America 250 Moments
Robert Livingston
4/21/2026 | 1mVideo has Closed Captions
Did you know that Founding Father Robert R. Livingston was a river boat innovator?
Did you know that Founding Father Robert R. Livingston was a river boat innovator?
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
America 250 Moments is a local public television program presented by APT
America 250 Moments
Robert Livingston
4/21/2026 | 1mVideo has Closed Captions
Did you know that Founding Father Robert R. Livingston was a river boat innovator?
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship(gentle folksy music) - [Narrator] Did you know that Founding Father Robert R. Livingston was a riverboat innovator?
Livingston was part of the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration of Independence.
While serving as chancellor of New York, he administered the very first presidential oath of office to George Washington and became the first Secretary of Foreign Affairs.
After President Thomas Jefferson appointed Livingston as US Minister to France in 1801, he, along with James Monroe, negotiated the Louisiana Purchase, doubling the size of the US.
Like his contemporary, Benjamin Franklin, he both owned enslaved Africans and advocated for the rights of freed former slaves.
Later in life, he dedicated his time to his passion for steam navigation, and together with inventor Robert Fulton, he designed the first successful steamboat.
In 1807, it launched on the Hudson River, changing travel, commerce, and transportation forever.
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America 250 Moments is a local public television program presented by APT