George Washington
13 items
Establishing a Government of Laws, Not Men: George Washington’s Retirement and Responsibility
Lesson - 1 Activities
Lesson
1 Activities
45 Min
In this lesson, students will review George Washington’s actions in completing his service as Commander-in-Chief following the Revolutionary War, including his return of his military commission to the president of Congress.
45 Min
George Washington in American Art
Lesson
Lesson
65 Min
This Lesson is best used at the end of the unit, after students have studied Washington's leadership during the Revolutionary War in Chapter 3 and the major events of his presidency in Chapter 4.
George Washington and Self-Governance
Lesson - 4 Activities
Lesson
4 Activities
100 Min
What is the virtue of prudence? Explore how George Washington's prudence influenced the early republic and how it influences what we value in both citizens and leaders.
100 Min
George Washington and Jay’s Treaty
Lesson - 4 Activities
Lesson
4 Activities
50 Min
In his every action, President George Washington recognized the significance of the precedents he set. His efforts to implement constitutional provisions in order to steer the United States through an early foreign policy challenge resulted in Jay’s Treaty—a pact vilified in its own time, but ultimately vital in keeping the United States out of a war with Britain.
50 Min
From Toleration to Liberty: George Washington and the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island
Lesson - 5 Activities
Lesson
5 Activities
100 Min
What did religious liberty mean from the colonial period to the Founding era? Assess legal and historical documents of toleration and/or liberty, analyze George Washington's 1790 Letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island, and gain an appreciation of Washington's letter as an example of the shift from religious toleration to religious liberty.
100 Min
George Washington and the Whiskey Rebellion
Lesson - 2 Activities
Lesson
2 Activities
50 Min
George Washington, always aware that as the new nation’s first President, his every action would be “drawn into precedent,” conducted himself both deliberately and decisively when farmers across the US resisted a new federal excise tax on liquor. He publicly involved other branches and levels of government in his decision process, and issued proclamations calling for peaceful resolutions before using military force to quash what has come to be known as the Whiskey Rebellion. His political opponents charged Washington and his political party with exaggerating (if not manufacturing) the crisis, and called his decision to lead several thousand militia troops against the farmers heavy-handed. However one judges Washington’s action, the events became the first public test of the President’s power to enforce federal law in the new commercial republic.
50 Min
George Washington’s Finest Hour: The Newburgh Conspiracy and Identity
Lesson - 2 Activities
Lesson
2 Activities
45 Min
In this lesson, students will evaluate George Washington’s actions to understand his approach to the principle of identity.
45 Min
George Washington’s Views on Slavery
Lesson
Lesson
Before completing this Lesson, students should be familiar with the societal, cultural, and economic conditions of eighteenth-century American life that sustained the institution of slavery. Anti-slavery sentiment can be explored in the Benjamin Franklin and the First Abolitionist Petitions Narrative.
George Washington’ Foreign Policy: Comparisons across U.S. History
Lesson
Lesson
Use this lesson at the end of the unit to review foreign policy throughout U.S. history.
George Washington’s Farewell Address and First Inaugural Address | A Primary Source Close Read w/BRI
Video
Video
57 Min
Kicking off our summer Close Reading series, BRI staff Kirk and Tony explore two of George Washington's most famous works, his Farewell Address and his First Inaugural Address, to understand what qualities made Washington a great leader. What underlying principles informed Washington's actions? And how did he see his role in charting the future of a nation?
57 Min
George Washington’s Political Genius with David O. Stewart | BRI Scholar Talks
Video
Video
25 Min
George Washington spent a lifetime mastering politics before he was unanimously elected the nation’s first president. In this Scholar Talk video, Tony Williams and distinguished bestselling historian David O. Stewart discuss Stewart's new book, "George Washington: The Political Rise of America's Founding Father," and how George Washington demonstrated political genius in helping create the American republic. How did Washington grow from a brash and impatient young man to exercise the civic virtues of restraint and moderation? What are some of the lessons we can still learn from America's first Commander in Chief?
25 Min
A Tale of Two Georges: Exploring Portraits of George III
and George Washington | BRIdge to the Past
Video
Video
21 Min
This week, Mary brings Gary on to compare the portraits of the famous two
Georges of early American history, George Washington and King George III
of England. They'll explore the reasons behind each man's deliberately chosen
outfits and stances. What do these paintings convey about the leaders'
confidence and leadership against the backdrop of the Revolutionary War?
And what unlikely similarities between the two men do these paintings reveal?
21 Min
Reading Excerpts from George Washington’s Diary
(1753-1754) | A Primary Source Close Read w/ BRI
Video
Video
24 Min
BRI Senior Teaching Fellow Tony Williams sits down with historian and author
Stephen F. Knott to talk about the fascinating excerpts from George Washington’s
Diaries in our new digital history textbook, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
Knott and Williams examine the text of Washington’s Diaries from 1753-1754 in which
the young Virginian engaged in a key colonial diplomatic mission to the French Empire.
They also explore the context of the larger imperial struggle involving the French,
British, colonists, and Native Americans in North America during the mid-eighteenth century.
24 Min