Aug 16 Historians say Trump went afoul in lumping Robert E. Lee with founding fathers By Associated Press Is it really so far-fetched to put Robert E. Lee in the same category as George Washington, as President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday? Many historians say yes. Continue reading
Jul 25 Column: How I use George Washington to make kids care about 'fake news' By David Cutler History and journalism teacher David Cutler explains how he helps students discern fact from deception with a lesson from the Revolutionary War. Continue reading
Jul 03 Watch 3:56 At George Washington's house, remembering the enslaved people who built America By PBS News Hour A tour guide at George Washington's Mt. Vernon, who is also a distant relation of a person who was enslaved at the Virginia estate, offers his perspective about American history, slavery and the founding fathers. This story was produced by… Continue watching
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