the "father of his country" image, the cherry tree myth, his powdered wig and bone-and-ivory (no,… Continue reading
Oct 08 Watch Why George Washington -- not Lincoln of FDR -- had the hardest job of any U.S. president By PBS News Hour Continue watching
Feb 17 Photo: Washington's false teeth By News Desk https://twitter.com/BeschlossDC/status/435447570140106752 Historian Michael Beschloss shares this photo of one set of President Washington's false teeth. Mount Vernon has a wonderful writeup of the first president's complete dental history, noting that "When Washington was inaugurated President in 1789, only one… Continue reading
Jan 20 Club of 16: If You Thought Getting Elected the First Time Was Hard... By Meena Ganesan When he retakes the oath of office Monday, President Barack Obama will join an exclusive club. Obama becomes the 16th of the nation's 44 presidents who've been re-elected to serve as commander-in-chief for two consecutive terms. Continue reading