CSPAN2 — The Presidency George Washington
20260816 065500 UTC
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[00:00:00] SURE. ALL RIGHT.
[00:00:03] THANK YOU SO MUCH.
[00:00:30] I'M DOUG BRADBURN. THE PRESIDENCY OF GEORGE MOUNT
[00:00:32] VERNON AND BEHALF AND THE MOUNT
[00:00:34] VERNON LADIES ASSOCIATE. I'M DELIGHTED TO SEE YOU ALL
[00:00:37] HERE TONIGHT FOR THE MICHELLE
[00:00:40] SMITH SERIES. THAT IS THE FIRST PERSON TO
[00:00:43] THANK IS, OF COURSE, THE ROBERT H. AND CLARICE SMITH FOUNDATION
[00:00:46] THAT SUPPORTED THIS IN HONOR OF THEIR THEIR DAUGHTER MICHELLE,
[00:00:50] WHO WAS FANTASTIC PHILANTHROPIST
[00:00:53] AND PATRIOT IN HER OWN RIGHT AND. IT'S A GREAT WAY TO CONCLUDE AN
[00:00:57] EXTRA ORDINARY SERIES THAT WE'VE HAD THIS YEAR SO FAR.
[00:01:01] WE KICKED IT OFF WITH A MAJOR CONVERSATION ABOUT WHO WE ARE AS
[00:01:05] A NATION IN OUR 250TH YEAR. WITH THAT GREAT COLLECTION OF
[00:01:10] ESSAYS, 24 HISTORIANS, IF YOU'LL
[00:01:12] REMEMBER TY COULDN'T FIND THE 25TH, APPARENTLY, EVEN THOUGH I
[00:01:15] WAS SITTING RIGHT THE WHOLE TIME.
[00:01:18] AND YET THEY SOMEHOW COULDN'T FIND ME.
[00:01:22] BUT, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS A THAT'S A CONVERSATION WE HAD.
[00:01:24] AND THEN COURSE, WALTER ISAACSON LAST WEEK.
[00:01:28] BUT TONIGHT WE HAVE THE THE
[00:01:32] PIECE DE RESISTANCE THE THE
[00:01:35] GRAND FINALE AND WHAT OUR GRAND
[00:01:38] FINALE CAN WE HAVE THEN BRANDS
[00:01:40] BECAUSE H.W. BRANDS IT'S NOT
[00:01:44] ONLY AN EXTRAORDINARY HISTORIAN
[00:01:47] IS PROLIFIC 30 BOOKS AT LEAST
[00:01:49] FIVE EDITED VOLUMES SCORES OF
[00:01:54] ESSAYS SCORES OF LESS LEARNED
[00:01:56] ESSAYS IS MORE LESS LEARNED.
[00:02:00] HE IS EVERYWHERE. I HAVE A LIST OF ALL THE PLACES
[00:02:03] HE'S BEEN PUBLISHED, BUT YOU KNOW, THE TIMES, THE WALL STREET
[00:02:07] JOURNAL, THE POST, THE TRIBUNE'S
[00:02:09] EVERY TRIBUNE PUT THE CITY IN OF IT AND ENDS WITH THE TRIBUNE.
[00:02:13] ALL OF THEM. AND WE'RE REALLY HONORED FOR HIM
[00:02:17] TO BE HERE BECAUSE HIS BOOKS ARE
[00:02:18] NOT BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN, BUT THEY ARE AWARD WINNING.
[00:02:23] HE'S BEEN A FINALIST FOR THE PULITZER PRIZE COURSE AND MANY
[00:02:25] OF HIS BOOKS ARE GOING TO BE BESTSELLERS.
[00:02:29] HE IS. WE'RE NOW JOINED AND AROUND THE
[00:02:33] WORLD READ IN GERMAN FRENCH,
[00:02:36] RUSSIAN, CHINESE, JAPANESE AND
[00:02:40] KOREAN. SO THIS IS ONE OF THOSE EVENINGS WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO SAY, YEAH,
[00:02:44] I H.W. BRANDS. I SAW HIM AND YOUR KIDS WILL ASK
[00:02:47] YOU WHAT WAS THAT INCREDIBLE PROGRAM HE SAW AT MT. VERNON.
[00:02:51] AND HE'LL SAY, WELL, IT WAS H.W.
[00:02:52] BRANDS BECAUSE GUESS WHAT HEDO'S
[00:02:57] A NEW BIOGRAPHY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON WHERE BETTER THAN TO
[00:03:01] HEAR FROM H.W. BRANDS TALK ABOUT
[00:03:03] HIS BOOK AMERICAN PATRIARCH THE
[00:03:06] LIFE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON.
[00:03:08] SO I WANT TO HEAR A BIG WELCOME.
[00:03:10] NOT YET, BECAUSE I GOT SOME BOOKKEEPING TO DO.
[00:03:14] YOU SEE THAT QR CODE OVER THERE ON THAT SCREEN?
[00:03:16] THAT'S THE WAY YOU'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO ASK QUESTIONS TONIGHT. SO TAKE OUT YOUR PHONE.
[00:03:20] YOU SHOOT THAT QR CODE. HE'S GOING TO BE UP HERE LECTURING AND THIS AUDIENCE
[00:03:24] KNOWS MORE ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON COLLECTIVELY THAN ANY
[00:03:28] AUDIENCE IN THE WORLD. AND SO I EXPECT THE QUESTIONS TO
[00:03:32] BE TO BE GOOD, TO BE IN, TO BE
[00:03:38] PRESSING AND TO CHALLENGE HIM. AND LET'S LET'S SEE IF WE CAN
[00:03:41] BRING DOWN THE GREAT BRANDS TONIGHT WITH THE QUESTION AND
[00:03:45] ANSWER. SO HE WILL FOR 34 OR 40 MINUTES.
[00:03:48] AND THEN YOU'LL BE THINKING
[00:03:50] ABOUT YOUR QUESTIONS ALL ALONG. YOU SHOOT HIM IN HERE, THEY'LL
[00:03:53] COME UP UNDER THIS SCREEN AND THEN I WILL ASK HIM THOSE QUESTIONS.
[00:03:56] SO WE WON'T HAVE ANY STANDING COMMENTATORS.
[00:04:00] THE AUDIENCE TONIGHT WILL BE ABLE TO EVERYBODY'S QUESTIONS
[00:04:04] AND GET THEM UP THERE ALL LECTURE LONG. ALL RIGHT.
[00:04:06] WITH THAT, LET'S GO AHEAD AND PREPARE OURSELVES TO GIVE HIM A
[00:04:10] BIG MOUNT VERNON WELCOME AND THANK HIM FOR ATTEMPT TO TELL
[00:04:14] THE GREAT OF GEORGE WASHINGTON
[00:04:18] PATRIOT OF THE LIFE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON. H.W..
[00:04:23] AS YOU.
[00:04:29] THANK YOU, DOUG, FOR THAT. VERY KIND INTRODUCTION.
[00:04:33] AND THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE. I AM IMPRESSED WITH.
[00:04:36] THE CHALLENGE THAT YOU HAVE POSED TO COME WITH QUESTIONS THAT I CANNOT ANSWER AND YOU
[00:04:41] PROBABLY CAN UP WITH QUESTIONS LIKE THAT.
[00:04:44] HOWEVER I AM UNFAZED.
[00:04:46] I'VE FACED TOUGHER AUDIENCE THAN
[00:04:49] YOU COULD EVER.
[00:04:52] I'M NOT FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS, BUT I'VE BEEN LIVING IN TEXAS
[00:04:56] SINCE THE 1980S.
[00:04:58] AND BECAUSE NOT A TEXAN, I'M
[00:05:02] WITH A CERTAIN SKEPTICISM
[00:05:04] SUSPICION BY NATIVES OF THE LONE
[00:05:07] STAR STATE.
[00:05:09] I HAVE MADE BOLD TIMES IN MY
[00:05:13] CAREER AS A HISTORIAN TO WRITE
[00:05:15] ABOUT TEXAS HISTORY.
[00:05:18] I WROTE ABOUT THE BATTLE OF THE
[00:05:20] ALAMO, AND I SO BOLD AS TO SAY
[00:05:24] THAT THE BATTLE OF ALAMO SHOULD
[00:05:26] NEVER HAVE BEEN FOUGHT.
[00:05:30] WHERE YOU CAN IMAGINE REACTION. IT GOT.
[00:05:34] AND SO I WAS ATTACKED IN MONTHLY
[00:05:38] MAGAZINE SAYING. THAT YANKEE PROFESSOR AT THE
[00:05:42] TIME I WAS TEACHING AT TEXAS A&M
[00:05:44] THAT YANKEE AGGIE OUGHT TO GO
[00:05:46] BACK TO OREGON, WHERE HE CAME FROM.
[00:05:48] NOW, THE REAL CHALLENGE CAME
[00:05:50] WHEN I WAS SPEAKING IN WEST, TEXAS.
[00:05:53] I RECEIVED AN INVITATION FROM MIDLAND COLLEGE.
[00:05:57] MIDLAND OUT IN THE OIL PATCH OF WEST TEXAS. AND THEY'RE ALL REALLY RICH OUT THERE.
[00:06:00] AND NEXT TO THE ON THE BANKS
[00:06:05] WHERE THEY HAVE, YOU KNOW, THE TEMPERATURE AND THE DATE IN MIDLAND.
[00:06:07] THEY ALSO THE CURRENT PRICE OF
[00:06:09] WEST TEXAS OIL.
[00:06:13] SO KNOWS WHAT THE TEMPERATURE OF THE TOWN IS. SO I WAS GOING TO I WAS INVITED
[00:06:17] BY COLLEGE TO SPEAK AND WHEN
[00:06:20] SOME OF THE SCHOOLTEACHERS OUT THERE HEARD THAT I WAS COMING.
[00:06:24] THEY EMAILED ME AND THEY SAID,
[00:06:26] COULD WOULD IT BE OKAY IF I BROUGHT MY SEVENTH GRADE CLASS
[00:06:29] TO YOUR?
[00:06:31] AND SO THEY CAN LEARN FROM YOU AS WELL.
[00:06:35] NOW KNEW ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT
[00:06:37] SEVENTH GRADE IS TEXAS HISTORY
[00:06:40] IS TAUGHT TO YOUNG TEXANS.
[00:06:42] IT IS NOT COINCIDENCE I'M SURE
[00:06:45] THAT THAT IS JUST THE SAME WHEN
[00:06:48] CATHOLIC KIDS ARE CONFIRMED
[00:06:50] JEWISH, KIDS ARE BAR MITZVAHED. IT'S THE COMING OF AGE.
[00:06:53] IT'S A TRANS OF WHAT YOU NEED TO
[00:06:57] KNOW TO BE A TEXAN. I SAID, I TOLD I'VE BEEN IN
[00:07:00] TEXAS NOW FOR 45 YEARS.
[00:07:03] MORE THAN THAT, 50 YEARS ALMOST.
[00:07:05] AND BUT I DON'T FEEL LIKE I'M A
[00:07:08] TEXAN BECAUSE I DIDN'T UNDERGO
[00:07:12] RITE OF PASSAGE. I DIDN'T HAVE ANSWER THE
[00:07:13] CATECHISM QUESTIONS ABOUT, YOU
[00:07:16] KNOW, WHAT TEXANS BELIEVE
[00:07:18] NONETHELESS IN, MY MAGNANIMITY
[00:07:20] AS A TEACHER, I SAID, SURE,
[00:07:23] BRING YOUR SEVENTH GRADERS.
[00:07:25] WELL WORD GOT AROUND ONE SEVENTH
[00:07:29] GRADE TEXAS HISTORY TEACHER, ANOTHER WHO CONTACTED ANOTHER.
[00:07:32] AND BEFORE I KNEW IT, THE WHOLE LOT OF TOURISM UP TO THE MIDDLE
[00:07:35] LEVEL FILLED WITH SEVENTH GRADERS AND THEY WERE IN THE
[00:07:39] MIDDLE OF THEIR TEXAS HISTORY CLASS.
[00:07:41] NOW, PERHAPS YOU CAN APPRECIATE,
[00:07:44] BEING OF AGE A BIT OLDER THAN SEVENTH GRADE, THAT THE
[00:07:48] PERSPECTIVE OF YOUNG PEOPLE ON
[00:07:50] HISTORY IS DIFFERENT. THE PERSPECTIVE OF PEOPLE MY AGE
[00:07:54] AND YOUR AGE SOME OF IT IS JUST
[00:07:56] YOU HAVE MORE LIFE EXPERIENCE.
[00:07:58] YOU COME TO APPRECIATE HISTORY,
[00:08:00] BUT YOU ALSO YOU ALSO GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IMPORTANT
[00:08:06] QUESTIONS CONSIST OF AND WHAT IS
[00:08:08] MAYBE LESS IMPORTANT, EVEN TRIVIAL, AS IN THE OF TRIVIA.
[00:08:13] BUT WHEN YOU'RE IN SEVENTH GRADE.
[00:08:15] YOU CANNOT TELL THE DIFFERENCE. IT'S ALL THE SAME.
[00:08:18] AND APPARENTLY, APPARENTLY THE
[00:08:22] SEVENTH GRADE TEACHERS HAD A CHALLENGE VERY MUCH LIKE DOUG DID.
[00:08:26] SEE IF YOU CAN STUMP THE CHUMP
[00:08:28] COME UP WITH THE QUESTION THAT
[00:08:30] THE SMART PROFESSOR, THE AGGIE
[00:08:32] YANKEE PROFESSOR CAN'T ANSWER.
[00:08:36] SO I GREETED THANK YOU FOR COMING THANK YOU FOR.
[00:08:40] COMING. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS YOUNG
[00:08:42] MAN IN THE FRONT ROW RAISE? I GOT A QUESTION.
[00:08:44] I GOT QUESTION. OKAY, YOUNG MAN, WHAT'S YOUR
[00:08:51] QUESTION. WHAT WAS SAM HOUSTON'S?
[00:08:54] MIDDLE NAME.
[00:08:57] I CERTAINLY DID NOT SEE THAT ONE COMING.
[00:09:03] AND. I WAS PRETTY SURE I KNEW WHAT THE ANSWER.
[00:09:06] BUT I WAS ALSO EQUALLY SURE THAT THE ANSWER THAT I WAS GOING TO
[00:09:09] GIVE WOULD UNACCEPTABLE BECAUSE
[00:09:12] THE SORT OF SMART ALECK IN ME
[00:09:16] WAS GOING TO GO BACK AND SAY, WELL, WHAT WAS ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
[00:09:19] MIDDLE NAME? WHAT WAS GEORGE WASHINGTON'S
[00:09:22] MIDDLE PEOPLE DIDN'T ALWAYS
[00:09:24] MIDDLE NAMES, BUT YOU TELL THAT
[00:09:27] TO A SEVENTH GRADE CLASS WHERE, THEY'VE ALL GOT MIDDLE NAMES,
[00:09:30] SOME THEM HAVE TWO MIDDLE NAMES. AND THAT BE SEEN AS A DODGE
[00:09:33] BRANDS COULDN'T THE QUESTION BUT
[00:09:37] WHEN YOU'RE IN THE TEACHING BUSINESS YOU CAN IDENTIFY WHAT
[00:09:40] WE CALL TEACHABLE MOMENTS WHEN
[00:09:42] YOU'VE GOT AUDIENCE ATTENTION.
[00:09:44] AND USUALLY IT'S WHEN YOU'RE
[00:09:47] DOING THIS SORT OF TIGHTROPE ACT WHERE THEY THINK THE STUDENTS
[00:09:50] THINK GOT HERE AND CAN WE IS HE GOING TO FALL OFF OR IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER IT.
[00:09:54] SO BECAUSE I KNEW I HAD THEIR
[00:09:56] ATTENTION, I DECIDED TO MAKE LESSON OUT OF IT. WELL, I WON'T GO INTO THE WHOLE
[00:10:01] LESSON. BUT I TOOK I TOOK 15 MINUTES
[00:10:04] ANSWERING THE QUESTION BECAUSE. I DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE TO ANSWER
[00:10:08] A SECOND QUESTION. ANYWAY. I WENT THROUGH THE WHOLE THING
[00:10:11] AND I TALKED ABOUT HOW SAM
[00:10:14] HOUSTON HAD RUN AWAY FROM HOME
[00:10:15] AT WELL, AT ABOUT THE AGE YOU ARE, I SAID TO THE SEVENTH
[00:10:19] GRADERS, BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO GROW UP TO BE A FARMER. HE RAN OFF TO LIVE WITH THE
[00:10:22] CHEROKEES AND THE CHEROKEES GAVE HIM A NAME, A CHEROKEE THAT
[00:10:25] TRANSLATE TO RAVEN. SO I SAID MAYBE WE SHOULD
[00:10:28] CONSIDER THAT HIS MIDDLE NAME.
[00:10:29] NOW THEY WEREN'T BUYING THAT SO
[00:10:33] THEN I SAID, WELL, I DON'T KNOW
[00:10:36] IF YOU'RE TOLD THIS IN YOUR SEVENTH GRADE, TEXAS CLASS, BUT
[00:10:40] SAM HOUSTON, A PROBLEM ALCOHOL
[00:10:46] AND AFTER HIS MARRIAGE FELL
[00:10:48] APART AND HE LEFT TENNESSEE AND
[00:10:51] HE WENT BACK INTO INDIAN TERRITORY TO LIVE WITH THE INDIANS.
[00:10:54] HE WAS DRINKING ALL THE TIME AND
[00:10:57] THE INDIANS CALLED HIM BIG DRUNK.
[00:11:01] SO MAYBE THAT SAM MIDDLE NAME.
[00:11:05] THEN I SAID THEY WOULD. THEY WEREN'T BUYING THAT, BUT I.
[00:11:07] OKAY WELL WHEN SAM HOUSTON FINALLY GOT TO TEXAS, NOW I'M
[00:11:11] SPEAKING TO THIS CLASS OF TEXAS HISTORY STUDENTS. YOU REMEMBER WHEN SAM HOUSTON
[00:11:14] GOT TO TEXAS? SEE, I PUT THEM ON THE SPOT.
[00:11:17] NOW BECAUSE I CAN ASK QUESTIONS BACK, AND SO I DON'T KNOW.
[00:11:21] ANYWAY, SO EMIGRANTS TEXAS,
[00:11:25] WHICH THEN PART OF MEXICO IN ORDER TO LEGALLY IF THEY WEREN'T
[00:11:30] ALREADY CATHOLICS THEY HAD BE BAPTIZED IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
[00:11:34] AND. WHEN THEY DID SO, THEY TOOK A SAINT'S NAME AND THAT WAS AT
[00:11:38] THAT MOMENT THAT I REMEMBERED THAT I HAD SEEN A CONTRACT.
[00:11:42] THE SAM HOUSTON, WHO WAS A PRACTICING LAWYER, AMONG OTHER
[00:11:45] THINGS, HE HAD SIGNED AND HE
[00:11:46] SIGNED HIS NAME SAM PABLO
[00:11:51] HOUSTON. SO I SAID, PABLO, THAT MUST BE HIS MIDDLE NAME.
[00:11:54] WHAT DO YOU THINK. WELL, THEY WERE KIND OF SHAKING
[00:11:58] THEIR HEADS AT THAT. AND I SAID, WELL, I GUESS WE'VE OUT OF TIME. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY.
[00:12:03] SO ANY QUESTION YOU COULD PUT TO ME WON'T BOTHER ME A BIT AND
[00:12:05] I'LL PROBABLY FILIBUSTER THAT
[00:12:07] QUESTION JUST LIKE I FILIBUSTER THE SAME HOUSTON GUYS.
[00:12:11] I'M GOING TO TELL YOU I'M GOING TO TELL YOU THE PROBLEM THAT A BIOGRAPHER AND A HISTORIAN HAS
[00:12:15] WRITING ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON.
[00:12:16] THE PROBLEM THIS, TO PUT IT VERY
[00:12:20] SUCCINCTLY, ACCOUNTING FOR HIS
[00:12:22] SUCCESS, HOW HE DO IT.
[00:12:26] I HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON AS LONG AS I
[00:12:30] HAVE BEEN TEACHING HISTORY, AND
[00:12:33] THAT'S REALLY LONG TIME I HAVE.
[00:12:36] I ADDED UP THE YEARS.
[00:12:38] I JUST FINISHED MY SPRING SEMESTER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF
[00:12:42] TEXAS AUSTIN, WHERE I TEACH AND.
[00:12:44] I REALIZED THAT I HAVE JUST
[00:12:47] COMPLETED MY 50TH YEAR IN THE CLASSROOM.
[00:12:50] SO I'VE BEEN TALKING.
[00:12:55] THANK YOU, ACTUALLY.
[00:12:57] SO I SAID THAT TO MY CLASS AND
[00:13:01] AND THEY GAVE ME A ROUND OF APPLAUSE. THEY WERE MORE IMPRESSED THAT 50
[00:13:04] YEARS THAN YOU ARE BECAUSE KNOW THEY'RE 20 YEARS OLD.
[00:13:07] BUT BUT INTRIGUINGLY ENOUGH,
[00:13:11] THEY ALL THOUGHT THAT IN
[00:13:13] ANNOUNCING THAT I WAS MY
[00:13:16] RETIREMENT BECAUSE WHEN I SHOWED UP TWO DAYS LATER, WHAT ARE YOU
[00:13:20] STILL DOING HERE? WE THOUGHT YOU YOU'RE RETIRED.
[00:13:23] ANYWAY, I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON. I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON.
[00:13:27] I HAVE MADE A POINT FROM MY VERY
[00:13:28] FIRST YEAR TEACHING, EVEN.
[00:13:32] UNTIL NOW, AND I'LL CONTINUE TO DO SO AS LONG I CONTINUE TO TEACH, AND THAT IS TO TEACH AN INTRODUCTORY COURSE IN AMERICAN
[00:13:37] HISTORY. IT'S A TWO SEMESTER COURSE IN THE FALL.
[00:13:38] WE BEGIN PRE COLONIAL TIMES AND
[00:13:41] IN THE SPRING WE WIND UP AT THE PRESENT OR AS NEAR TO THE
[00:13:45] PRESENT I CAN GET.
[00:13:45] AND SO I DO THIS, I DO THIS.
[00:13:49] I WANT TO REMAIN FAMILIAR WITH
[00:13:52] THE BROAD SWEEP OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
[00:13:54] I DO IT BECAUSE OVER THE YEARS
[00:13:56] I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT MOST ERAS IN
[00:13:58] AMERICAN HISTORY AND ALLOWS ME SORT OF TRY OUT MY ON MY
[00:14:02] STUDENTS. SO I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON, ALL THESE
[00:14:06] TEARS AND AND I'M PERFECTLY
[00:14:10] AWARE OF THE IMPORTANCE GEORGE
[00:14:13] WASHINGTON TO AMERICAN HISTORY.
[00:14:15] THIS HAS NEVER BEEN QUESTIONED.
[00:14:20] BUT BUT HOW DID HE DO IT? I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF HOW
[00:14:22] THIS SORT OF PLAYED MY MIND.
[00:14:25] I'M I DO PRESENT NAVAL HISTORY AS ONE OF THE KINDS OF HISTORY I
[00:14:29] DO. I TEACH A COURSE IN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORY EVERY SPRING.
[00:14:33] AND I KNOW PERFECTLY WELL THAT
[00:14:36] SINCE THE MIDDLE OF THE 20TH CENTURY, THREE PRESIDENTS HAVE
[00:14:40] BEEN RANKED ABOVE ALL THE OTHERS
[00:14:44] THAT ARE YOU COULD PROBABLY NAME
[00:14:46] THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON, ABRAHAM
[00:14:49] LINCOLN, FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT.
[00:14:52] NOW THESE ARE RANKED AS THREE GREATEST PRESIDENTS IN TERMS
[00:14:55] THEIR GREAT IMPACT ON AMERICAN HISTORY.
[00:14:59] NOT EVERYONE AGREES WITH
[00:15:02] EVERYTHING THAT THE PRESIDENTS DID.
[00:15:04] NOBODY MET MAKE TAKES MUCH ISSUE
[00:15:08] WITH WHAT WASHINGTON DID AS PRESIDENT.
[00:15:12] BUT I LIVE IN TEXAS, WHICH IS A
[00:15:14] STATE OF THE FORMER CONFEDERACY,
[00:15:18] AND ARE STILL PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT
[00:15:19] THAT, YOU KNOW, WARM AND ABOUT ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
[00:15:22] IN FACT, I WAS ASKED SOME OF YOU
[00:15:26] WILL REMEMBER THAT THERE WAS A WE'RE IN THE 250TH YEAR OF
[00:15:30] AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. YOU'LL REMEMBER THAT WAS YOU REMEMBER THE LINCOLN
[00:15:35] BICENTENNIAL HAPPENED IN 2009.
[00:15:36] THERE WAS 200 YEARS SINCE BIRTH.
[00:15:40] I WAS ASKED BY THE GOVERNOR, THE
[00:15:42] STATE OF TEXAS, TO THE TEXAS
[00:15:45] LIAISON TO THE NATIONAL LINCOLN
[00:15:48] BICENTENNIAL COMMITTEE. AND MY JOB WAS TO KEEP UP WITH
[00:15:52] ALL THE THINGS THAT WERE GOING TO BE DONE IN TEXAS TO CELEBRATE THE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
[00:15:56] AND I HEARD THAT I SAID, SURE,
[00:15:58] GIVE ME EASIEST GIG I EVER HAD
[00:16:02] BECAUSE NOTHING EVER.
[00:16:04] SO FINALLY FINALLY I HAD TO COME
[00:16:06] UP WITH SOMETHING SO.
[00:16:08] WELL, HOW ABOUT PLACES IN TEXAS ARE NAMED FOR LINCOLN?
[00:16:12] THERE IS ONE SMALL HAMLET IN CENTRAL TEXAS.
[00:16:16] THAT'S LINCOLN. I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHY IT WAS
[00:16:19] CALLED LINCOLN, BUT I'M GOING TO ACTUALLY POSE A QUESTION TO YOU
[00:16:22] SEE HOW YOU ARE THIS EVENING.
[00:16:26] THERE WAS THERE IN NEARLY EVERY
[00:16:30] CITY OR TOWN OF SIZE, ONE
[00:16:33] INSTITUTION, NAME FOR ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
[00:16:37] AND IT'S THE SAME INSTITUTION,
[00:16:39] THE EXACT SAME IN EVERY TOWN AND
[00:16:44] IT'S ESSENTIALLY THE ONLY
[00:16:46] INSTITUTE IN NAME FOR ABRAHAM LINCOLN IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
[00:16:50] I ADD THAT THIS WOULD APPLY IN
[00:16:54] TEXAS. IT WOULD APPLY IN MANY STATES OF
[00:16:58] THE SOUTH. WHAT INSTITUTION WAS IT? CAR DEALERSHIP?
[00:17:04] YEAH. NO, NOT A BAD YES.
[00:17:06] NOT A BAD YES. A MAIN STREET BANK PRISON.
[00:17:12] IF IT WAS A SCHOOL.
[00:17:14] WHAT KIND OF SCHOOL WAS IT?
[00:17:16] IT WAS A BLACK SCHOOL.
[00:17:20] IT ALWAYS THE FIRST BLACK HIGH SCHOOL IN WHATEVER TOWN IT WAS
[00:17:24] IN. ANYWAY. SO.
[00:17:28] SO I KNEW WHY WAS IMPORTANT. I CAN TELL YOU WHY WAS
[00:17:32] IMPORTANT. I CAN TELL YOU WHY FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT WAS IN BOARD. ANYBODY COULD TELL YOU I WROTE A
[00:17:36] BOOK ABOUT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT, AND I SHOULD. SO SOME OF THE STUFF THAT
[00:17:38] LINCOLN DID WAS STILL SORT OF VAGUELY CONTROVERSIAL IN THE
[00:17:42] SUIT. A FEW UNRECONSTRUCTED PLACES, MAYBE PARTS OF VIRGINIA,
[00:17:46] FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT CAN STILL
[00:17:49] RAISE BLOOD PRESSURES AROUND THE
[00:17:51] COUNTRY AND.
[00:17:53] AND SO I'M NOT WHEN I SAY THAT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT WAS ONE OF
[00:17:57] THE THREE GREAT PRESIDENTS, NOT NECESSARILY GREAT AND GOOD, BUT GREAT.
[00:17:59] AND HAVING A VERY LARGE INFLUENCE ON AMERICAN LIFE.
[00:18:03] AND I WROTE A BOOK ABOUT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT IN WHICH I MAKE THE CASE AND I MAYBE I
[00:18:07] SHOULD GIVE YOU A WARNING OR AT
[00:18:10] LEAST A NOTICE WHAT TO EXPECT SHOULD YOU READ MY BOOK ON
[00:18:13] GEORGE WASHINGTON? I MAKE A POINT.
[00:18:17] MAYBE, I THINK UNUSUALLY AMONG
[00:18:19] BIOGRAPHERS AND USUALLY AMONG
[00:18:21] HISTORIANS IN NOT PASSING
[00:18:25] JUDGMENT ON MY SUBJECTS, I WANT YOU KNOW, WHAT GEORGE WASHINGTON
[00:18:28] WAS LIKE. I WANT YOU TO SEE THE WORLD THROUGH GEORGE EYES.
[00:18:32] BUT I'M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU AT THE BEGINNING, IN THE MIDDLE OR
[00:18:35] THE END, THE GEORGE WASHINGTON WAS A GREAT, GOOD MAN.
[00:18:38] I HAVE MY THOUGHTS THAT. BUT I LEAVE THAT TO YOU.
[00:18:42] I GIVE YOU ALL THE EVIDENCE YOU NEED TO DECIDE WHETHER YOU LIKE
[00:18:46] HIM OR NOT, WHETHER YOU THINK HE WAS IMPORTANT OR NOT.
[00:18:48] I TELL YOU PRETTY MUCH AS MUCH
[00:18:52] OF WHAT HIS CRITICS, WHAT HIS ENEMIES SAID ABOUT HIM AS
[00:18:56] ANYBODY KNEW IT AT THE TIME. SO I LEAVE THAT TO YOU. IN THE CASE OF FRANKLIN
[00:19:00] ROOSEVELT, IT IS EASY FOR ME TO CHARACTERIZE THIS. I WRITE ABOUT THE NEW DEAL.
[00:19:04] I EXPLAIN, WELL WHAT THE NEW DEAL WAS ABOUT.
[00:19:08] I DON'T SAY THAT THE NEW DEAL WAS A GOOD DEAL OR THE NEW DEAL WAS A BAD DEAL.
[00:19:11] THAT DEPENDS MORE ON YOUR OWN VIEWS, YOUR OWN VALUES REGARDING
[00:19:16] GOVERNMENT, THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT INDIVIDUALS. BUT I DO EXPLAIN WHY THE NEW
[00:19:19] DEAL WAS A BIG DEAL AND ANYWAY,
[00:19:24] SO. WHY IS LINCOLN CONSIDERED ONE OF THE THREE GREATS?
[00:19:27] BECAUSE HE SAVED THE UNION AND HE FREED THE SLAVES.
[00:19:31] IS FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT CONSIDERED ONE OF THE THREE? GREAT BECAUSE. HE GUIDED AMERICA THROUGH THE
[00:19:34] GREAT DEPRESSION AND HE GUIDED THE FREE WORLD, WORLD WAR TWO
[00:19:38] AND THE DEFEAT OF FASCISM.
[00:19:40] BUT WHAT DID GEORGE DO TO RANK
[00:19:44] AS ONE OF THE THREE GREAT PRESIDENTS?
[00:19:47] I'LL ASK IF YOU HAD TO SAY,
[00:19:51] WHAT'S THE FIRST THING YOU THINK ABOUT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT
[00:19:54] GEORGE WASHINGTON'S PRESIDENCY AND ITS LEGACY FOR THE
[00:20:00] PRESIDENCY, THE COUNTRY? WHAT'S THE ONE THING THAT EVERYBODY IMMEDIATELY SAYS
[00:20:03] GEORGE WASHINGTON DID?
[00:20:04] AND THAT WAS IMPORTANT TERM LIMITS.
[00:20:08] HE LEFT AFTER TWO TERMS. AND I MEAN, IT'S OF A NEGATIVE
[00:20:12] THING TO SAY ABOUT SOMEBODY HE KNEW WHEN TO LEAVE.
[00:20:14] AND IT'S TRUE IT'S TRUE. AND I'M I HAVE ACTUALLY A GOOD
[00:20:19] DEAL TO SAY ABOUT THAT IN THE BOOK. AND IF YOU ASK ME I'LL TELL YOU
[00:20:22] WHY IT ISN'T EXACTLY MOST PEOPLE THINK IT IS.
[00:20:27] BUT BUT IF THAT'S THE LEADING
[00:20:30] ITEM FOR GEORGE PRESIDENTIAL
[00:20:33] GREATNESS, I DON'T KNOW SO SO
[00:20:35] THEN WAS FALL BACK ON WHY DID HE BECOME PRESIDENT?
[00:20:39] BECAUSE WAS A GENERAL. HE WAS A VICTORIOUS GENERAL IN
[00:20:42] AN IMPORTANT WAR. ALL RIGHT. FAIR ENOUGH.
[00:20:45] THERE HAVE OTHER GENERAL
[00:20:48] PRESIDENTS AFTER WASHINGTON WAS
[00:20:50] JACKSON AND THERE WAS AND THERE WAS EISENHOWER.
[00:20:54] AND WHEN I LOOK AT THEIR
[00:20:58] CAREERS, I. I UNDERSTAND PRETTY EASILY WHY
[00:21:04] JACKSON ACCOMPLISHED WHAT HE ACCOMPLISHED? HE WAS THE VICTOR, THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS.
[00:21:07] AND I CAN YOU THAT THE REASON
[00:21:09] FOR JACKSON'S SUCCESS WAS THAT
[00:21:13] HIS SOLDIERS WERE MORE SCARED OF
[00:21:15] HIM THAN THEY OF THE BRITISH.
[00:21:17] JACKSON HAD HOLD TOGETHER, PULL
[00:21:19] TOGETHER THE MOTLEY IEST ARMY
[00:21:22] THAT EVER FOUGHT IN DEFENSE OF THE UNITED STATES. AND THEY THAT IF THEY LET
[00:21:26] JACKSON DOWN THEY WOULD WELL
[00:21:29] THEY WOULD PAY THE CONSEQUENCES.
[00:21:32] IN THE CASE OF GRANT, GRANT WAS THE GREAT FIGHTER AND WHEN
[00:21:36] LINCOLN PROMOTED GRANT BE
[00:21:38] COMMANDER OF THE UNION ARMIES,
[00:21:40] HE SAID HE FIGHTS, HE FIGHTS THAT'S WHAT I WANT. I WANT SOMEBODY WHO FIGHTS.
[00:21:44] AND GRANT UNDERSTOOD THAT BY THE
[00:21:46] TIME HE GOT TO VIRGINIA, THE CIVIL WAR HAD REDUCED TO A WAR
[00:21:50] OF ATTRITION AND HE KNEW THAT
[00:21:52] FOR EVERY SOLDIER THAT HE LOST AND THAT ROBERT E LEE LEE
[00:21:58] COULDN'T REPLACE THAT SOLDIER. BUT GRANT COULD. AND SO WHAT THEY LOSE EQUALLY ON
[00:22:02] EACH SIDE THE UNION SIDE WINS I
[00:22:05] KNOW WHAT MADE EISENHOWER A
[00:22:07] GREAT GENERAL.
[00:22:09] IT WAS HIS POLITICAL AND DIPLOMATIC SKILL WITH THE
[00:22:13] VARIOUS CIVILIAN LEADERS HE HAD
[00:22:16] TO ACCOMMODATE WITH THE VARIOUS
[00:22:18] TEMPERAMENTAL GENERALS HE HAD TO DEAL WITH.
[00:22:21] HE WAS A GREAT BEFORE HE BECAME
[00:22:24] A POLITICIAN. BUT WHAT ABOUT WASHINGTON?
[00:22:28] WHAT MAKES WASHINGTON A GREAT
[00:22:31] SOLDIER, A GREAT GENERAL?
[00:22:35] WELL. THAT'S A HARD ONE TO ANSWER.
[00:22:37] I MEAN, THE BASE ANSWER IS THE
[00:22:41] BASIC ANSWER, AND IT'S WHY I REALIZE I'M TALKING TO A AN
[00:22:45] AUDIENCE OF PROBABLY MOST YOU A LOT OF YOU ARE VIRGINIANS.
[00:22:49] BUT IT'S WHY GRANT IS ALWAYS A
[00:22:53] BETTER GENERAL THAN LEE.
[00:22:56] BECAUSE YOU LOOK AT DISCOVER WHO WON THE WAR.
[00:22:59] IF YOU WIN THE WAR YOU'RE THE BETTER GENERAL.
[00:23:03] NOW THERE ARE WAYS OF PARSING
[00:23:06] THAT AND TEASING IT OUT. THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT QUITE SOUND
[00:23:09] SO SIMPLE.
[00:23:11] WHEN YOU THINK OF A GENERALS TO
[00:23:16] DEAL IN TACTICS AND D THEY HAVE
[00:23:18] TO DEAL IN STRATEGY. I MEAN, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE THE
[00:23:21] COMMANDING GENERAL, WHOLE ARMY STRATEGY IS A BIG DEAL FOR YOU
[00:23:24] IF YOU'RE JUST THE GENERAL OF A ONE DIVISION OR SOMETHING, THAT
[00:23:28] THEN YOU DON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE OVERALL STRATEGY SO MUCH
[00:23:33] TACTICALLY. TACTICALLY.
[00:23:36] GEORGE WASHINGTON WAS MAYBE
[00:23:39] MEDIOCRE. WASHINGTON LOST BATTLES.
[00:23:42] OTHER GENERALS E LEE WOULD HAVE WON.
[00:23:45] LEE WAS REALLY GOOD AT TACTICS,
[00:23:48] KNEW HOW TO TAKE AN ARMY ON, A BATTLEFIELD AGAINST ANOTHER ARMY
[00:23:52] AND WIN USE HIS OWN SIDE TO GREATEST EFFECT.
[00:23:57] WASHINGTON NOT GOOD AT THAT
[00:23:59] WASHINGTON LOST BATTLES THAT AS
[00:24:02] I SAY, OTHER GENERALS WOULD HAVE
[00:24:04] WON SO WHAT IS IT THAT MAKES HIM
[00:24:08] GREAT. WELL HE DID WIN THE WAR THAT'S TRUE. AND THE WAR WAS PRETTY
[00:24:12] IMPORTANT. WELL, PRETTY IMPORTANT THERE ARE
[00:24:14] WARS THERE TWO WAYS OF LOOKING AT WARS. THEY ARE WARS OF CHOICE AND
[00:24:18] THERE ARE EXISTENTIAL WARS. THE EXISTENTIAL WARS ARE WARS.
[00:24:21] YOU GOT FIGHT THAT'S REALLY ALL ABOUT EXISTENCE OF YOUR COUNTRY.
[00:24:26] AND WARS OF CHOICE. IT WAS YOU DON'T HAVE TO FIGHT.
[00:24:28] YOU COULD TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT. AND IF YOU WIN, THAT'S GREAT.
[00:24:32] IF YOU LOSE, WHILE IT'S NOT GOING TO DESTROY THE WHOLE
[00:24:34] COUNTRY AND FOR THE UNITED STATES, THERE WAS NEVER A MORE
[00:24:38] EXISTENTIAL WAR THAN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. I MEAN, LITERALLY THE SENSE THAT
[00:24:41] IF THE AMERICAN SIDE AND HAVE TO BE CAREFUL HERE BECAUSE ONE OF
[00:24:44] THE THINGS WASHINGTON HAD TO DEAL WITH WAS ALL THE AMERICANS
[00:24:48] WHO WEREN'T IN FAVOR OF INDEPENDENCE, THERE WAS A BIG
[00:24:51] BATCH OF LOYALISTS AND THIS GAVE WASHINGTON HEADACHES AT VARIOUS TIMES.
[00:24:55] SO BUT I WILL THE TERM AMERICAN
[00:24:57] SIDE TO DISTINGUISH GROUP FROM
[00:24:59] THE BRITISH AND SO WASHINGTON
[00:25:05] HAS TO FIGURE OUT, YOU KNOW, HOW
[00:25:07] TO HOW TO TAKE HIS SIDE AND TO
[00:25:11] DEFEAT THE BRITISH IN.
[00:25:13] HERE'S SOMETHING ELSE. THERE'S THINGS THAT PEOPLE HAVE
[00:25:17] KEEP IN MIND IN CONSIDERING
[00:25:20] EVENTS, PEOPLE THAT HAPPENED AND
[00:25:23] LIVED TWO CENTURIES, TWO AND A HALF CENTURIES AGO.
[00:25:28] AND ONE OF THEM HAS TO DO WITH THE SCALE OF LIFE.
[00:25:31] SO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE REVOLUTIONARY, VERY IMPORTANT
[00:25:34] WAR FOR THE UNITED STATES, BUT
[00:25:37] IT WAS A TINY WAR, IT WAS A TINY
[00:25:39] WAR COMPARED THE CIVIL WAR. IT WAS EVEN TINIER COMPARED WITH
[00:25:44] WORLD USE. IT WAS VERY SMALL SCALE WITH
[00:25:46] GRANT'S WAR AND EVEN SMALLER
[00:25:48] SCALE COMPARED WITH EISENHOWER'S
[00:25:52] WAR. AND SO, I MEAN, I THINK ABOUT I
[00:25:55] LIVE IN AUSTIN, I TEACH AT THE
[00:25:57] UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN, HAS A FOOTBALL TEAM AND IT HAS
[00:26:01] BIG STADIUM. AND SO I TELL STUDENTS THAT
[00:26:03] WASHINGTON'S ENTIRE DURING
[00:26:07] REVOLUTIONARY WAR COULD HAVE COMFORTABLY FIT IN THE SEATS IN
[00:26:11] THE END ZONE OF MEMORIAL STADIUM.
[00:26:15] AND IT REALLY SORT TAKES THEM ABACK.
[00:26:18] IT'S IT'S A VERY SMALL SCALE THING.
[00:26:23] SO ONE OF THE WAYS OF MEASURING THEIR SUCCESS IS IF SOMEBODY IN
[00:26:26] A COMPETITIVE AND HYPER COMPETITIVE LETHAL WAY,
[00:26:30] COMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE LIKE WAR IS YOU LOOK AT THEIR ONE LOSS
[00:26:33] RECORD, HOW MANY WINS, HOW
[00:26:35] LOSSES, IF YOU TALLY UP GEORGE
[00:26:38] WASHINGTON'S ONE LOSS RECORD, IT DOESN'T LOOK GOOD.
[00:26:42] HE LOST A LOT MORE BATTLES THAN.
[00:26:44] HE WON, BUT THAT'S BECAUSE
[00:26:48] WASHINGTON AS UNDISTINGUISHED AS
[00:26:53] HE WAS AS A TACTICIAN, HE WAS
[00:26:56] BRILLIANT STRATEGIST.
[00:26:59] HE UNDERSTOOD NATURE OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
[00:27:03] HE UNDERSTOOD WHAT HIS WAS AND
[00:27:05] HOW TO THAT TASK.
[00:27:09] I MENTIONED THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN EXISTENTIAL WARS AND
[00:27:13] WARS OF CHOICE. HE UNDERSTOOD THAT AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR WAS VERY
[00:27:18] ASYMMETRIC BETWEEN THE AMERICAN SIDE AND THE BRITISH SIDE.
[00:27:20] FOR THE AMERICAN SIDE, THIS WAS
[00:27:24] WASHINGTON AND EVERYBODY WHO WAS FIGHTING ON THE AMERICAN SIDE, IT BASICALLY PUT THEIR NECKS IN
[00:27:27] THE NOOSE IF THEY LOSE THE WAR,
[00:27:29] THEY MIGHT WELL LOSE THEIR LIVES. THEY WOULD LOSE THEIR COUNTRY,
[00:27:33] THEY WOULD LOSE EVERYTHING THAT THEY HAD PUT ON THE LINE FOR THE
[00:27:37] BRITISH IT WAS A WAR OF CHOICE. WASHINGTON UNDERSTOOD SOMETHING.
[00:27:41] THE THAT THE BEST GENERALS, THE MOST STRATEGICALLY VISIONARY
[00:27:45] GENERALS NEVER LOSE SIGHT OF. AND IT'S SOMETHING, THOUGH, THAT
[00:27:49] SOME PEOPLE IN THE MILITARY
[00:27:53] PROFESSION GET SORT OF ANNOYED WITH.
[00:27:56] BUT I WOULD SAY MORE OFTEN. SO KIND OF FANS OF THE MILITARY
[00:28:00] GET ANNOYED AT THIS WAR.
[00:28:02] EVERY WAR BEGINS IN POLITICS AND
[00:28:04] IT ENDS IN POLITICS AND THE
[00:28:07] STUFF IN THE MIDDLE TAKES PLACE ON THE BATTLEFIELD.
[00:28:11] POLITICS OFTEN INVOLVED, BUT THE WAR STARTS BECAUSE THE
[00:28:15] POLITICIANS CAN'T RESOLVE SOME ISSUE.
[00:28:16] THE WAR WHEN THE POLITICIANS SAY
[00:28:20] THE WAR IS OVER AND IT'S CRITICAL TO REMEMBER THAT THE
[00:28:24] WAR ENDS WHEN NOT WHEN THE
[00:28:26] WINNERS SAY IT'S OVER.
[00:28:35] BUT WHEN THE LOSERS SAY IT'S OVER, BECAUSE THE LOSERS ARE THE ONES WHO HAVE TO STOP FIGHTING. SO WASHINGTON, EARLY ON THAT HE
[00:28:38] DIDN'T HAVE TO WIN ANY BATTLE IN
[00:28:41] THE WAR EXCEPT THE LAST.
[00:28:44] AND IF HE WON THE LAST ONE THEN
[00:28:46] HE WOULD WIN THE WHOLE THING THE
[00:28:50] BRITISH CONTRAST THEY HAD TO WIN AND WIN AND WIN. AND WHEN THEY HAD WIN.
[00:28:54] SO THAT THEY WOULD CAUSE THE TO
[00:28:56] GIVE UP THE AMERICANS WOULD HAVE
[00:28:59] TO COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT IF WE KEEP WE'RE JUST GOING TO
[00:29:03] KEEP LOSING. AND SO WE MIGHT AS WELL QUIT ALL
[00:29:08] WASHINGTON HAD TO DO WAS KEEP FIGHTING LONG ENOUGH THAT THE
[00:29:11] BRITISH WOULD SAY, WE CAN'T KEEP
[00:29:13] DOING THIS FOREVER.
[00:29:17] AND SO WHEN HE FINALLY WON DECENT BATTLE, YEAH, HE WON AT
[00:29:20] TRENTON, WHICH WAS THIS PRIZE OVER A BUNCH OF DRUNKEN GERMANS
[00:29:24] AND HE WON A FOLLOW UP AT PRINCETON, WHICH WASN'T A BIG
[00:29:29] DEAL. BUT BEYOND THAT, IT'S A FULL
[00:29:31] LIST OF LOSSES AFTER LOSSES. SOME PEOPLE CLAIM THAT WHEN THE
[00:29:36] BRITISH LEFT BOSTON AND SAILED
[00:29:41] TO SEE THAT WASHINGTON HAD DRIVEN THEM AWAY. NO, ACTUALLY, THEY HAD ESCAPED.
[00:29:45] AND WASHINGTON REALLY HOPED TO CORNER THEM AND END THE FIGHTING, BUT THEY GOT AWAY TO
[00:29:49] FIGHT ANOTHER DAY. WASHINGTON'S ONE BIG SUCCESS ON
[00:29:53] THE BATTLEFIELD AT YORKTOWN AND
[00:29:56] IT WAS A VERY IMPORTANT VICTORY. NO QUESTION ABOUT IT.
[00:29:59] AN ENTIRE ARMY SURRENDERED TO
[00:30:03] WASHINGTON. BUT THAT DID NOT SIGNAL THAT THE
[00:30:07] BRITISH HAD RUN OUT OF
[00:30:11] RESOURCES, HAD RUN OUT OF THE ABILITY TO CONTINUE THE WAR.
[00:30:13] THEY COULD VERY EASILY HAVE
[00:30:17] RAISED ARMY PAST ANOTHER APPROPRIATIONS BILL AND
[00:30:21] CONTINUED THE FIGHTING.
[00:30:22] BUT THEY CHOSE NOT TO BECAUSE.
[00:30:27] THEY HAD CONCLUDED THAT THIS WAR
[00:30:29] MIGHT INDEED LAST. AND WE'RE NOT. WE DON'T WANT TO FIGHT IT
[00:30:34] FOREVER. AS IMPORTANT AS WASHINGTON
[00:30:37] VICTORY AT YORKTOWN WAS HIS MOST IMPORTANT VICTORY IN THE
[00:30:41] REVOLUTIONARY WAR WAS AT VALLEY FORGE.
[00:30:45] NOW, THAT'S NOT EVEN A BATTLE THAT WAS AN ORDEAL.
[00:30:47] THAT WAS A TRIAL, A TRIAL BY
[00:30:49] WINTER, A TRIAL BY DISEASE, A TRIAL BY HUNGER.
[00:30:51] THE FACT THAT HE COULD HOLD HIS
[00:30:53] ARMY TOGETHER AND IT WOULD STILL
[00:30:56] BE THERE IN THE SPRING, MEANT
[00:30:59] THAT THE STRUGGLE WOULD CONTINUE. THAT'S WHAT WASHINGTON AIMED TO
[00:31:03] DO. KEEP THE WAR GOING AS LONG AS HE
[00:31:06] COULD KEEP FIGHTING. EVENTUALLY THE BRITISH WOULD SAY ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
[00:31:10] AND THE WAR END. IN FACT, WASHINGTON COULD THINK
[00:31:13] IT THROUGH EVEN IN GREATER DETAIL THAN THAT.
[00:31:18] WASHINGTON, AS MOST AMERICANS WHO THOUGHT ABOUT THIS DID THAT,
[00:31:22] JUST AS IT WASN'T EVERY AMERICAN IN FAVOR OF ONE SIDE ON THE
[00:31:27] AMERICAN SIDE, NOR WAS IT EVERY
[00:31:30] IN BRITAIN WHO WANTED CRUSH THE AMERICANS.
[00:31:33] THERE HAD BEEN THERE WAS THROUGHOUT THE WAR SUPPORT FOR
[00:31:36] THE AMERICAN SIDE OR AT LEAST OPPOSITION TO FIGHTING A WAR
[00:31:40] AGAINST THOSE AMERICANS. THIS ISN'T BIG ENOUGH DEAL TO GO
[00:31:43] TO WAR OVER, SAID THE OPPOSITION PARTY.
[00:31:46] IT WAS IN THE MINORITY THROUGH
[00:31:48] MOST OF THE WAR. IT WASN'T NEGLIGIBLE AND
[00:31:52] RECOGNIZED WHEN A BIG AND THE
[00:31:58] GOVERNMENT THEN WE WOULD CALL THE ADMINISTRATION THE
[00:32:01] RESPONSIBLE FOR STARTING THE WAR AND FIGHTING THE WAR WILL FALL
[00:32:04] AND THEY'LL BE REPLACED BY THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAD BEEN SKEPTICAL OR
[00:32:07] HOSTILE TO THE WAR. THEY'LL TAKE OVER AND THEY'LL SAY, LET'S END THE WAR.
[00:32:11] THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED.
[00:32:14] SO THIS IS THIS IS THE SOURCE OF
[00:32:18] WASHINGTON'S SUCCESS IN THE WAR
[00:32:20] OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
[00:32:23] DOES THAT RISE TO THE LEVEL OF
[00:32:27] MAKING WASHINGTON, A GREAT
[00:32:29] FIGURE OH, I THINK SO.
[00:32:32] FOR A LONG TIME I'VE BEEN
[00:32:34] WRITING AMERICAN FOR PRETTY LONG.
[00:32:37] I'VE BEEN AWARE OF WASHINGTON.
[00:32:39] I STARTED WRITING BIOGRAPHIES
[00:32:42] NOW, I GUESS ABOUT, 25, 28 YEARS AGO.
[00:32:45] I HAD MIND THAT I WAS GOING TO WRITE THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED
[00:32:50] STATES IN THE FORM OF BIOGRAPHIES.
[00:32:53] AND THIS BECAUSE WHEN I CALLED
[00:32:55] IT HIST I'LL BE VERY MERCENARY
[00:32:59] MERCENARY ABOUT THIS. NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE WERE MY BOOKS
[00:33:03] A OF PEOPLE SEEM ALLERGIC TO
[00:33:05] HISTORY AS HISTORY, AND I THINK IT'S BECAUSE THEY REMEMBER THEIR
[00:33:09] HIGH SCHOOL HISTORY CLASS AND IT
[00:33:11] WAS A BUNCH OF NAMES AND DATES AND BORING STUFF LIKE THAT.
[00:33:15] SO I THOUGHT WELL WHY DON'T I DO THIS IN ANOTHER WAY, I'LL WRITE
[00:33:21] BECAUSE NOBODY HAS AN INNATE OBJECT TO BIOGRAPHIES.
[00:33:25] PEOPLE LIKE BIOGRAPHIES. WHY BECAUSE BIOGRAPHIES ARE
[00:33:28] ABOUT PEOPLE AND PEOPLE ARE
[00:33:31] INTERESTED IN PEOPLE.
[00:33:33] IS THERE STILL THAT MAGAZINE CALLED PEOPLE? YEAH, YEAH.
[00:33:37] IF I IF A TITLE ALREADY BEEN TAKEN, THAT'S WHAT I CALL MY BOOKS.
[00:33:41] THIS IS THIS IS WHY THIS IS HOW I SELL MY HISTORY CLASS TO MY
[00:33:46] STUDENTS. AND THESE ARE STUDENTS WHO, FOR
[00:33:49] THE MOST, I TEACH A VERY LARGE CLASS. I HAVE 500 STUDENTS IN MY CLASS
[00:33:52] AND NEARLY OF THEM ARE THERE BECAUSE HAVE TO BE.
[00:33:56] IN FACT, I ASKED THEM ON THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS.
[00:33:59] WHY ARE YOU HERE NOW? IS IT BECAUSE IT'S A REQUIREMENT?
[00:34:03] WE'VE GOT TO TAKE THE CLASS. FINE. OKAY. AND THIS IS B AND THE REASON
[00:34:06] THAT THEY ARE IN THIS CLASS, THEY HAVE TO TAKE EVERYBODY AT A
[00:34:10] PUBLIC UNIVERSITY IN TEXAS HAS
[00:34:12] TO TAKE TWO SETS, TWO SEMESTERS OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
[00:34:16] SO THEY I FIND THEM IN MY CLASS.
[00:34:20] MOST THEM ARE COMPUTER SCIENCE MAJORS. THEY'RE ENGINEERS OR THEY'RE
[00:34:24] PHYSICISTS AND PEOPLE WHO THEY'RE UNDER DURESS.
[00:34:26] THEY SAY THEY THEY DON'T WANT TO BE THERE.
[00:34:29] BUT BUT THIS A GREAT WELL, FOR ME IT'S, A CHALLENGE AND AN
[00:34:33] OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE THE CHALLENGE THEY COME IN THINKING
[00:34:36] THEY DON'T LIKE THEY'RE GOING TO
[00:34:39] JUST GET THROUGH THIS AS QUICKLY AS THEY CAN.
[00:34:42] BUT AN OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE I USED TO BE A MATH TEACHER AND I
[00:34:48] THINK WAS REASONABLY, YOU KNOW,
[00:34:50] ENGAGING AS A MATH TEACHER. BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE
[00:34:54] SUBJECT IS KIND OF DRY, YOU KNOW, SO HOW WE'RE GOING TO WORK
[00:34:56] OUT THE TRIGONOMETRIC FUNCTIONS ON THIS, YOU KNOW, IT'S YOU DO
[00:34:59] WHAT YOU CAN. WHEREAS WHEN YOUR TALENT WHEN
[00:35:03] YOU TALK IN HISTORY, I TELL
[00:35:05] STORIES TO MY STUDENTS, I THEY COME AND I TELL THEM THEY CAN'T TAKE NOTES.
[00:35:09] THEY JUST HAVE TO SIT THERE AND LISTEN.
[00:35:11] THEY DO HAVE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS THAT I THROW OUT TO THEM.
[00:35:15] OCCASIONALLY THEY WRITE THEM DOWN. THEY'RE NOT TAKING NOTES. I DON'T GIVE THEM EXAMS.
[00:35:19] I SAY, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE TESTED ON THAT. I SAY IN CLASS, THEY THEY'RE
[00:35:23] THEY'RE TESTED ON OTHER STUFF SEPARATELY. BUT I JUST WANT YOU TO LISTEN. I WANT YOU TO PAY ATTENTION.
[00:35:26] I WANT YOU TO USE YOUR IMAGINATION. I WANT YOU TO PUT YOURSELF IN
[00:35:29] THE SHOES OF SOMEBODY SOMETIME
[00:35:31] IN THE PAST, I TELL THAT ONE OF
[00:35:35] THE REASONS, ONE OF THE REASONS
[00:35:38] HISTORIANS ARE SO INFLUENTIAL IN THE WORLD AND WE ARE MORE
[00:35:41] INFLUENTIAL THAN YOU THINK.
[00:35:45] IF YOU LOOK AROUND, YOU'LL SEE VARIOUS PEOPLE WHO ARE IN
[00:35:47] LEADERSHIP POSITIONS, POLITICS AND THE CORPORATE WORLD,
[00:35:52] NONPROFITS, PLACES LIKE IN FINANCE. THE HISTORIAN IT MAKES SENSE.
[00:35:55] BUT HERE'S WHY. AND I TELL THIS TO MY STUDENTS, I'LL TELL IT TO YOU NOW
[00:35:59] HISTORIANS HAVE A SUPERPOWER WE
[00:36:01] HAVE A POWER THAT DOES NOT GIVEN TO OTHER PEOPLE, AT LEAST AS
[00:36:05] CONSISTENTLY, AND NOT TO THAT DEGREE.
[00:36:07] THE SUPERPOWER IS THIS THE
[00:36:11] ABILITY TO SEE THE WORLD THROUGH EYES?
[00:36:15] THIS IS WHAT WE DO DAY AFTER DAY. THE TIME WHEN I'M WRITING ABOUT
[00:36:18] GEORGE WASHINGTON, I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE WORLD LOOKED LIKE
[00:36:22] TO GEORGE WASHINGTON. ONE OF THE REASONS I WRITE ABOUT
[00:36:24] GEORGE WASHINGTON IS IT'S POSSIBLE TO FORM THESE
[00:36:28] IMPRESSIONS BECAUSE GEORGE WASHINGTON WROTE, LOTS OF
[00:36:30] LETTERS AND EXPLAINING WHAT THE
[00:36:32] WORLD LOOKS LIKE TO HIM. BY THE WAY, THIS IS ALSO WHY I
[00:36:35] SAID EARLIER, I DON'T SIT IN JUDGMENT ON MY SUBJECTS IN PART
[00:36:40] BECAUSE OF ALL I THINK IT'S IT'S SUCH SORT OF CHEAP SHOT AT
[00:36:45] PEOPLE LIVE IN THE PAST TO SAY YOU SHOULD HAVE THIS DID I DID I DO THAT?
[00:36:48] WELL, YOU KNOW CAN'T YOU CAN'T DO THAT. BUT SECONDLY, BECAUSE IT'S MORE
[00:36:52] IMPORTANT TO ME TO GET MY STUDENTS AND MY IN THE HABIT OF
[00:36:57] PUTTING THEMSELVES IN SOMEBODY ELSE'S POSITION AND SEEING WORLD THROUGH THEIR EYES.
[00:37:01] I TELL MY STUDENTS, SOME OF WHOM ARE SKEPTICAL ABOUT THE IDEA OF
[00:37:04] THE IMPORTANCE OF HISTORY, WELL, WHY? HOW CAN I GET A JOB WITH THIS STORY?
[00:37:08] AND I SAID, WELL, YOU GET A JOB AS A HISTORIAN PER BUT THE THINGS THAT YOU LEARN TO DO AS,
[00:37:12] A HISTORIAN WILL SERVE YOU WELL IN WHATEVER YOU FIND YOURSELF IN.
[00:37:15] SO I POINT OUT, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT THE ABILITY TO SEE THE WORLD THROUGH OTHER EYES, THE
[00:37:19] ABILITY TO PUT YOURSELF IN SOMEBODY ELSE'S SHOES. IF YOU'RE IN A BUSINESS
[00:37:22] NEGOTIATION AND YOU'RE TRYING TO CUT A DEAL WITH SOMEBODY, IF YOU
[00:37:25] CAN IMAGINE THEY ARE THINKING WHAT THEY NEED, WHAT BOTTOM LINE
[00:37:29] MIGHT BE, EVEN IF THEY WON'T TELL YOU, THEN YOU HAVE AN ADVANTAGE.
[00:37:32] IF YOU'RE EVER IN A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP.
[00:37:35] AND WE ALL ARE AT SOME LEVEL AT
[00:37:37] SOME TIME, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO BE ABLE TO SEE WHAT THE WORLD
[00:37:40] LOOKS LIKE, WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE THROUGH THAT OTHER PERSON'S EYES.
[00:37:44] AND SO THIS IS WHAT THE HISTORIAN DOES. IT'S ONE OF THE REASONS THAT I CHOSE TO WRITE ABOUT WASHINGTON
[00:37:48] AND NOT OTHER PRESIDENT OR, I DON'T KNOW, MILLARD FILLMORE NOT
[00:37:52] I THAT'S OF A THROWAWAY LINE.
[00:37:54] BUT NO I WILL SAY THIS, THAT THERE ARE THERE ARE PEOPLE IN
[00:37:58] THE PAST THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO
[00:38:00] WRITE ABOUT IN THE WAY I WANT TO WRITE ABOUT THEM FROM THE INSIDE
[00:38:05] OUT. I WANT TO SEE AS I SAY, I WANT TO TAKE MY READER AND IMMERSE MY
[00:38:09] READER IN WASHINGTON AND READER
[00:38:12] WILL SEE WHAT THE WORLD LOOK TO WASHINGTON.
[00:38:14] IT'S POSSIBLE TO DO THIS BECAUSE WASHINGTON LEFT BEHIND SUCH A LARGE RECORD.
[00:38:18] NOW, OTHER PRESIDENTS MILLARD FILLMORE DID NOT.
[00:38:22] BUT IT'S ALSO IT'S ALSO WHY AND
[00:38:24] THIS IS OFTEN A CRITICISM OF HISTORIANS AND I UNDERSTAND
[00:38:28] WHERE CRITICISM IS COMING FROM,
[00:38:30] WHY WE GET CRITICIZED WRITING ABOUT THE SAME PEOPLE AGAIN AND
[00:38:34] AGAIN, BECAUSE THERE ARE ONLY SO MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE LEFT SO MANY LETTERS.
[00:38:40] IS. DID AND SO NOW IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE BOUND BY THE LETTERS, THEN
[00:38:43] YOU BECOME HISTORICAL NOVELIST. YOU GET TO MAKE THE STUFF UP.
[00:38:47] I DON'T DO THAT ANYWAY. SO.
[00:38:49] SO I'M TO GET INSIDE WASHINGTON'S HEAD AND I'M TRYING
[00:38:53] TO SEE WHAT THE WORLD LOOKS LIKE TO WASHINGTON AND BUT AT THE
[00:38:59] BOTTOM IT ALL, I'M TRYING TO
[00:39:00] FIGURE OUT WHAT MADE WASHINGTON
[00:39:03] THE SUCCESS HE WAS.
[00:39:06] I TOLD YOU HE HAD A GOOD SENSE OF STRATEGY. TRUE ENOUGH.
[00:39:10] AND I TOLD YOU THAT AS
[00:39:12] PRESIDENT, AND THAT'S WHAT MADE HIM A SUCCESSFUL GENERAL.
[00:39:15] SO HE WAS ABLE TO HOLD THE ARMY TOGETHER, THAT WAS HIS BIG
[00:39:18] ACCOMPLISHED AS A GENERAL AS PRESIDENT.
[00:39:21] WELL, HE LEFT IN A TIMELY FASHION.
[00:39:23] THAT'S PRETTY BIG DEAL.
[00:39:26] BUT HE WAS A BIGGER DEAL THAN
[00:39:28] THAT OF ALL OF THE HISTORICAL
[00:39:32] FIGURES I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT. I HAVEN'T RUN ACROSS ANY WHO
[00:39:36] WERE SO ALMOST UNIVERSALLY AND
[00:39:41] I'M NOT EVEN SURE I NEED TO SAY
[00:39:42] ALMOST SO ALMOST UNIVERSALLY
[00:39:46] ESTEEMED AS WASHINGTON WAS IN DAY AND AFTERWARDS.
[00:39:51] NOW COURSE, LONG AFTERWARDS PEOPLE WOULD FIGURE OUT REASONS
[00:39:53] TO TAKE POT SHOTS AT WASHINGTON. THIS IS WHAT REVISIONIST
[00:39:57] HISTORIANS AND YEAH, THAT'S FINE. THAT'S WHAT IF A GRADUATE STUDENT YOU GOT TO FIND
[00:40:00] SOMETHING NEW TO SAY. AND SO YOU DO IT.
[00:40:03] BUT IF YOU LOOK AT PRESIDENTS,
[00:40:07] IF YOU LOOK AT GENERALS AFTER WASHINGTON, THEY'RE NOT TREATED
[00:40:11] THE SAME RESPECT. AND IT'S QUITE REMARKABLE. IF YOU LOOK AT THE WASHINGTON
[00:40:16] WAS VIEWED THE WAY WASHINGTON
[00:40:19] OBSERVED AT THE CONSTITUTIONAL
[00:40:22] THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION,
[00:40:25] 1787, THIS GROUP OF MEN.
[00:40:29] THERE'S 5055 GUYS THAT GOT TOGETHER TO WRITE A NEW CONSTITUTION.
[00:40:31] THESE HAVE OFTEN BEEN ESTEEMED
[00:40:33] AS THE GENIUSES AMERICAN
[00:40:37] POLITICS AND THOMAS JEFFERSON,
[00:40:39] WHO THERE CALLED THEM THE
[00:40:42] DEMIGODS BECAUSE THEY HAD BRILLIANT THOUGHTS AND EVERYTHING.
[00:40:45] AND IT WAS A PRETTY CAPABLE GROUP, THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT IT.
[00:40:49] I, I I, I THINK THAT AMERICA WITH A POPULATION 100 TIMES WHAT
[00:40:53] IT WAS BACK THEN, WE COULD COME UP WITH A COMPARABLE GROUP
[00:40:56] TODAY, BUT IT WOULDN'T BE THE
[00:40:58] SAME CERTAINLY WITH RESPECT
[00:41:01] ANYBODY LIKE WASHINGTON, BECAUSE
[00:41:03] WASHINGTON WAS SEEN BY EVERY ONE
[00:41:06] OF THEM AS IN FUNDAMENTAL WAY, STANDING HEAD, SHOULDERS ABOVE
[00:41:10] THEM MORE PRECISELY SITTING HEAD AND SHOULDERS ABOVE THEM.
[00:41:12] AND THIS I'M GOING TO GIVE AWAY ONE OF THE SECRETS OF
[00:41:16] WASHINGTON'S SUCCESS. IT WILL SOUND TRIVIAL, BUT IT
[00:41:19] NONETHELESS WAS IMPORTANT.
[00:41:23] WASHINGTON THE VALUE OF SILENCE
[00:41:27] DON'T SPEAK TO MUCH.
[00:41:29] SAY WHAT'S NECESSARY BUT DON'T SAY MORE THAN WHAT'S NECESSARY.
[00:41:33] NOW, TO SOME DEGREE, THIS COMES
[00:41:35] WITH THE TERRITORY OF BEING A
[00:41:38] GENERAL AT WAR, BECAUSE
[00:41:42] WASHINGTON THEN WOULD WRITE
[00:41:42] DOZENS OF ORDERS DAY AND IT'S IN
[00:41:46] THE NATURE OF ORDERS THAT THEY HAVE TO BE CLEAR AND THEY HAVE
[00:41:49] TO BE CONCISE.
[00:41:51] YOU CAN'T GO ON ON. YOU GOT LOTS MORE ORDERS TO WRITE.
[00:41:55] AND THEY HAVE TO BE CLEAR BECAUSE. THE RECIPIENT NEEDS TO KNOW
[00:41:58] WHAT'S EXPECTED HIM AND HOW TO DO IT.
[00:42:01] THIS IS WHERE THIS WAS THE
[00:42:05] EDUCATION OF ULYSSES GRANT, AS A WRITER.
[00:42:07] GRANT IS THE AUTHOR OF THE
[00:42:11] FINEST MEMOIR BY AN OF THE
[00:42:14] PRESIDENCY. HIS MEMOIR IS FANTASTIC AND IT'S
[00:42:19] EXCEEDINGLY WRITTEN. GRANT WAS NOT TRAINED AS A
[00:42:23] WRITER HE WASN'T A JOURNALIST OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
[00:42:25] HE GOT HIS TRAINING ON THE WHERE AGAIN, HE WAS WRITING ORDERS
[00:42:29] ORDER AFTER ORDER AFTER, ORDER. AND THEY HAD TO BE CLEAR AND
[00:42:32] THEY HAVE TO BE CONCISE.
[00:42:33] SO WASHINGTON WAS THE SAME WAY,
[00:42:37] ALTHOUGH I HAVE TO SAY THAT WHEN WAS WRITING NOT UNDER THOSE
[00:42:41] CIRCUMSTANCES HE COULD GO A BIT ON AND AND ON.
[00:42:43] AND IF YOU I TRY TO LET MY
[00:42:47] READERS SEE AND HEAR MY
[00:42:51] SUBJECTS. SO WASHINGTON SPEAKS A LOT IN BOOK.
[00:42:55] AND I WILL CONFESS TO YOU THAT I
[00:42:57] TOOK THE LIBERTIES OF THE 21ST
[00:42:59] CENTURY EDITOR ON WASHINGTON. NOT NOT WITH HIS WORDS A LITTLE
[00:43:04] BIT WITH CAPITALIZATION. YOU KNOW, BACK IN THE 18TH CENTURY, WHO CAPITALIZED
[00:43:08] EVERYTHING. AND THAT WOULD BE JUST TOO
[00:43:10] DISTRACTING, WOULD CAUSE READERS
[00:43:13] TO SEE THAT AND NOT WHAT HE WAS SAYING.
[00:43:16] BUT ALSO THEY HAD SENTENCES THAT
[00:43:19] WENT ON AND, ON AND ON.
[00:43:21] AND THEY USED SEMICOLONS, YOU
[00:43:25] KNOW, JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW, SLAP DOWN SOME SEMICOLONS HERE AND
[00:43:29] CHUCA BUNCH OF COMMAS IN. AND NOW ION'T KNOW IF YOU PAY
[00:43:33] ANY ATTENTION TO THE
[00:43:34] JURISPRUDENCE OF THE SECOND
[00:43:37] AMENDMENT, TO THE CONSTITUTION. DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE THE COMMAS
[00:43:41] AND THE USAGE THERE AND WHETHER
[00:43:43] THAT INTRODUCTORY CLAUSE ABOUT, A WELL-REGULATED MILITIA AND SO
[00:43:46] ON THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS SHOULD NOT BE INFRINGED.
[00:43:49] THERE HAVE BEEN DISQUISITIONS ON
[00:43:51] DOES THAT COMMA DOES IT
[00:43:55] CONSTRAIN LAST THING THAT LAST PART ABOUT THE RIGHT TO BEAR
[00:43:58] ARMS OR IS THAT THAT THE FIRST PART JUST A THROWAWAY?
[00:44:01] SO SO I HAD TO I HAD TO SORT OF
[00:44:06] TRIM WASHINGTON'S I HAD TO CLEAN UP HIS SPELLING NOT KNOW HIS SPELLING HIS SPELLINGS.
[00:44:10] OKAY EXCEPT THAT OH YOU ARE STUFF WHICH YOU KNOW, THE BRITISH THING THAT THEY STILL DO
[00:44:13] ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ATLANTIC, BUT BUT ACTUALLY I WAS
[00:44:18] SURPRISED WHAT A GOOD WRITER HE WAS. BUT SO I LET HIM SPEAK.
[00:44:21] BUT THE FINAL THING, WHY WAS HE
[00:44:24] SO ESTEEMED BY THOSE PEOPLE AT THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION IN
[00:44:27] PART, HE DIDN'T TALK AND BECAUSE
[00:44:30] THEY WERE A BUNCH OF TALKERS, YOU GET A BUNCH OF THEY WERE
[00:44:34] LAWYERS. AND POLITICIANS, YOU GET GROUP TOGETHER AND THEY JUST JAR JAR,
[00:44:37] JAR JAR JAR JAR JAR AND WASHINGTON WAS THE ONLY ONE NOT
[00:44:41] SAYING ANYTHING. NOW HE WASN'T SAYING ANYTHING IN PART BECAUSE HE KNEW HE WAS NOT
[00:44:45] A GOOD PUBLIC SPEAKER. HE WASN'T, BUT ALSO BECAUSE HE
[00:44:50] HAD ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE
[00:44:52] CONVENTION AND HE THIS PRESIDING OFFICER THAT IS AND HE
[00:44:56] INTERPRETED THE WAY THE BRITISH INTERPRET THE ROLE OF THE
[00:44:59] SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF
[00:45:01] COMMONS IS NOT A MEMBER OF THE HOUSE HE'S THIS FUNCTIONARY WHO
[00:45:07] SLAMS A GAVEL. YOUR TURN, BANG, YOUR TURN, AND SO ON. HE'S A REFEREE.
[00:45:10] AND WASHINGTON DID THAT, AND HE INTERPRETED HIS ROLE THAT IN
[00:45:13] FACT, IN THE DAYS OF THE US
[00:45:17] CONSTITUTION, TIMES THE U.S. CONGRESS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION,
[00:45:20] THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE DID NOT ACTUALLY TAKE PART IN DEBATES. THEY JUST DID THAT SAME THING.
[00:45:24] BUT WASHINGTON PLAYED THAT TO HIS BENEFIT.
[00:45:26] SO WHEN HAMILTON WAS GONE AWAY WITH MADISON AND EVERYBODY ELSE
[00:45:30] AND SAYING WE OUGHT TO DO THIS. WE HAD TO DO THAT.
[00:45:33] WASHINGTON SAT SILENT. AND WHEN SOMEBODY IS SILENT AND
[00:45:36] ALL OF THIS ESPECIALLY SOMEONE OF WASHINGTON'S DEMEANOR, IT WAS
[00:45:41] EASY FOR ALL OF THEM TO THINK HE
[00:45:44] KNOWS MORE THAN WE DO, BECAUSE YOU SPEAK, YOU BETRAY THE LIMITS
[00:45:47] OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE. WASHINGTON DIDN'T SPEAK, SO
[00:45:49] THERE WAS LIMIT TO HIS KNOWLEDGE.
[00:45:52] SO THERE'S THAT. BUT HERE'S THE HARDEST PART.
[00:45:55] NOW I'M COMING DOWN TO THE PUNCH LINE OF ALL OF THIS. WHAT THIS ALL THESE UP TO WHAT
[00:46:00] MADE THE SUCCESS THAT HE WAS. WHY HE STILL SO ESTEEMED.
[00:46:02] WHY WAS SO ESTEEMED THEN AND
[00:46:04] STILL TODAY.
[00:46:08] AND IT'S A CHANNEL AND FOR THE
[00:46:12] BIOGRAPHER BECAUSE IT'S TO
[00:46:17] QUANTIFY WHAT I'M ABOUT TO SAY. IT'S HARD DRAMATIZE WHAT I'M
[00:46:19] ABOUT TO SAY.
[00:46:21] BUT THERE IT IS AND SOME OF I'M
[00:46:25] SURE IN THE AUDIENCE HAVE IN A
[00:46:27] POSITION WHERE YOU SOMEBODY FOR
[00:46:31] IMPORTANT JOB AT AND YOU HIRE
[00:46:36] THEM ON THE BASIS OF OTHER JOBS THAT THEY'VE HAD. THEY'RE SORT OF LIKE THE JOB YOU'RE HIRING THEM FOR.
[00:46:39] BUT PERHAPS IT'S A LITTLE BIT
[00:46:42] BEYOND WHAT THEY'VE DONE BEFORE. YOU DO YOUR BEST. YOU THINK, OKAY, THIS PERSON
[00:46:46] WILL MAKE A GOOD DAD. OUR BUT HASN'T DONE THAT TODAY YET.
[00:46:50] AND SO YOU YOU TAKE A SHOT AND YOU HOPE YOU GET IT RIGHT.
[00:46:54] SO HERE'S WHAT WASHINGTON WAS REALLY GOOD AT AND IT'S
[00:46:58] ABSOLUTELY THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT I GENERAL HAS TO BE
[00:47:02] GOOD AT. AND THE MOST IMPORTANT THING
[00:47:04] THAT A PRESIDENT HAS TO BE GOOD AT.
[00:47:06] BUT YOU'LL APPRECIATE WHY IT'S
[00:47:09] SO HARD TO SEE IN ADVANCE AND WHY IT'S SO HARD TO QUANTIFY AND
[00:47:13] EVEN TO WRITE ABOUT WASHINGTON
[00:47:16] HAD TO MAKE GOOD DECISIONS
[00:47:21] DECISIONS. EXACTLY. I MEAN, WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THAT?
[00:47:24] IT'S NOT DRAMATIC IT'S NOTHING SURPRISING.
[00:47:28] AND HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT SOMEBODY HAS GOOD JUDGMENT?
[00:47:32] HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT THEY MAKE GOOD DECISIONS?
[00:47:35] YOU CAN'T TELL IN ADVANCE. SO I CAN'T SAY THAT WASHINGTON
[00:47:39] DECIDED TO DO THIS. AND OF COURSE, WAS GOING TO BE THAT. NO, YOU GOT TO WAIT AND SEE HOW.
[00:47:43] IT TURNS OUT DECISIONS ARE GOOD
[00:47:45] OR BAD, DEPENDING ON THEY TURN
[00:47:47] OUT AND SOMETIMES THE TURNING OUT DEPENDS ON A LOT MORE THAN
[00:47:51] THE INDIVIDUAL.
[00:47:54] AND I'LL GIVE YOU JUST A SIMPLE EXAMPLE. THIS APPLIES TO HISTORY.
[00:47:57] ALL TIME, BUT.
[00:48:03] WASHINGTON, AFTER HIS VERY FIRST
[00:48:05] BATTLE, A SKIRMISH, A FIREFIGHT
[00:48:07] AT THE BEGINNING, WHAT'S GOING TO BECOME THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR.
[00:48:11] WASHINGTON IS UNDER FIRE. HE WAS SURPRISED.
[00:48:14] THERE WAS SORT OF AN AMBUSH AND
[00:48:17] HE FINDS HIMSELF UNDER FIRE AND HE'S NOT KILLED.
[00:48:20] AND HE TO HIS BROTHER, HE SAYS,
[00:48:24] I HEARD THE BULLETS WHISTLE.
[00:48:29] AND BELIEVE ME, THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THE SOUND.
[00:48:33] WELL, THE FIRST THING IS, IF YOU
[00:48:36] FIND SOMEBODY WRITING THAT AFTER
[00:48:38] HIS FIRST BATTLE, HE'S OKAY, FELLA.
[00:48:41] YOU GOT A CAREER IN THE I WILL
[00:48:45] TELL YOU THAT THAT WAS ULYSSES GRANT.
[00:48:47] EXACT SAME RESPONSE TO HIS FIRST
[00:48:50] EXPERIENCE OF ENEMY FIRE.
[00:48:51] HE DISCOVERED THAT HE DID BETTER
[00:48:55] UNDER THAT KIND OF PRESSURE. MOST PEOPLE DO WORSE.
[00:48:59] MOST GET FLUSTERED. SOME PEOPLE RUN. THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.
[00:49:02] BUT GRANT FOCUSED, WASHINGTON
[00:49:05] FOCUSED AS WELL.
[00:49:07] BUT AS FAR AS THE JUDGMENT GOES,
[00:49:10] YOU MAKE THE DECISION AND THEY
[00:49:14] TURN OUT RIGHT OR THEY TURN OUT WRONG, MANY OF THEM TURNED OUT WRONG.
[00:49:17] HE MIGHT HAVE MADE THE SAME JUDGMENT, THE SAME DECISIONS,
[00:49:21] AND THINGS JUST DIDN'T LINE UP AND THEY TURNED OUT TO BE WRONG.
[00:49:24] THEN I WOULDN'T BE TALKING TO YOU ABOUT, GEORGE WASHINGTON,
[00:49:28] TODAY IF HE HAD IF THOSE BULLETS THAT WENT WHISTLING PAST HIS EAR
[00:49:32] HAD BEEN THREE INCHES THE OTHER WAY AND HIT HIM IN THE HEAD,
[00:49:36] OBVIOUSLY WE WOULDN'T BE TALKING ABOUT GEORGE.
[00:49:38] THE THING IS, WE'D BE TALKING ABOUT SOMEBODY ELSE.
[00:49:43] SO ONE LESSON TO TAKE FROM THIS
[00:49:44] IS THERE'S INEVITABLE ABOUT THE
[00:49:47] SUCCESS OF INDIVIDUALS. THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE WHO ARE OR
[00:49:51] YOU CAN SORT OF RULE OUT IF
[00:49:53] PERSON HAS EGREGIOUSLY BAD JUDGMENT, WELL, THEY'RE NOT
[00:49:56] GOING TO BE A LEADER, BUT GOOD JUDGMENT.
[00:49:59] IT DEPENDS ON A LOT OF STUFF. PATRICK HENRY, NEW GEORGE
[00:50:03] WASHINGTON FROM POLITICS IN VIRGINIA.
[00:50:06] AND HE SAID THAT WASHINGTON, THE SOUNDEST JUDGMENT OF ANYBODY
[00:50:10] KNEW AND THIS WAS THIS WAS THE
[00:50:12] GENERAL PERCEPTION OF WASHINGTON. THIS IS WHAT CAUSED THOSE PEOPLE
[00:50:16] OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION TO MAKE WASHINGTON PRESIDENT THE CONVENTION.
[00:50:21] IT'S EVERYBODY FROM THE CONVENTION SAID AFTER THE
[00:50:25] CONSTITUTION GOT RATIFIED, THE GEORGE WASHINGTON HAS TO BE
[00:50:28] PRESIDENT BECAUSE HE HAS THE
[00:50:31] SOUNDEST JUDGMENT. WHERE DID THIS COME FROM?
[00:50:35] SOME OF IT CAME FROM
[00:50:36] WASHINGTON'S POSITION IN LIFE HE
[00:50:39] WAS WELL BORN. HE WAS PART OF THE VIRGINIA
[00:50:43] GENTRY. HE DIDN'T HAVE TO STRUGGLE FOR
[00:50:45] EVERY THING THAT HE ACCOMPLISHED LIFE THE WAY ANDREW JACKSON DID.
[00:50:49] ANDREW JACKSON WAS CONSTANTLY TO CLIMB THAT LADDER.
[00:50:52] I WILL ADD HERE, AND I'M GOING TO CLOSE ON THIS NOTE.
[00:50:55] I GET ASKED AND WELL, I'LL
[00:50:59] PREEMPT MAYBE SOME QUESTIONS BY ANSWERING THIS QUESTION AHEAD OF
[00:51:03] IT. I'M THE FIRST PERSON TO WRITE
[00:51:05] ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON, BELIEVE IT OR NOT.
[00:51:09] AND I CAN TELL YOU THIS OUT OF A
[00:51:13] DEFINITE EXPERIENCE THAT I HAD.
[00:51:15] I MENTIONED EARLIER THAT I HAD BEEN THINKING ABOUT TALKING
[00:51:19] ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON FOR A LONG TIME, LONG TIME BEFORE I
[00:51:21] DECIDED TO WRITE ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON AS THE CENTRAL FIGURE
[00:51:25] OF A BIOGRAPHY.
[00:51:27] AND I DIDN'T REALIZE IT
[00:51:29] ACTUALLY, UNTIL I'D GOTTEN THE BIOGRAPHY THAT LONG BEFORE I
[00:51:33] EVEN BECAME A WRITER LONG BEFORE
[00:51:35] I EVEN BECAME A TEACHER, THE
[00:51:37] SEEDS OF A WASHINGTON BIOGRAPHY
[00:51:39] WERE PLANTED IN MY HEAD.
[00:51:45] MY FATHER WAS NOT A HISTORIAN HE
[00:51:48] WAS A BUSINESSMAN. HE RAN HIS OWN BUSINESS.
[00:51:51] HE WAS INTERESTED IN THE WORLD WHILE HE WAS STILL ACTIVELY IN
[00:51:55] THE BUSINESS. READ THE WALL STREET JOURNAL AND FORTUNE MAGAZINE AND FORBES AND
[00:52:00] HARDWARE AGE. IT WAS A HARDWARE BUSINESS.
[00:52:02] BUT AFTER HE RETIRED HE READ
[00:52:04] HISTORY, HE LIKED NON-VR FICTION. WHEN HE FINISHED THE BOOK, HE
[00:52:08] WANTED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE WORLD AS IT REALLY WAS.
[00:52:11] MY MOM, BY CONTRAST READ NOVELS.
[00:52:13] SHE WANTED KNOW ABOUT THE WORLD
[00:52:15] AS IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN ANYWAY, MY
[00:52:19] DAD HAD IN HIS OFFICE, IN THE
[00:52:22] HOUSE, A STUDY, BOOKSHELVES KIND
[00:52:26] OF LIKE THESE. BOOKSHELVES LIKE YOU SEE HERE.
[00:52:29] AND ON THOSE BOOKSHELVES HE HAD, THEY WEREN'T THEY WEREN'T CRAMPED.
[00:52:32] HE WAS NOT A BIBLIOPHILE BY ANY
[00:52:33] MEANS, BUT HE HAD THIS SEVEN
[00:52:37] VOLUME SET BOUND IN BLACK AND
[00:52:41] APPARENTLY FROM THE LOOKS OF
[00:52:43] THEM PUBLISHED WELL BEFORE I WAS
[00:52:46] I WAS BORN IN THE 1950S, BEFORE
[00:52:48] I WAS I IT SEEMED ANYWAY,
[00:52:52] BECAUSE WE TALKED ABOUT THIS
[00:52:53] WHEN I WAS JUST A KID I WAS
[00:52:56] PROBABLY 810 YEARS OLD AND DAD
[00:52:58] WOULD POINT THOSE BOOKS.
[00:53:01] IT WAS A SEVEN VOLUME BIOGRAPHY
[00:53:05] OF GEORGE WASHINGTON BY.
[00:53:07] DOUGLAS FREEDMAN OF AND MY DAD
[00:53:11] WOULD POINT OUT THOSE BOOKS. IT'S LIKE THEY ARE LIKE THAT. HE POINTED OUT THERE.
[00:53:15] AND HE SAID, BILLY, I READ THOSE
[00:53:19] SEVEN VINES, I READ EVERY PAGE AND I CAN TELL WHAT GEORGE
[00:53:23] WASHINGTON HAD FOR BREAKFAST
[00:53:27] EVERY DAY OF HIS LIFE.
[00:53:29] AND I WAS APPALLED TO HEAR THAT,
[00:53:31] OH MY GOD, SOMEBODY WOULD WRITE A BOOK THAT INCLUDED HE WAS
[00:53:35] EXAGGERATING A LITTLE BIT, BUT
[00:53:37] THAT KIND OF DETAIL, I DIDN'T
[00:53:39] SAY THIS TO MYSELF BECAUSE.
[00:53:43] WASN'T AWARE ENOUGH TO SAY THAT, BUT IN MY HEAD THERE WAS, IF I EVER WRITE ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON, I'M NOT GOING TO INCLUDE THAT MUCH DETAIL.
[00:53:47] BUT ANYWAY, SO THAT'S HOW I GOT
[00:53:50] TO THINKING ABOUT WASHINGTON AND
[00:53:52] I WILL JUST SAY THAT THAT BETWEEN THE TIME I STARTED
[00:53:57] WRITING WASHINGTON AND THE TIME I FINISHED THE BOOK, I CAME TO
[00:54:01] BELIEVE THAT WASHINGTON DESERVED
[00:54:05] THE ESTEEM IN WHICH HE WAS HELD,
[00:54:07] THAT HE WAS THIS MAN WHO WELL,
[00:54:11] IN FACT, IS THE QUOTE ONE OF THE QUOTES ON THE WALL JUST AS YOU
[00:54:14] COME INTO THE THEATER SAYS, I
[00:54:16] HAVE TAKEN AS THE DECISIVE
[00:54:18] INFLUENCE I KNOW MY LOVE OF COUNTRY SHALL BE THE DECISIVE
[00:54:23] INFLUENCE IN MY LIFE. THIS WASHINGTON'S MOTTO,
[00:54:27] WASHINGTON VALUED THE OPINION OF OTHERS, NOT IN THE TRIVIAL WAY
[00:54:31] OF WANTING PEOPLE TO LIKE HIM, BUT IN THE SENSE OF DOING THINGS
[00:54:35] THAT WOULD CAUSE TO ESTEEM HIM, DOING GOOD STUFF.
[00:54:39] AND FROM THAT, THEN PEOPLE WILL THINK WELL OF YOU.
[00:54:43] BUT HERE'S HERE'S THE IRONY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON.
[00:54:47] AND IT SUMMARIZED ACTUALLY IN
[00:54:51] THE WORKING SUBTITLE I HAD FOR MY BOOK.
[00:54:54] IT'S NOT THE SUBTITLE, IT'S THE TITLE PAGE.
[00:54:56] WHEN YOU WRITE HISTORY, YOU GET TWO WHACKS AT A TITLE, YOU GET A
[00:55:00] TITLE COLON, SUBTITLE.
[00:55:02] SO MY WORKING TITLE, COLON WAS
[00:55:06] GEORGE WASHINGTON AND THEN THE
[00:55:10] WORKING SUBTITLE, THE ONE THAT I WAS THINKING ABOUT WHILE I WAS
[00:55:12] WRITING IT WAS A RIFF ON THE
[00:55:14] EULOGY THAT HENRY LEE, FATHER OF
[00:55:17] ROBERT E LEE, GAVE ABOUT
[00:55:21] WASHINGTON AFTER WASHINGTON'S DEATH AND SOME OF YOU WILL BE
[00:55:23] FAMILIAR WITH IT, FIRST IN WAR,
[00:55:26] FIRST IN PEACE, AND FIRST IN THE HEARTS OF HIS COUNTRYMEN.
[00:55:29] NOW, SOME OF YOU WILL KNOW THE
[00:55:33] RIFF ON HENRY LEE THAT A
[00:55:36] SPORTSWRITER IN WASHINGTON YEARS AGO, YOU KNOW, THIS ONE ABOUT
[00:55:40] THE THEN WASHINGTON, A PERENNIAL
[00:55:44] DOORMAT AT THE MAJOR LEAGUES,
[00:55:47] FIRST IN WAR, FIRST IN PEACE, LAST IN THE AMERICAN LEAGUE.
[00:55:53] AND RIFF ON THAT, WHICH WAS MY
[00:55:55] WORKING SUBTITLE, WAS WASHINGTON
[00:55:58] FIRST IN WAR, FIRST IN PEACE AND
[00:56:01] LAST OF HIS KIND IN AMERICA.
[00:56:03] AND THIS WHY AND THE REASON FOR
[00:56:06] THIS IS THAT WASHINGTON WAS THIS
[00:56:08] GREAT FIGURE FROM THE 18TH CENTURY.
[00:56:11] HE WAS HE WAS SORT OF THE BEST
[00:56:16] PRODUCT OF THE ARISTOCRATIC
[00:56:18] VIRGINIA CLASS FROM WHICH HE SPRANG.
[00:56:22] HE'S A VERY GOOD ARGUMENT FOR,
[00:56:24] HAVING AN ARISTOCRACY, SOMEBODY WHO COULD PUT THE NATIONAL
[00:56:28] INTEREST ABOVE HIS OWN INTEREST. NOW, PARTLY BECAUSE HE WAS WELL
[00:56:31] ENOUGH OFF THAT HE DIDN'T HAVE
[00:56:33] TO PURSUE PERSONAL. HE DID NOT HAVE THAT ITCH FOR
[00:56:39] POWER THAT. SOME PEOPLE HAVE THAT ALMOST EVERYBODY HAS, BUT SOME PEOPLE HAVE.
[00:56:43] AND SO HE SET ASIDE POWER AT THE END OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, HE
[00:56:46] SET ASIDE POWER WHEN HE RESIGNED
[00:56:48] THE PRESIDENCY AFTER TWO TERMS.
[00:56:54] HE WAS THE PRODUCT OF AN
[00:56:58] ARISTOCRATIC UPBRINGING OF AN
[00:57:00] AGE, AT LEAST IN VIRGINIA. AND THIS HAPPENED IN VIRGINIA.
[00:57:03] IT WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED HAD HE BEEN FROM MASSACHUSETTS, MASSACHUSETTS HAD A DIFFERENT
[00:57:08] CULTURE, BUT HE CREATED THING
[00:57:12] WITH OF COURSE, IS HIRED AN ENTIRE GENERATION. THEY CREATED A REPUBLIC.
[00:57:16] AND A REPUBLIC IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM.
[00:57:18] AN ARISTOCRACY IN A REPUBLIC YOU
[00:57:21] CAN'T STAND UP THERE THE WAY WASHINGTON DID AND EXPECT PEOPLE
[00:57:25] TO LOOK UP TO YOU. WASHINGTON EXPECTED PEOPLE TO
[00:57:28] LOOK UP TO HIM, AND HE DID STUFF
[00:57:29] SO THAT THEY WOULD BUT HE CAME
[00:57:33] FROM AN AGE AND FROM A PART OF THE COUNTRY WHERE PEOPLE EXPECTED TO DO THIS.
[00:57:37] BUT THEN HE HELPED CREATE THIS
[00:57:39] REPUBLIC THAT IS BUILT ON A VERY DIFFERENT SET OF VALUES BASED ON
[00:57:43] THE PRINCIPLE EVERYBODY EQUAL.
[00:57:48] WASHINGTON WAS AMERICA'S FIRST PRESIDENT AND HE WAS A VERY GOOD
[00:57:51] A GOOD MODEL AS, A PRESIDENT.
[00:57:54] BUT IF WASHINGTON HAD NOT BEEN THE FIRST PRESIDENT, HE NEVER
[00:57:57] WOULD HAVE BEEN PRESIDENT. ALL HE COULDN'T HAVE BEEN THE SECOND PRESIDENT OR THE THIRD PRESIDENT.
[00:58:01] I CALLED MY BOOK, THE FINAL
[00:58:03] TITLE IS AMERICAN AND PATRIARCH
[00:58:07] COURSE REFERS TO THE FOUNDER OF
[00:58:09] A CLAN, A COLONY, A LARGE GROUP
[00:58:11] OF PEOPLE. BUT I ALSO WANTED TO TO DRAW
[00:58:17] ECHOES OF THE BIBLICAL PATRIARCHS MOST SPECIFICALLY
[00:58:20] MOSES YOU THE MOSES STORY HE LEADS THE ISRAELITES OUT OF
[00:58:24] EGYPT AND TO THE PROMISED LAND.
[00:58:26] BUT HE DOESN'T GET TO ENTER THE
[00:58:29] PROMISED LAND IN A CERTAIN WAY.
[00:58:32] WASHINGTON LEAD AMERICA OUT OF
[00:58:35] THE AGE OF MONARCHY TO THE PROMISED LAND OF.
[00:58:39] AND ALTHOUGH DID ACTUALLY GET
[00:58:42] ONE TOE ACROSS, HE NEVER REALLY
[00:58:44] THAT NEW THAT NEW PROMISED LAND.
[00:58:48] HE HAD TO BE THE FIRST PRESIDENT
[00:58:51] BECAUSE IF NOT FIRST, HE NEVER WOULD HAVE BEEN A SECOND OR THIRD OR FOURTH.
[00:58:55] I'LL STOP THERE AND HAVE
[00:58:59] QUESTIONS.
[00:59:05] WOW. OH, I LOVE IT.
[00:59:09] FANTASTIC. THANK SO MUCH FOR THAT. ALL RIGHT.
[00:59:12] NOW'S YOUR CHANCE TO GET YOUR QUESTIONS ON THE LIST. I'M THERE'S A SHOCKINGLY SHORT
[00:59:17] NUMBER OF QUESTIONS SO FAR FOR SUCH AN ESTEEMED AUDIENCE. I FILIBUSTERED THE WHOLE THING.
[00:59:21] THEY WERE THERE WON'T BE TIME AND THAT'S THAT.
[00:59:24] I THINK THERE WAS A THEME RUNNING THROUGH THAT IN WHICH
[00:59:28] YOU BASICALLY HAVE COME TO
[00:59:31] ADMIRE WASHINGTON MORE THAN YOU THOUGHT YOU WOULD.
[00:59:33] YOU SAID, YOU KNOW, YOU DIDN'T
[00:59:36] THINK THERE WAS SO MUCH IN THAT
[00:59:37] STORY OF THE GENERAL, THE
[00:59:40] MEDIOCRITY THAT WOKE. WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT HIM.
[00:59:44] AND THEN AS YOU GOT DUG IN AND SEEING THE WORLD THROUGH HIS
[00:59:48] EYES AND SEEING OTHER PEOPLE SEE
[00:59:49] HIM THROUGH THEIR YOU'VE COME TO APPRECIATE HIM MORE.
[00:59:53] IS THAT ALL DEFINITELY TRUE. THAT'S SOMETHING TO TALK TO THAT A LITTLE.
[00:59:56] OKAY. AND THIS BECAUSE AT EVERY
[00:59:58] CRUCIAL MOMENT.
[01:00:02] WITH ONE GLARING EXCEPTION
[01:00:06] WASHINGTON MADE THE RIGHT
[01:00:08] DECISION SO WASHINGTON WAS NOT THE FIRST BY ANY MEANS TO
[01:00:12] ENDORSE INDEPENDENCE FROM BRITAIN.
[01:00:14] SAM ADAMS JAMES OTIS THOSE SONS
[01:00:17] OF LIBERTY BOSTON, THEY WERE WAY AHEAD OF IT.
[01:00:20] BUT WHEN WASHINGTON CAME TO THAT
[01:00:23] CONCLUSION, HE CAME TO IT ON THE
[01:00:25] BASIS OF SOUND REASON OF A
[01:00:29] JUDICIOUS WEIGHING THE
[01:00:31] ALTERNATIVES AND THE EVIDENCE IN FAVOR OF WASHINGTON WOULD HAVE
[01:00:35] MADE A GREAT JUROR.
[01:00:37] HE WAS NOT SWAYED BY EMOTION.
[01:00:41] HE WAS GENERALLY NOT SWAYED BY
[01:00:43] PERSONAL INTEREST, BUT HE MADE GOOD DECISIONS.
[01:00:46] THE GLARING ANYBODY WANT TO
[01:00:49] VOLUNTEER A CHOICE OF A SUBORDINATE OFFICER, ONE WHOSE
[01:00:53] INITIALS ARE B, A BENEDICT
[01:00:58] ARNOLD HAIG REALLY BAD THERE AND
[01:01:01] WASHINGTON WAS ABSOLUTELY ASIDE
[01:01:04] FROM DAMAGE THAT BENEDICT ARNOLD'S DEFECTION AND TURNING
[01:01:08] COAT OVER THE BRITISH DID TO AMERICA'S SECURITY POSITION.
[01:01:11] IT MADE WASHINGTON LOOK REALLY
[01:01:13] BECAUSE HE HAD BEEN PROMOTING
[01:01:17] BENEDICT ON THE BENEDICT ARNOLD DONE A REALLY GOOD JOB BEFORE
[01:01:19] NOW WHY HE WHY ARNOLD SWITCHED
[01:01:23] SIDE IS A VERY DIFFERENT STORY BUT WASHINGTON HE THOUGHT I
[01:01:26] SHOULD HAVE SEEN THIS BUT HE
[01:01:31] DID. ONE OF THE THINGS AT THE END OF
[01:01:33] YOUR BOOK, SPOILER ALERT FOR YOU
[01:01:36] ALL AS YOU YOU TALK ABOUT WASHINGTON'S CHARACTER WAS THE
[01:01:41] CRITICAL FACTOR AND YOU TALKED ABOUT JUDGMENT A LITTLE BIT.
[01:01:44] BUT WHAT DOES CHARACTER MEAN TO
[01:01:46] YOU IN DESCRIBING A BECAUSE I
[01:01:50] FIND, YOU KNOW, WE TEACH ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON'S CHARACTER. WE TRY TO TEACH ABOUT CHARACTER
[01:01:54] TO OF DIFFERENT AUDIENCES. YOU THINK ABOUT WHEN TRYING TO
[01:01:56] DESCRIBE TO YOUR STUDENTS, YOU KNOW, WHAT WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY A
[01:02:00] MAN'S CHARACTER? I MEAN, YOU SAY GEORGE WASHINGTON'S CHARACTER WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS CRITICAL TO
[01:02:03] HIS SUCCESS. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? GEORGE WASHINGTON WAS A MAN OF INTEGRITY.
[01:02:07] IF HE SOMETHING IF HE PROMISED SOMETHING, HE FOLLOWED THROUGH.
[01:02:11] BUT JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THAT AND FOLLOWING THROUGH ON WHAT
[01:02:14] YOU SAY IN BEING A MAN OF
[01:02:17] INTEGRITY IT IS, DON'T FOOL
[01:02:20] YOURSELF. DON'T DELUDE YOURSELF BY YOUR
[01:02:24] OWN SELF-INTEREST IN SAYING THIS IS WHAT THE INTERESTS OF THE COUNTRY ARE.
[01:02:27] WASHINGTON I THINK VERY BETTER THAN MOST PEOPLE.
[01:02:31] BETTER THAN MOST FOLKS WHO GO INTO POLITICS AND IT BEING ABLE
[01:02:34] TO DISTINGUISH WHAT HIS OWN PERSONAL INTEREST WAS FROM THE
[01:02:37] INTERESTS OF HIS COUNTRY AND PUTTING THE COUNTRY'S INTERESTS FIRST.
[01:02:41] SO WHY SHILLINGTON AFTER THE
[01:02:44] REVOLUTIONARY HE STILL OWNED WITH MARTHA A TON OF PROPERTY
[01:02:48] INCLUDING A WHOLE BUNCH OF SLAVES, BUT HE HAD SERIOUS CASH
[01:02:50] FLOW PROBLEMS, AND HE WAS
[01:02:54] EMBARRASSED TO HAVE TO SOME MONEY.
[01:02:56] AND HE WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW, I'M ONE OF THE WEALTHIEST MEN IN VIRGINIA. YOU GOT TO BORROW MONEY TO PAY
[01:03:00] SOME SHORT TERM DEBTS, SO ON.
[01:03:02] BUT HE WAS STILL HE WAS STILL
[01:03:04] ABLE TO DISTINGUISH WHAT THE
[01:03:07] COUNTRY NEEDED FROM GEORGE WASHINGTON NEEDED.
[01:03:09] IT'S THE COMMON THING IN PUBLIC
[01:03:12] LIFE, ESPECIALLY IN THE POLITICS
[01:03:14] OF DEMOCRACY FOR.
[01:03:16] CANDIDATES OFFICE TO CONCLUDE
[01:03:20] THAT WHAT IS IN THE INTEREST OF THE COUNTRY IS WHAT'S IN THEIR
[01:03:23] OWN INTEREST AND VICE VERSA. WASHINGTON WAS GOOD AT THAT, AS
[01:03:28] SOME. THIS COMES FROM THE FACT THAT WASHINGTON, AS I SAY, WAS
[01:03:33] WELL-OFF. AND SO WE DIDN'T HAVE TO MAKE A LIVING AT ANY GIVEN TIME.
[01:03:37] WASHINGTON COULD HAVE JUST PUT DOWN WHATEVER HE IS DOING AND
[01:03:41] COME BACK TO MOUNT VERNON. AND HE WOULD HAVE BEEN HAPPY BEING A FARMER ON A DAY TO DAY
[01:03:45] BASIS, BEING THE MANAGER OF MOUNT VERNON GAVE HIM MORE
[01:03:48] SATISFACTION THAN JUST ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE.
[01:03:50] HE HATED HIS TIME AS PRESIDENT BECAUSE HE HAD TO DEAL IN
[01:03:55] POLITICS. HE ABSOLUTELY DESPISED POLITICS,
[01:03:57] SAID EARLIER THAT IT'S OFTEN MISUNDERSTOOD WHY WASHINGTON
[01:04:01] LEFT TWO TERMS. IT WASN'T TO SET A GOOD EXAMPLE
[01:04:03] FOR HIS SUCCESSOR.
[01:04:06] IT WAS BECAUSE HE WAS SO FED UP WITH POLITICS HE COULD NOT STAND
[01:04:09] ANOTHER MINUTE. AND JOHN ADAMS, HIS SUCCESSOR ON
[01:04:13] INAUGURATION DAY, ADAMS AFTERWARDS IS WRITING TO HIS
[01:04:17] WIFE ABIGAIL AND SAYS THE GENERAL WASHINGTON WAS THERE.
[01:04:21] AND I THOUGHT I SAW A GLEAM IN
[01:04:24] HIS EYE AND WASHINGTON IS NOT
[01:04:27] THAT GO DOESN'T HAVE A GLEAM IN
[01:04:29] HIS EYE NOT LIKE WASHINGTON FELT
[01:04:31] LEAVING THE REALM POLITICS AND
[01:04:34] AND ADAMS GOES ON TO SAY AND I
[01:04:36] THOUGHT I HEARD HIM SAY WELL YOU
[01:04:39] ARE FAIRLY IN AND I AM FAIRLY
[01:04:42] OUT AND WE WILL SEE WHICH OF US
[01:04:44] IS THE HAPPIER AND WASHINGTON KNEW WHICH ONE IT WOULD BE.
[01:04:47] YEAH ABSOLUTELY.
[01:04:49] SOME OF THE OTHER HISTORIANS HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT WASHINGTON,
[01:04:53] PARTICULARLY 150 YEARS AGO, JAMES FLEXNER, ANOTHER
[01:04:56] MULTI-VOLUME WORK, QUITE AS LONG
[01:04:58] AS DOUGLAS SOUTHALL FREEMAN'S, BUT HE CALLS GEORGE THE
[01:05:02] INDISPENSABLE MAN. HOW DO YOU FEEL THAT WORD?
[01:05:06] DO YOU THINK THAT SAME?
[01:05:08] AND WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU?
[01:05:10] I WOULD GO SO FAR AS TO SAY THAT
[01:05:12] SOMEBODY IS NEARLY INDISPENSABLE.
[01:05:16] SOMEBODY IS MORE INDISPENSABLE THAN OTHER PEOPLE.
[01:05:19] I WOULD SAY IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY
[01:05:22] WAR, I WOULD HAVE TO IDENTIFY TWO PEOPLE.
[01:05:26] WASHINGTON AND FRANKLIN WASHINGTON HANDLES THE MILITARY SIDE OF THINGS.
[01:05:30] FRANKLIN HANDLING THE DIPLOMATIC AND POLITICAL SIDE OF THINGS.
[01:05:33] BUT HAVING SAID THAT, IF
[01:05:37] WASHINGTON HAD NEVER LIVED IF THAT BULLET IN NEAR WHAT'S GOING
[01:05:39] TO BECOME PITTSBURGH HAD ACTUALLY HIT HIM IN THE HEAD, DOES THE UNITED STATES NOT
[01:05:43] BECOME INDEPENDENT NOW, OF COURSE, THE UNITED STATES BECOMES INDEPENDENT IF
[01:05:47] WASHINGTON HAD FALLEN IN THE EAST RIVER, IN THE EVACUATION OF
[01:05:52] BROOKLYN AND DROWN, WOULD THE AMERICAN SIDE HAVE LOST?
[01:05:56] MAYBE THAT'S THAT'S A POSSIBILITY.
[01:05:59] BUT WOULD THAT HAVE MEANT THE END OF THE POSSIBILITY.
[01:06:02] AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. NO, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO IMAGINE
[01:06:06] THAT TODAY THE UNITED STATES
[01:06:10] WOULD STILL BE PART OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. WE'D ALL BE SPEAKING ENGLISH.
[01:06:13] I MEAN, ACTUALLY, YES, BUT WE SPELLING.
[01:06:16] BUT, YOU KNOW WHAT? I MEAN. SO THERE THERE ARE LARGER FORCES
[01:06:20] AT WORK. I CAN SAY THIS, THOUGH, IF NOT FOR WASHINGTON, AND I'LL PUT
[01:06:24] FRANKLIN PRETTY NEAR THERE BECAUSE WASHINGTON WOULDN'T HAVE
[01:06:26] WON AT YORKTOWN, NOT FOR THE ASSISTANCE OF THE FRENCH. AND FRANKLIN WAS REALLY
[01:06:30] IMPORTANT IN DELIVERING THE FRENCH.
[01:06:34] AMERICA'S EARLY YEARS WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT.
[01:06:38] MAYBE THE UNITED STATES WOULD
[01:06:40] HAVE GAINED INDEPENDENCE TO THE WAY CANADA DID.
[01:06:44] SO EVOLUTION WHERE THE BRITISH. WELL, I MEAN, THERE ARE A LOT OF
[01:06:47] WHAT IFS HERE. ONE OF THE REASONS THAT THE
[01:06:50] BRITISH TO THE CANADIANS IN THE 1860S. GO AHEAD.
[01:06:53] YOU HAVE YOUR INDEPENDENCE AND. YOU DON'T HAVE TO FIGHT A WAR
[01:06:56] FOR IT WAS THEY THAT WHEN THEY FOUGHT A WAR WITH THE AMERICANS
[01:07:00] WHILE THEY LOST. SO THEY'RE GOING TO GET THE INDEPENDENCE ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.
[01:07:04] SO INDISPENSABLE. CAN'T SAY THAT. ABSOLUTELY.
[01:07:08] BUT IF ANYBODY WAS, IT WAS WASHINGTON.
[01:07:12] HMM. ONE OF THE QUESTIONERS HERE WANT
[01:07:14] TO KNOW A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR IDEA
[01:07:18] RELATION GEORGE WASHINGTON'S RELATIONSHIP TO THOMAS JEFFERSON. JEFFERSON.
[01:07:22] THE MAN OF THE HOUR THIS YEAR, 250 YEARS SINCE THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
[01:07:26] THIS IS, OF COURSE, WRITTEN AND THEN APPROVED.
[01:07:30] WHAT WAS THE RELATIONSHIP LIKE. IN WASHINGTON?
[01:07:35] AND JEFFERSON, OF COURSE, WERE FELLOW VIRGINIANS. SO THEY SHARED WHAT RUNNING A
[01:07:41] PLANTATION IS LIKE IN VIRGINIA. JEFFERSON DEFINITELY CONSIDERED
[01:07:45] HIMSELF JUNIOR MEMBER OF THIS PARTNERSHIP. HE WAS YOUNGER.
[01:07:48] THAT WAS PART OF IT. HE WAS CERTAINLY LESS DISTAL ANGUISHED.
[01:07:52] AND AS LONG AS WASHINGTON LIVED, HE WAS THE PEN MAN OF
[01:07:57] DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, BUT HE HAD A RATHER UNDISTINGUISHED
[01:07:59] STINT AS GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA.
[01:08:01] AND THEN HE WAS IN WASHINGTON'S CABINET. WASHINGTON WAS HIS BOSS.
[01:08:06] AND ONE OF THE STRIKING THINGS ABOUT WHAT JEFFERSON'S
[01:08:08] RELATIONSHIP WITH WASHINGTON AND
[01:08:11] THE SIMULTANEOUS RELATIONSHIP OF WITH WASHINGTON WAS THAT
[01:08:17] JEFFERSON AND HAMILTON DISAGREED
[01:08:19] ABOUT EXCEPT THAT.
[01:08:22] WASHINGTON WAS THE ABSOLUTELY INDISPENSABLE GUY.
[01:08:24] AND THEY BOTH ACKNOWLEDGED THAT
[01:08:28] WASHINGTON HAD AN EDGE ON THEM
[01:08:30] IN A CERTAIN.
[01:08:34] WHICH, LIKE IN A CERTAIN MORAL WAY AND A WAY OF OF CHARACTER, OF LEADERSHIP.
[01:08:38] HAMILTON DIDN'T THINK ANYBODY WAS AS SMART. HE WAS.
[01:08:42] AND THAT'S NOT THAT OUTLAND WAS
[01:08:46] A POSITION FOR HAMILTON TO TAKE. AND JEFFERSON THOUGHT THAT
[01:08:50] NOBODY WAS A BETTER WRITER THAN HE WAS.
[01:08:52] AND AGAIN, THAT'S NOT ALL THAT INACCURATE TO SAY.
[01:08:57] SO HAMILTON KNEW HE WAS SMARTER THAN WASHINGTON. JEFFERSON KNEW IS A BETTER WRITER THAN WASHINGTON, BUT THEY
[01:09:02] BOTH DEFERRED TO WASHINGTON. THEY BOTH RECOGNIZE THAT
[01:09:06] WASHINGTON SOMETHING THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE AND PROBABLY NEVER
[01:09:09] WOULD HAVE. AND IT GETS TO THIS THING THAT I WAS TALKING THAT'S SO HARD TO
[01:09:13] QUANTIFY AND IT'S OF THE REASONS THAT I STAYED AWAY FROM FOR SO LONG.
[01:09:17] WHAT KIND OF STORY CAN YOU MAKE OUT OF THIS, ANDREW JACKSON THE
[01:09:23] ONLY PRESIDENT EVER TO HAVE KILLED A MAN IN COLD BLOOD BEFORE HE WAS PRESIDENT.
[01:09:26] HE KILLED A MAN IN A DUEL. WASHINGTON DIDN'T DO ANYTHING DRAMATIC LIKE THAT.
[01:09:29] AND YOU KNOW, HIS HIS LIFE IS
[01:09:33] NOT IT'S TOUGH TO MAKE A GOOD
[01:09:35] ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON BECAUSE
[01:09:37] THERE AREN'T ANY REALLY DRAMATIC MOMENTS. YOU GET HIM.
[01:09:40] WELL, YOU HAVE TO JAZZ IT UP A LITTLE BIT AND HAVE THEM KNEELING DOWN IN THE SNOW AT
[01:09:43] VALLEY FORGE. BUT IT'S JUST THAT HE WAS HE WAS
[01:09:48] THERE AND HE MADE GOOD DECISIONS. ONE AFTER THE OTHER.
[01:09:52] AND THIS IS BY FAR THE MOST
[01:09:56] IMPORTANT QUALITY A PRESIDENT
[01:09:59] CAN HAVE. AND IT'S ALSO WHY IT IS SO HARD
[01:10:02] CHOOSE GOOD PRESIDENTS, BECAUSE THE KINDS OF DECISIONS YOU'RE
[01:10:05] GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE AS PRESIDENT, YOU DON'T MAKE IN ANY
[01:10:09] OTHER JOB THE CLOSEST THING IS,
[01:10:11] BEING GOVERNOR OF A BIG STATE, BUT GOVERNORS HAVE NOTHING TO DO
[01:10:14] WITH FOREIGN POLICY. SO YOU DON'T KNOW UNTIL THEY'RE.
[01:10:17] BUT HAMILTON THIS.
[01:10:19] JEFFERSON UNDERSTOOD THIS, BUT I'LL ADD FOR BOTH OF THOSE GUYS
[01:10:23] THEY WERE STILL THE LADDER FOR WASHINGTON.
[01:10:27] I'M GOING TO SAY SOMETHING HERE THAT'S REALLY WORTH KEEPING IN MIND.
[01:10:30] IT HAS TO DO WITH DON'T 21ST
[01:10:32] CENTURY NOTIONS. THE 18TH CENTURY.
[01:10:36] AND THAT IS THAT WASHINGTON WAS
[01:10:40] PRESIDENT AT A TIME WHEN BEING
[01:10:42] WASN'T A PARTICULARLY BIG.
[01:10:46] WASHINGTON WAS NOT THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
[01:10:48] THERE HAD BEEN PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES BEFORE WASHINGTON.
[01:10:51] THEY WERE PRESIDENTS OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS AND,
[01:10:54] PRESIDENTS OF THE CONFEDERATION, CONGRESS. THEY WERE PRESIDENTS OF CONGRESS.
[01:10:58] THEY WEREN'T THE PRESIDENTS UNDER THE NEW CONSTITUTION. THAT WAS WASHINGTON, THE FIRST. BUT ONE OF THE REASONS THAT
[01:11:03] WASHINGTON WAS PRESIDENT WAS
[01:11:06] THAT, WELL, THE CONSTITUTION CONVENTION RAN OUT OF TIME.
[01:11:10] WRITING ARTICLE TWO OF THE CONSTITUTION, WHICH IS ABOUT THE
[01:11:13] PRESIDENCY AND THE REASON THEY WERE JUST THEY JUST SKETCHED IT
[01:11:17] IN WAS THEY LOOKED ACROSS THE WAY THEY. WASHINGTON WELL, GEORGE, I'LL FIGURE THIS OUT BECAUSE
[01:11:21] EVERYBODY KNEW HE'D BE THE FIRST PRESIDENT. EVERYBODY'S WILLING TO DEFER TO THIS.
[01:11:25] BUT VERTUE WATCHING. BUT AFTER THEN THE COMPETITION
[01:11:28] BEGINS. AND SO THIS IS WHAT WASHINGTON NEVER WOULD HAVE EVEN TRIED TO
[01:11:32] BE PRESIDENT IF HE'D HAD TO ACTUALLY RUN THE OFFICE, IF HE
[01:11:36] HAD BEEN IF HAD BEEN CONTESTED, HE WOULD HAVE SAID, I WANT TO DO
[01:11:40] THAT FOR WASHINGTON. THE WAS A VICTORY LAP FOR WHAT
[01:11:44] HE HAD DONE AS COMMANDING GENERAL OF THE ARMY THAT WAS
[01:11:48] THAT WAS THE IN HIS OWN MIND, THAT WAS THE APEX OF HIS ACHIEVEMENT.
[01:11:52] AND BEING PRESIDENT. THAT WAS JUST I GOT TO DO THIS BECAUSE YOU'RE ASKING ME TO DO IT.
[01:11:56] AND THEY NEED A BIG NAME IN THIS OFFICE. BUT THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO
[01:11:59] BEAR IN MIND BECAUSE AND I'LL
[01:12:01] SAY THIS WHEN WASHINGTON GAVE UP
[01:12:05] THE PRESIDENCY AFTER TWO TERMS
[01:12:08] THESE DAYS IT'S SAID, WELL, YOU
[01:12:11] KNOW, IT WAS REALLY TEMPTING FOR HIM TO STICK AROUND BECAUSE.
[01:12:15] YOU GOT THAT POWER OF THE PRESIDENCY.
[01:12:16] THE PRESIDENT WASN'T POWERFUL IN THE 1790S.
[01:12:20] THE CONSTITUTION PUTS ALL THE POWER IN THE HANDS OF CONGRESS
[01:12:24] BY INTENT AND THE PRESIDENT IS
[01:12:26] JUST THE EXACT THEATER OF THE
[01:12:28] WILL OF CONGRESS. WENT ONE LAST THING.
[01:12:32] SO WHEN GEORGE WASHINGTON HANDED
[01:12:35] BACK TO THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
[01:12:38] HIS COMMISSION AFTER, THE PEACE TREATY WITH BRITAIN, WAS SIGNED,
[01:12:42] HE BIDS FAREWELL TO HIS OFFICERS.
[01:12:44] AND BY THE WAY, THIS ONE A MOMENT THAT'S REALLY
[01:12:48] UNCHARACTERISTIC WASHINGTON, BECAUSE WHEN HE SAYS GOODBYE TO THE OFFICERS, HE INSISTS THAT
[01:12:52] EACH ONE COME UP AND SHAKE HAND. BUT IN FACT, IT TURNED OUT TO BE
[01:12:54] AN EMBRACE WITH TEARS ON BOTH SIDES.
[01:12:57] WASHINGTON NOT WEEP EASILY AND
[01:13:00] NOT IN SORT OF SITUATION. BUT HE DID THIS TIME BECAUSE
[01:13:04] THERE WAS THIS EXPERIENCE THAT THEY HAD THAT WAS EVERYBODY
[01:13:08] REALIZED. THIS IS THE BIGGEST DEAL OF OUR LIVES. WE HAVE DONE THIS THING.
[01:13:11] WE HAVE SURVIVED WAR. WE HAVE FOUGHT TOGETHER. WE BLED TOGETHER.
[01:13:15] WE HAVE GONE HUNGRY TOGETHER. WE'VE BEEN CALLED TOGETHER. WE'VE SEEN OUR COMRADES DIE
[01:13:18] TOGETHER. BUT WE HAVE SURVIVED AND THEY ARE ABOUT TO LEAVE.
[01:13:21] AND THEY PROBABLY NEVER SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN. AND SO THERE WAS THIS PART OF
[01:13:25] THEIR LIFE WAS ENDING. AND BEYOND THIS.
[01:13:28] BEYOND THE PERSONAL ASPECT WAS THE THAT THEY HAD ACCOMPLISHED
[01:13:32] SOMETHING OF WORLD HISTORIC IMPORTANCE.
[01:13:35] THEY HAD CREATED THIS REPUBLIC. THEY HAD CREATED THIS COUNTRY
[01:13:39] OUT OF WHOLE CLOTH. THEY HAD STARTED AMERICA DOWN
[01:13:43] THE PATH OF THIS IN SELF
[01:13:47] GOVERNMENT. AND THIS IS WHAT I TELL MY LARGE
[01:13:49] CLASS OF THOSE RELUCTANT HISTORY STUDENTS AT.
[01:13:53] THE END OF THE SECOND SEMESTER,
[01:13:55] AND ESPECIALLY THIS 250TH YEAR
[01:13:58] AT THE AT AND THE OPENING DAY OF
[01:14:00] THE CLASS I SAID THE REASON
[01:14:04] REASON YOU HAVE TO TAKE THIS THE
[01:14:07] TEXAS STATE LEGISLATURE HAS
[01:14:09] MANDATED THAT EVERY PUBLIC STUDENT IN THE STATE OF TEXAS TAKE TWO SEMESTERS OF AMERICAN
[01:14:13] HISTORY. AND HERE'S WHY.
[01:14:15] BECAUSE MY STUDENTS ARE 18, 19, 20 YEARS OLD.
[01:14:19] I SAID, YOU ABOUT TO EMBARK ON
[01:14:25] THIS ONGOING GRAND EXPERIMENT.
[01:14:28] THIS STARTED NOW 250 YEARS AGO. AND THE EXPERIMENT IS TO
[01:14:32] DISCOVER WHERE PEOPLE CAN GOVERN THEMSELVES BEFORE THE AMERICAN
[01:14:36] REPUBLIC PEOPLE DIDN'T GOVERNMENT THEY WERE GOVERNED BY SOMEBODY ELSE.
[01:14:39] THEY CALLED THEM KINGS. THEY CALLED THEM CZARS AND THEY CALLED THEM EMPERORS.
[01:14:42] THE IDEA THAT PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY GOVERN THEMSELVES IS
[01:14:45] THIS EXPERIMENT THAT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR 250 YEARS.
[01:14:49] AND SO I TELL THEM AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEMESTER NOW
[01:14:53] YOU ARE PART OF THIS. PAY ATTENTION. THIS IS WHY YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE
[01:14:56] COURSE BECAUSE WE'RE SORT OF HANDING THE KEYS OF THE CAR YOU AND YOU'VE GOT TO KNOW SOMETHING
[01:14:59] ABOUT HOW IT WORKS SO THAT YOU WON'T MESS IT UP. AND SO WHEN WE GET TO THE END,
[01:15:04] THE VERY LAST THING I TELL THEM WHEN THEY'RE LEAVING THE CLASS,
[01:15:07] I SAY, OKAY, YOU NOW HEIRS TO
[01:15:11] THIS GRAND EXPERIMENT, I POINT
[01:15:13] OUT THEM THAT IF IF THEY DON'T
[01:15:15] LIKE I SAY, IF YOU DON'T, WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE UNITED STATES
[01:15:19] TODAY? IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT. IT'S MY FAULT.
[01:15:23] IT'S FOR ALL THE PEOPLE OUR AGE BECAUSE WE'VE HAD OUR SHOT FOR
[01:15:26] THE LAST SEVERAL DECADES AND NOW IT'S YOUR SHOT.
[01:15:29] AND I SAY BEAR IN MIND, THIS EXPERIMENT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR
[01:15:33] 250 YEARS. AND IT IS AN EXPERIMENT THAT CAN FAIL AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT.
[01:15:37] IF AMERICANS JUST LOSE FOCUS, IF
[01:15:41] THEY LOSE SIGHT OF WHAT'S IMPORTANT, THEN MAYBE ALL THOSE
[01:15:45] NAYSAYERS AND THERE ARE A LOT OF THEM BACK IN THE 1780S NINETIES,
[01:15:48] THERE ARE A LOT THEM IN THE WORLD TODAY WHO SAY DOESN'T WORK
[01:15:52] BECAUSE PEOPLE CAN'T GOVERN THEMSELVES. I SAY, NOW WE'RE HANDING TO YOU
[01:15:56] IN THE LAST WORDS I SAY TO THEM IS DON'T SCREW IT UP.
[01:16:00] YEAH, WELL THAT'S GREAT. FANTASTIC.
[01:16:07] THAT I MEAN THAT'S A GREAT WAY TO END CONVERSATION ON.
[01:16:10] BUT I WILL ASK ONE MORE QUESTION AND GET YOU UP THERE TO SIGN SOME BOOKS FOR EVERYBODY WHO
[01:16:14] COME OUT TONIGHT. THEY CAN GET A GLASS OF WINE AND
[01:16:18] HAVE A LITTLE SNACK. BUT THIS IS THIS IS I THINK I
[01:16:21] WANT TO I WANT TO HEAR YOU RUMINATE ON HERE.
[01:16:25] HOW WOULD THIS BOOK BE DIFFERENT IF IT WAS THE FIRST BIO THAT YOU
[01:16:30] WROTE 30 YEARS AGO? ARE YOU GOING THROUGH? OH, THAT IS A REALLY GOOD QUESTION.
[01:16:33] WELL, THERE YOU GO. WHOEVER WROTE THAT ANONYMOUS WROTE A REALLY GOOD BOOK.
[01:16:37] AND I WILL TELL YOU THAT THE FIRST BIG BIOGRAPHY THAT I WROTE
[01:16:40] WAS ABOUT BENJAMIN FRANKLIN AND
[01:16:44] I HAD SOME SERIOUS DOUBTS WHETHER I COULD PULL IT OFF AND
[01:16:46] HERE'S WHY. BECAUSE BENJAMIN FRANKLIN DID
[01:16:50] HIS REALLY IMPORTANT STUFF, HIS
[01:16:54] IMPORTANT HISTORICAL STUFF WHEN
[01:16:57] HE WAS 70 YEARS OLD AND OLDER.
[01:16:59] I WAS WRITING THE BOOK IN MY EARLY FORTIES, AND I DID NOT
[01:17:04] KNOW I COULD SUFFICIENTLY
[01:17:06] CHANNEL A 70 YEAR OLD MAN TO BE
[01:17:09] ABLE TO MAKE COME ALIVE FOR READERS.
[01:17:11] IF I COULD SORT OF UNDERSTAND HIM.
[01:17:13] AND I DID WHAT ANY HARD WORKING
[01:17:17] BIOGRAPHER DOES, YOU YOUR BEST PLOW AHEAD.
[01:17:22] SO THERE WAS THAT PART WHEN I
[01:17:23] WAS DEALING WITH FRANKLIN, WITH
[01:17:29] WASHINGTON WELL, PART OF THE ISSUE IS THAT I HAVE NEVER BEEN A GENERAL.
[01:17:33] I'VE NEVER BEEN IN THE MILITARY
[01:17:35] I JUST MISS THE DRAFT IN VIETNAM.
[01:17:39] I'VE NEVER BEEN PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. I HAVE STUDIED A BUNCH OF PRESIDENTS. I HAVE STUDIED A BUNCH GENERALS.
[01:17:43] BUT STILL, IT'S A CHALLENGE TO
[01:17:47] FIGURE OUT WHAT MAKES A PERSON TICK.
[01:17:50] NOW, WASHINGTON KEPT A DIARY FOR
[01:17:53] MUCH OF HIS LIFE, BUT HIS DIARY
[01:17:55] IS UNHELPFUL IN THAT REGARD. IT SAYS, THIS IS WHAT I DID
[01:17:59] TODAY. WE PLANTED OATS IN THE SOUTH PASTURE AND WE DID THIS AND WE
[01:18:03] DID THAT. AND A TEMPERATURE WAS THIS. IT WAS RAINING. AND SO YOU SEE THE EXTERNALS OF
[01:18:07] WASHINGTON'S.
[01:18:08] IT'S NOT A DIARY OF, WELL THIS
[01:18:11] IS WHAT I WAS THINKING. AND THIS HOW I FELT ABOUT THAT.
[01:18:14] IT WASN'T AN INTROSPECTIVE DIARY.
[01:18:16] IT WAS ONE OF WASHINGTON FROM OUTSIDE IN.
[01:18:20] HE LETTERS.
[01:18:23] MOST OF THE LETTERS WERE SORT OF
[01:18:25] JUST ABOUT STUFF THEY WEREN'T
[01:18:27] ABOUT FEELINGS WHEN HE WROTE TO
[01:18:29] HIS SIBLINGS ESPECIALLY HIS BROTHER JACK.
[01:18:33] THEN HE SORT OF HE TOLD A LITTLE
[01:18:35] BIT MORE WHAT HE WAS THINKING.
[01:18:38] ONE BIG MISSING PART OF THE FOR ME, FOR EVERYBODY ELSE IS
[01:18:43] WRITING ABOUT WASHINGTON IS HIS CORRESPONDENCE WITH MARTHA,
[01:18:45] MARTHA BERNARD, THE LETTERS UPON
[01:18:49] GEORGE WASHINGTON'S DEATH. I DO NOT BEGRUDGE HER IN DOING
[01:18:53] SO SO.
[01:18:55] SHE DIDN'T WRITE LETTERS TO ME SHE WROTE THEM TO GEORGE.
[01:18:57] HE WROTE LETTERS TO NOT TO NOSY
[01:18:59] HISTORIANS OR BIOGRAPHERS ALONG 250 YEARS LIKE IT IS ANYBODY'S
[01:19:03] PREROGATIVE. WRITE TO BURN THE LETTERS THEY WANT.
[01:19:06] I WISH SHE HADN'T. I THINK I WOULD KNOW MORE WHAT
[01:19:10] WASHINGTON WAS THINKING, BUT
[01:19:12] MAYBE NOT THAT MUCH MORE. AND HERE'S WHY.
[01:19:16] I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT PEOPLE,
[01:19:18] PEOPLE WHO HAD SPOUSES AND TO
[01:19:22] WHOM THEY WROTE LETTERS.
[01:19:24] AND THE LETTERS SURVIVED.
[01:19:26] SO ANDREW JACKSON OCCASIONALLY
[01:19:28] WROTE TO HIS WIFE, RACHEL, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN OCCASIONALLY
[01:19:33] WROTE TO HIS WIFE, DEBBIE,
[01:19:34] ULYSSES GRANT WROTE TO HIS WIFE, JULIA, AND SO ON.
[01:19:40] AND IN SOME CASES THERE REVEALS
[01:19:43] IN SOME CASES THEY'RE NOT
[01:19:45] PARTICULARLY IN PART BECAUSE THE
[01:19:47] SPOUSE ISN'T THAT INTEREST DID
[01:19:49] PER SE IN WHAT THE GUY IS DOING
[01:19:54] NOW. BUT FOR WASHINGTON'S ERA,
[01:19:57] THERE'S THIS IMPOSSIBLE STANDARD FOR, LET'S SAY, A WASHINGTON A
[01:20:01] GEORGE MARTHA TO BE MEASURED
[01:20:05] AGAINST. AND THAT IS, OF COURSE, THE
[01:20:07] CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN JOHN AND ABIGAIL ADAMS.
[01:20:12] AND THERE ARE TWO REASONS THAT THAT CORRESPONDENCE IS SO
[01:20:17] REVEALING. MAYBE THREE.
[01:20:21] SO ONE OF THE REASONS IS THAT
[01:20:23] ABIGAIL WAS AT LEAST INTERESTED
[01:20:25] IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS, AS JOHN WAS,
[01:20:29] AND WHEN HE WROTE TO HER ABOUT
[01:20:31] THE INDIGNITY INDIGNITY OF BEING
[01:20:36] WASHINGTON'S VICE PRESIDENT, WELL, SHE WANTED TO HEAR ABOUT
[01:20:38] IT AND SHE WANTED AND SHE COULD RESPOND THAT WAY.
[01:20:41] SO SHE WAS VERY INTERESTED IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS IN A WAY.
[01:20:44] FOR EXAMPLE, MARTHA WASHINGTON
[01:20:48] NOT THERE'S ANOTHER DIFFERENCE
[01:20:49] THERE IS THAT JOHN ADAMS IS, THE
[01:20:52] BIGGEST COMPLAINER IN THE WORLD, AND HE THOUGHT THAT THE WORLD
[01:20:58] WOULD SIMPLY NEVER GIVE HIM THE
[01:21:00] CREDIT HE WAS DUE.
[01:21:02] HE TOLD BENJAMIN RUSH IT WASN'T JUST ABIGAIL. HE WAS WRITING.
[01:21:05] HE WROTE A BENJAMIN RUSHING CASE WHEN THE STORY THIS GENERATION
[01:21:08] IS WRITTEN, IT'S GOING TO COME OUT LIKE THIS.
[01:21:14] THAT DR. FRANKLIN STRUCK THE
[01:21:16] EARTH WITH HIS LIGHTNING ROD AND
[01:21:19] UP JABBED GENERAL WASHINGTON AND THE TWO OF THEM, THEY
[01:21:23] ACCOMPLISHED THE GREAT AFFAIRS OF WAR AND PEACE AND IT WENT
[01:21:26] WITHOUT SAYING AND THAT I, JOHN
[01:21:28] ADAMS, WAS NOT GIVEN CREDIT THAT I WAS DUE.
[01:21:32] SO ADAMS IS IS ONE WHO REALLY WEARS HIS EMOTIONS ON HIS SLEEVE
[01:21:37] AND, HIS EMOTIONS CHANGE FROM DAY TO DAY. SO THE NEXT DAY HE'S SORT OF
[01:21:41] LUCID AS FRANKLIN SAID ABOUT JOHN ADAMS.
[01:21:44] HE IS, AS HONEST AS THE DAY IS LONG.
[01:21:47] HE IS THE MOST INDUSTRIOUS
[01:21:50] PERSON AND HE'S ABSOLUTELY CRAZY. ABOUT HALF THE TIME.
[01:21:53] AND THAT'S THE KIND OF GUY YOU WANT TO QUOTE.
[01:21:56] SO I'M NOT SURE IF THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN THAT IN THE