On Monday, Donald Trump will put his hand on the Bible and say: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability preserve, […]
George Washington
J.L. Bell on “myths and misinformation” about 1775
Over at Boston 1775, Bell sets the record straight: Learn more about these seven points here.
Other controversial presidential pardons in American history
According to Joshua Zeitz, Joe Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter Biden was less controversial than these presidential pardons: George Washington pardoned two whiskey rebels. Andrew Johnson pardoned Confederate officers. George H.W. Bush pardoned six men convicted in the Iran […]
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We need to teach young people about our history and institutions. Put me down as in favor. But we also need to teach about character.
The South Asian boys in George Washington’s family
Here is Gillian Brockwell at The Washington Post: On Jan. 6, 1796, George Washington, the sitting president in the temporary capital of Philadelphia, wrote a long letter to his teenage step-granddaughter with relationship advice. Though Washington never had biological children, […]
The Author’s Corner with Frank Cogliano
Frank Cogliano is Professor of American History at the University of Edinburgh. This interview is based on his new book, A Revolutionary Friendship: Washington, Jefferson, and the American Republic (Harvard University Press, 2024). JF: What led you to write A Revolutionary Friendship? […]
Richard Allen, the founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, eulogizes George Washington
I was in Mount Vernon last weekend for a gala event to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Pohick Church, the Anglican (now Episcopalian) church where George and Martha Washington attended. (George Mason attended as well). It was a great event. […]
Is bad history protected under the free speech clause of the First Amendment?
I mentioned this story in today’s Evangelical Roundup, but I thought it deserved its own post. In case you missed it, David Barton, the political activist who uses the American past to promote his Christian Right agenda, is suing the […]
Saturday Night Live on George Washington’s dream for America
SNL at its best:
Trump prophet reads a fake Jefferson quote and then says “take that and choke”
Hank Kunneman is a New Apostolic Reformation preacher and Seven Mountain Dominionist. He is part of the Dutch Sheets and Lance Wallnau crowd of “prophets” that we covered here. In this video Kunneman expounds on the history of church and […]
When Congress got rid of a George Washington statue…in 1908
Whatever happened to that statue of George Washington in a toga? Here is Ronald Shafer at The Washington Post: Slowly, some of the U.S. Capitol’s many statues and other artworks honoring enslavers have been slated for removal, most recently a bust of Roger […]
Did George Washington fear he would be buried alive?
I saw this tweet today from presidential historian Michael Beschloss: So I looked it up. Here is a taste of the entry on Washington’s death from the Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington, published by The Fred W. Smith National Library […]
The Author’s Corner with Philip Levy
Philip Levy is Professor of History at the University of South Florida. This interview is based on his new book, The Permanent Resident: Excavations and Explorations of George Washington’s Life (University of Virginia Press, 2022). JF: What led you to […]
The Author’s Corner with Maurizio Valsania
Maurizio Valsania is Professor of American History at the University of Turin. This interview is based on his new book, First Among Men: George Washington and the Myth of American Masculinity (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022). JF: What led you […]
The Author’s Corner with Gerard Magliocca
Gerard Magliocca is Samuel R. Rosen Professor of Law at Indiana University McKinney School of Law. This interview is based on his new book, Washington’s Heir: The Life of Justice Bushrod Washington (Oxford University Press, 2022). JF: What led you to […]
Episode 97: “In Search of George Washington’s Hair”
Using America’s obsession with Washington’s hair as his window, historian Keith Beutler examines how “physicality,” or the use of the material objects, was the most important way early Americans (1790-1840)–museum founders, African Americans, evangelicals, and school teachers– remembered the nation’s […]
Was West Ford the enslaved son of George Washington?
Who was West Ford? What was his relationship to George Washington? (Teaser: He was not his son). What role did Ford play at Mount Vernon? Jill Abrahamson covers it all in a recent piece at The New Yorker. Here is […]
The Author’s Corner with Mark Tabbert
Mark Tabbert is Director of Archives and Exhibits at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial Association. This interview is based on his new book, A Deserving Brother: George Washington and Freemasonry (University of Virginia Press, 2022). JF: What led you […]
My new toy
From the archives: Jack Hibbs dabbles in American history and it is a disaster. We need another Dudley Rutherford moment
This post is from July 13, 2021: In 2011, Dudley Rutherford, the pastor of the Shepherd of the Hills Church in Porter Ranch, California, sat down in front of a camera and told the inspiring story behind the writing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” […]