Original Broadcaster Captioning (Enhanced). Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a quotation record.
00:00:00SURE. ALL RIGHT.
00:00:03THANK YOU SO MUCH.
00:00:30I'M DOUG BRADBURN. THE PRESIDENCY OF GEORGE MOUNT
00:00:32VERNON AND BEHALF AND THE MOUNT
00:00:34VERNON LADIES ASSOCIATE. I'M DELIGHTED TO SEE YOU ALL
00:00:37HERE TONIGHT FOR THE MICHELLE
00:00:40SMITH SERIES. THAT IS THE FIRST PERSON TO
00:00:43THANK IS, OF COURSE, THE ROBERT H. AND CLARICE SMITH FOUNDATION
00:00:46THAT SUPPORTED THIS IN HONOR OF THEIR THEIR DAUGHTER MICHELLE,
00:00:50WHO WAS FANTASTIC PHILANTHROPIST
00:00:53AND PATRIOT IN HER OWN RIGHT AND. IT'S A GREAT WAY TO CONCLUDE AN
00:00:57EXTRA ORDINARY SERIES THAT WE'VE HAD THIS YEAR SO FAR.
00:01:01WE KICKED IT OFF WITH A MAJOR CONVERSATION ABOUT WHO WE ARE AS
00:01:05A NATION IN OUR 250TH YEAR. WITH THAT GREAT COLLECTION OF
00:01:10ESSAYS, 24 HISTORIANS, IF YOU'LL
00:01:12REMEMBER TY COULDN'T FIND THE 25TH, APPARENTLY, EVEN THOUGH I
00:01:15WAS SITTING RIGHT THE WHOLE TIME.
00:01:18AND YET THEY SOMEHOW COULDN'T FIND ME.
00:01:22BUT, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS A THAT'S A CONVERSATION WE HAD.
00:01:24AND THEN COURSE, WALTER ISAACSON LAST WEEK.
00:01:28BUT TONIGHT WE HAVE THE THE
00:01:32PIECE DE RESISTANCE THE THE
00:01:35GRAND FINALE AND WHAT OUR GRAND
00:01:38FINALE CAN WE HAVE THEN BRANDS
00:01:40BECAUSE H.W. BRANDS IT'S NOT
00:01:44ONLY AN EXTRAORDINARY HISTORIAN
00:01:47IS PROLIFIC 30 BOOKS AT LEAST
00:01:49FIVE EDITED VOLUMES SCORES OF
00:01:54ESSAYS SCORES OF LESS LEARNED
00:01:56ESSAYS IS MORE LESS LEARNED.
00:02:00HE IS EVERYWHERE. I HAVE A LIST OF ALL THE PLACES
00:02:03HE'S BEEN PUBLISHED, BUT YOU KNOW, THE TIMES, THE WALL STREET
00:02:07JOURNAL, THE POST, THE TRIBUNE'S
00:02:09EVERY TRIBUNE PUT THE CITY IN OF IT AND ENDS WITH THE TRIBUNE.
00:02:13ALL OF THEM. AND WE'RE REALLY HONORED FOR HIM
00:02:17TO BE HERE BECAUSE HIS BOOKS ARE
00:02:18NOT BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN, BUT THEY ARE AWARD WINNING.
00:02:23HE'S BEEN A FINALIST FOR THE PULITZER PRIZE COURSE AND MANY
00:02:25OF HIS BOOKS ARE GOING TO BE BESTSELLERS.
00:02:29HE IS. WE'RE NOW JOINED AND AROUND THE
00:02:33WORLD READ IN GERMAN FRENCH,
00:02:36RUSSIAN, CHINESE, JAPANESE AND
00:02:40KOREAN. SO THIS IS ONE OF THOSE EVENINGS WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO SAY, YEAH,
00:02:44I H.W. BRANDS. I SAW HIM AND YOUR KIDS WILL ASK
00:02:47YOU WHAT WAS THAT INCREDIBLE PROGRAM HE SAW AT MT. VERNON.
00:02:51AND HE'LL SAY, WELL, IT WAS H.W.
00:02:52BRANDS BECAUSE GUESS WHAT HEDO'S
00:02:57A NEW BIOGRAPHY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON WHERE BETTER THAN TO
00:03:01HEAR FROM H.W. BRANDS TALK ABOUT
00:03:03HIS BOOK AMERICAN PATRIARCH THE
00:03:06LIFE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON.
00:03:08SO I WANT TO HEAR A BIG WELCOME.
00:03:10NOT YET, BECAUSE I GOT SOME BOOKKEEPING TO DO.
00:03:14YOU SEE THAT QR CODE OVER THERE ON THAT SCREEN?
00:03:16THAT'S THE WAY YOU'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO ASK QUESTIONS TONIGHT. SO TAKE OUT YOUR PHONE.
00:03:20YOU SHOOT THAT QR CODE. HE'S GOING TO BE UP HERE LECTURING AND THIS AUDIENCE
00:03:24KNOWS MORE ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON COLLECTIVELY THAN ANY
00:03:28AUDIENCE IN THE WORLD. AND SO I EXPECT THE QUESTIONS TO
00:03:32BE TO BE GOOD, TO BE IN, TO BE
00:03:38PRESSING AND TO CHALLENGE HIM. AND LET'S LET'S SEE IF WE CAN
00:03:41BRING DOWN THE GREAT BRANDS TONIGHT WITH THE QUESTION AND
00:03:45ANSWER. SO HE WILL FOR 34 OR 40 MINUTES.
00:03:48AND THEN YOU'LL BE THINKING
00:03:50ABOUT YOUR QUESTIONS ALL ALONG. YOU SHOOT HIM IN HERE, THEY'LL
00:03:53COME UP UNDER THIS SCREEN AND THEN I WILL ASK HIM THOSE QUESTIONS.
00:03:56SO WE WON'T HAVE ANY STANDING COMMENTATORS.
00:04:00THE AUDIENCE TONIGHT WILL BE ABLE TO EVERYBODY'S QUESTIONS
00:04:04AND GET THEM UP THERE ALL LECTURE LONG. ALL RIGHT.
00:04:06WITH THAT, LET'S GO AHEAD AND PREPARE OURSELVES TO GIVE HIM A
00:04:10BIG MOUNT VERNON WELCOME AND THANK HIM FOR ATTEMPT TO TELL
00:04:14THE GREAT OF GEORGE WASHINGTON
00:04:18PATRIOT OF THE LIFE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON. H.W..
00:04:23AS YOU.
00:04:29THANK YOU, DOUG, FOR THAT. VERY KIND INTRODUCTION.
00:04:33AND THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE. I AM IMPRESSED WITH.
00:04:36THE CHALLENGE THAT YOU HAVE POSED TO COME WITH QUESTIONS THAT I CANNOT ANSWER AND YOU
00:04:41PROBABLY CAN UP WITH QUESTIONS LIKE THAT.
00:04:44HOWEVER I AM UNFAZED.
00:04:46I'VE FACED TOUGHER AUDIENCE THAN
00:04:49YOU COULD EVER.
00:04:52I'M NOT FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS, BUT I'VE BEEN LIVING IN TEXAS
00:04:56SINCE THE 1980S.
00:04:58AND BECAUSE NOT A TEXAN, I'M
00:05:02WITH A CERTAIN SKEPTICISM
00:05:04SUSPICION BY NATIVES OF THE LONE
00:05:07STAR STATE.
00:05:09I HAVE MADE BOLD TIMES IN MY
00:05:13CAREER AS A HISTORIAN TO WRITE
00:05:15ABOUT TEXAS HISTORY.
00:05:18I WROTE ABOUT THE BATTLE OF THE
00:05:20ALAMO, AND I SO BOLD AS TO SAY
00:05:24THAT THE BATTLE OF ALAMO SHOULD
00:05:26NEVER HAVE BEEN FOUGHT.
00:05:30WHERE YOU CAN IMAGINE REACTION. IT GOT.
00:05:34AND SO I WAS ATTACKED IN MONTHLY
00:05:38MAGAZINE SAYING. THAT YANKEE PROFESSOR AT THE
00:05:42TIME I WAS TEACHING AT TEXAS A&M
00:05:44THAT YANKEE AGGIE OUGHT TO GO
00:05:46BACK TO OREGON, WHERE HE CAME FROM.
00:05:48NOW, THE REAL CHALLENGE CAME
00:05:50WHEN I WAS SPEAKING IN WEST, TEXAS.
00:05:53I RECEIVED AN INVITATION FROM MIDLAND COLLEGE.
00:05:57MIDLAND OUT IN THE OIL PATCH OF WEST TEXAS. AND THEY'RE ALL REALLY RICH OUT THERE.
00:06:00AND NEXT TO THE ON THE BANKS
00:06:05WHERE THEY HAVE, YOU KNOW, THE TEMPERATURE AND THE DATE IN MIDLAND.
00:06:07THEY ALSO THE CURRENT PRICE OF
00:06:09WEST TEXAS OIL.
00:06:13SO KNOWS WHAT THE TEMPERATURE OF THE TOWN IS. SO I WAS GOING TO I WAS INVITED
00:06:17BY COLLEGE TO SPEAK AND WHEN
00:06:20SOME OF THE SCHOOLTEACHERS OUT THERE HEARD THAT I WAS COMING.
00:06:24THEY EMAILED ME AND THEY SAID,
00:06:26COULD WOULD IT BE OKAY IF I BROUGHT MY SEVENTH GRADE CLASS
00:06:29TO YOUR?
00:06:31AND SO THEY CAN LEARN FROM YOU AS WELL.
00:06:35NOW KNEW ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT
00:06:37SEVENTH GRADE IS TEXAS HISTORY
00:06:40IS TAUGHT TO YOUNG TEXANS.
00:06:42IT IS NOT COINCIDENCE I'M SURE
00:06:45THAT THAT IS JUST THE SAME WHEN
00:06:48CATHOLIC KIDS ARE CONFIRMED
00:06:50JEWISH, KIDS ARE BAR MITZVAHED. IT'S THE COMING OF AGE.
00:06:53IT'S A TRANS OF WHAT YOU NEED TO
00:06:57KNOW TO BE A TEXAN. I SAID, I TOLD I'VE BEEN IN
00:07:00TEXAS NOW FOR 45 YEARS.
00:07:03MORE THAN THAT, 50 YEARS ALMOST.
00:07:05AND BUT I DON'T FEEL LIKE I'M A
00:07:08TEXAN BECAUSE I DIDN'T UNDERGO
00:07:12RITE OF PASSAGE. I DIDN'T HAVE ANSWER THE
00:07:13CATECHISM QUESTIONS ABOUT, YOU
00:07:16KNOW, WHAT TEXANS BELIEVE
00:07:18NONETHELESS IN, MY MAGNANIMITY
00:07:20AS A TEACHER, I SAID, SURE,
00:07:23BRING YOUR SEVENTH GRADERS.
00:07:25WELL WORD GOT AROUND ONE SEVENTH
00:07:29GRADE TEXAS HISTORY TEACHER, ANOTHER WHO CONTACTED ANOTHER.
00:07:32AND BEFORE I KNEW IT, THE WHOLE LOT OF TOURISM UP TO THE MIDDLE
00:07:35LEVEL FILLED WITH SEVENTH GRADERS AND THEY WERE IN THE
00:07:39MIDDLE OF THEIR TEXAS HISTORY CLASS.
00:07:41NOW, PERHAPS YOU CAN APPRECIATE,
00:07:44BEING OF AGE A BIT OLDER THAN SEVENTH GRADE, THAT THE
00:07:48PERSPECTIVE OF YOUNG PEOPLE ON
00:07:50HISTORY IS DIFFERENT. THE PERSPECTIVE OF PEOPLE MY AGE
00:07:54AND YOUR AGE SOME OF IT IS JUST
00:07:56YOU HAVE MORE LIFE EXPERIENCE.
00:07:58YOU COME TO APPRECIATE HISTORY,
00:08:00BUT YOU ALSO YOU ALSO GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IMPORTANT
00:08:06QUESTIONS CONSIST OF AND WHAT IS
00:08:08MAYBE LESS IMPORTANT, EVEN TRIVIAL, AS IN THE OF TRIVIA.
00:08:13BUT WHEN YOU'RE IN SEVENTH GRADE.
00:08:15YOU CANNOT TELL THE DIFFERENCE. IT'S ALL THE SAME.
00:08:18AND APPARENTLY, APPARENTLY THE
00:08:22SEVENTH GRADE TEACHERS HAD A CHALLENGE VERY MUCH LIKE DOUG DID.
00:08:26SEE IF YOU CAN STUMP THE CHUMP
00:08:28COME UP WITH THE QUESTION THAT
00:08:30THE SMART PROFESSOR, THE AGGIE
00:08:32YANKEE PROFESSOR CAN'T ANSWER.
00:08:36SO I GREETED THANK YOU FOR COMING THANK YOU FOR.
00:08:40COMING. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS YOUNG
00:08:42MAN IN THE FRONT ROW RAISE? I GOT A QUESTION.
00:08:44I GOT QUESTION. OKAY, YOUNG MAN, WHAT'S YOUR
00:08:51QUESTION. WHAT WAS SAM HOUSTON'S?
00:08:54MIDDLE NAME.
00:08:57I CERTAINLY DID NOT SEE THAT ONE COMING.
00:09:03AND. I WAS PRETTY SURE I KNEW WHAT THE ANSWER.
00:09:06BUT I WAS ALSO EQUALLY SURE THAT THE ANSWER THAT I WAS GOING TO
00:09:09GIVE WOULD UNACCEPTABLE BECAUSE
00:09:12THE SORT OF SMART ALECK IN ME
00:09:16WAS GOING TO GO BACK AND SAY, WELL, WHAT WAS ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S
00:09:19MIDDLE NAME? WHAT WAS GEORGE WASHINGTON'S
00:09:22MIDDLE PEOPLE DIDN'T ALWAYS
00:09:24MIDDLE NAMES, BUT YOU TELL THAT
00:09:27TO A SEVENTH GRADE CLASS WHERE, THEY'VE ALL GOT MIDDLE NAMES,
00:09:30SOME THEM HAVE TWO MIDDLE NAMES. AND THAT BE SEEN AS A DODGE
00:09:33BRANDS COULDN'T THE QUESTION BUT
00:09:37WHEN YOU'RE IN THE TEACHING BUSINESS YOU CAN IDENTIFY WHAT
00:09:40WE CALL TEACHABLE MOMENTS WHEN
00:09:42YOU'VE GOT AUDIENCE ATTENTION.
00:09:44AND USUALLY IT'S WHEN YOU'RE
00:09:47DOING THIS SORT OF TIGHTROPE ACT WHERE THEY THINK THE STUDENTS
00:09:50THINK GOT HERE AND CAN WE IS HE GOING TO FALL OFF OR IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER IT.
00:09:54SO BECAUSE I KNEW I HAD THEIR
00:09:56ATTENTION, I DECIDED TO MAKE LESSON OUT OF IT. WELL, I WON'T GO INTO THE WHOLE
00:10:01LESSON. BUT I TOOK I TOOK 15 MINUTES
00:10:04ANSWERING THE QUESTION BECAUSE. I DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE TO ANSWER
00:10:08A SECOND QUESTION. ANYWAY. I WENT THROUGH THE WHOLE THING
00:10:11AND I TALKED ABOUT HOW SAM
00:10:14HOUSTON HAD RUN AWAY FROM HOME
00:10:15AT WELL, AT ABOUT THE AGE YOU ARE, I SAID TO THE SEVENTH
00:10:19GRADERS, BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO GROW UP TO BE A FARMER. HE RAN OFF TO LIVE WITH THE
00:10:22CHEROKEES AND THE CHEROKEES GAVE HIM A NAME, A CHEROKEE THAT
00:10:25TRANSLATE TO RAVEN. SO I SAID MAYBE WE SHOULD
00:10:28CONSIDER THAT HIS MIDDLE NAME.
00:10:29NOW THEY WEREN'T BUYING THAT SO
00:10:33THEN I SAID, WELL, I DON'T KNOW
00:10:36IF YOU'RE TOLD THIS IN YOUR SEVENTH GRADE, TEXAS CLASS, BUT
00:10:40SAM HOUSTON, A PROBLEM ALCOHOL
00:10:46AND AFTER HIS MARRIAGE FELL
00:10:48APART AND HE LEFT TENNESSEE AND
00:10:51HE WENT BACK INTO INDIAN TERRITORY TO LIVE WITH THE INDIANS.
00:10:54HE WAS DRINKING ALL THE TIME AND
00:10:57THE INDIANS CALLED HIM BIG DRUNK.
00:11:01SO MAYBE THAT SAM MIDDLE NAME.
00:11:05THEN I SAID THEY WOULD. THEY WEREN'T BUYING THAT, BUT I.
00:11:07OKAY WELL WHEN SAM HOUSTON FINALLY GOT TO TEXAS, NOW I'M
00:11:11SPEAKING TO THIS CLASS OF TEXAS HISTORY STUDENTS. YOU REMEMBER WHEN SAM HOUSTON
00:11:14GOT TO TEXAS? SEE, I PUT THEM ON THE SPOT.
00:11:17NOW BECAUSE I CAN ASK QUESTIONS BACK, AND SO I DON'T KNOW.
00:11:21ANYWAY, SO EMIGRANTS TEXAS,
00:11:25WHICH THEN PART OF MEXICO IN ORDER TO LEGALLY IF THEY WEREN'T
00:11:30ALREADY CATHOLICS THEY HAD BE BAPTIZED IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
00:11:34AND. WHEN THEY DID SO, THEY TOOK A SAINT'S NAME AND THAT WAS AT
00:11:38THAT MOMENT THAT I REMEMBERED THAT I HAD SEEN A CONTRACT.
00:11:42THE SAM HOUSTON, WHO WAS A PRACTICING LAWYER, AMONG OTHER
00:11:45THINGS, HE HAD SIGNED AND HE
00:11:46SIGNED HIS NAME SAM PABLO
00:11:51HOUSTON. SO I SAID, PABLO, THAT MUST BE HIS MIDDLE NAME.
00:11:54WHAT DO YOU THINK. WELL, THEY WERE KIND OF SHAKING
00:11:58THEIR HEADS AT THAT. AND I SAID, WELL, I GUESS WE'VE OUT OF TIME. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY.
00:12:03SO ANY QUESTION YOU COULD PUT TO ME WON'T BOTHER ME A BIT AND
00:12:05I'LL PROBABLY FILIBUSTER THAT
00:12:07QUESTION JUST LIKE I FILIBUSTER THE SAME HOUSTON GUYS.
00:12:11I'M GOING TO TELL YOU I'M GOING TO TELL YOU THE PROBLEM THAT A BIOGRAPHER AND A HISTORIAN HAS
00:12:15WRITING ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON.
00:12:16THE PROBLEM THIS, TO PUT IT VERY
00:12:20SUCCINCTLY, ACCOUNTING FOR HIS
00:12:22SUCCESS, HOW HE DO IT.
00:12:26I HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON AS LONG AS I
00:12:30HAVE BEEN TEACHING HISTORY, AND
00:12:33THAT'S REALLY LONG TIME I HAVE.
00:12:36I ADDED UP THE YEARS.
00:12:38I JUST FINISHED MY SPRING SEMESTER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF
00:12:42TEXAS AUSTIN, WHERE I TEACH AND.
00:12:44I REALIZED THAT I HAVE JUST
00:12:47COMPLETED MY 50TH YEAR IN THE CLASSROOM.
00:12:50SO I'VE BEEN TALKING.
00:12:55THANK YOU, ACTUALLY.
00:12:57SO I SAID THAT TO MY CLASS AND
00:13:01AND THEY GAVE ME A ROUND OF APPLAUSE. THEY WERE MORE IMPRESSED THAT 50
00:13:04YEARS THAN YOU ARE BECAUSE KNOW THEY'RE 20 YEARS OLD.
00:13:07BUT BUT INTRIGUINGLY ENOUGH,
00:13:11THEY ALL THOUGHT THAT IN
00:13:13ANNOUNCING THAT I WAS MY
00:13:16RETIREMENT BECAUSE WHEN I SHOWED UP TWO DAYS LATER, WHAT ARE YOU
00:13:20STILL DOING HERE? WE THOUGHT YOU YOU'RE RETIRED.
00:13:23ANYWAY, I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON. I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON.
00:13:27I HAVE MADE A POINT FROM MY VERY
00:13:28FIRST YEAR TEACHING, EVEN.
00:13:32UNTIL NOW, AND I'LL CONTINUE TO DO SO AS LONG I CONTINUE TO TEACH, AND THAT IS TO TEACH AN INTRODUCTORY COURSE IN AMERICAN
00:13:37HISTORY. IT'S A TWO SEMESTER COURSE IN THE FALL.
00:13:38WE BEGIN PRE COLONIAL TIMES AND
00:13:41IN THE SPRING WE WIND UP AT THE PRESENT OR AS NEAR TO THE
00:13:45PRESENT I CAN GET.
00:13:45AND SO I DO THIS, I DO THIS.
00:13:49I WANT TO REMAIN FAMILIAR WITH
00:13:52THE BROAD SWEEP OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
00:13:54I DO IT BECAUSE OVER THE YEARS
00:13:56I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT MOST ERAS IN
00:13:58AMERICAN HISTORY AND ALLOWS ME SORT OF TRY OUT MY ON MY
00:14:02STUDENTS. SO I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON, ALL THESE
00:14:06TEARS AND AND I'M PERFECTLY
00:14:10AWARE OF THE IMPORTANCE GEORGE
00:14:13WASHINGTON TO AMERICAN HISTORY.
00:14:15THIS HAS NEVER BEEN QUESTIONED.
00:14:20BUT BUT HOW DID HE DO IT? I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF HOW
00:14:22THIS SORT OF PLAYED MY MIND.
00:14:25I'M I DO PRESENT NAVAL HISTORY AS ONE OF THE KINDS OF HISTORY I
00:14:29DO. I TEACH A COURSE IN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORY EVERY SPRING.
00:14:33AND I KNOW PERFECTLY WELL THAT
00:14:36SINCE THE MIDDLE OF THE 20TH CENTURY, THREE PRESIDENTS HAVE
00:14:40BEEN RANKED ABOVE ALL THE OTHERS
00:14:44THAT ARE YOU COULD PROBABLY NAME
00:14:46THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON, ABRAHAM
00:14:49LINCOLN, FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT.
00:14:52NOW THESE ARE RANKED AS THREE GREATEST PRESIDENTS IN TERMS
00:14:55THEIR GREAT IMPACT ON AMERICAN HISTORY.
00:14:59NOT EVERYONE AGREES WITH
00:15:02EVERYTHING THAT THE PRESIDENTS DID.
00:15:04NOBODY MET MAKE TAKES MUCH ISSUE
00:15:08WITH WHAT WASHINGTON DID AS PRESIDENT.
00:15:12BUT I LIVE IN TEXAS, WHICH IS A
00:15:14STATE OF THE FORMER CONFEDERACY,
00:15:18AND ARE STILL PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT
00:15:19THAT, YOU KNOW, WARM AND ABOUT ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
00:15:22IN FACT, I WAS ASKED SOME OF YOU
00:15:26WILL REMEMBER THAT THERE WAS A WE'RE IN THE 250TH YEAR OF
00:15:30AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. YOU'LL REMEMBER THAT WAS YOU REMEMBER THE LINCOLN
00:15:35BICENTENNIAL HAPPENED IN 2009.
00:15:36THERE WAS 200 YEARS SINCE BIRTH.
00:15:40I WAS ASKED BY THE GOVERNOR, THE
00:15:42STATE OF TEXAS, TO THE TEXAS
00:15:45LIAISON TO THE NATIONAL LINCOLN
00:15:48BICENTENNIAL COMMITTEE. AND MY JOB WAS TO KEEP UP WITH
00:15:52ALL THE THINGS THAT WERE GOING TO BE DONE IN TEXAS TO CELEBRATE THE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
00:15:56AND I HEARD THAT I SAID, SURE,
00:15:58GIVE ME EASIEST GIG I EVER HAD
00:16:02BECAUSE NOTHING EVER.
00:16:04SO FINALLY FINALLY I HAD TO COME
00:16:06UP WITH SOMETHING SO.
00:16:08WELL, HOW ABOUT PLACES IN TEXAS ARE NAMED FOR LINCOLN?
00:16:12THERE IS ONE SMALL HAMLET IN CENTRAL TEXAS.
00:16:16THAT'S LINCOLN. I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHY IT WAS
00:16:19CALLED LINCOLN, BUT I'M GOING TO ACTUALLY POSE A QUESTION TO YOU
00:16:22SEE HOW YOU ARE THIS EVENING.
00:16:26THERE WAS THERE IN NEARLY EVERY
00:16:30CITY OR TOWN OF SIZE, ONE
00:16:33INSTITUTION, NAME FOR ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
00:16:37AND IT'S THE SAME INSTITUTION,
00:16:39THE EXACT SAME IN EVERY TOWN AND
00:16:44IT'S ESSENTIALLY THE ONLY
00:16:46INSTITUTE IN NAME FOR ABRAHAM LINCOLN IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
00:16:50I ADD THAT THIS WOULD APPLY IN
00:16:54TEXAS. IT WOULD APPLY IN MANY STATES OF
00:16:58THE SOUTH. WHAT INSTITUTION WAS IT? CAR DEALERSHIP?
00:17:04YEAH. NO, NOT A BAD YES.
00:17:06NOT A BAD YES. A MAIN STREET BANK PRISON.
00:17:12IF IT WAS A SCHOOL.
00:17:14WHAT KIND OF SCHOOL WAS IT?
00:17:16IT WAS A BLACK SCHOOL.
00:17:20IT ALWAYS THE FIRST BLACK HIGH SCHOOL IN WHATEVER TOWN IT WAS
00:17:24IN. ANYWAY. SO.
00:17:28SO I KNEW WHY WAS IMPORTANT. I CAN TELL YOU WHY WAS
00:17:32IMPORTANT. I CAN TELL YOU WHY FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT WAS IN BOARD. ANYBODY COULD TELL YOU I WROTE A
00:17:36BOOK ABOUT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT, AND I SHOULD. SO SOME OF THE STUFF THAT
00:17:38LINCOLN DID WAS STILL SORT OF VAGUELY CONTROVERSIAL IN THE
00:17:42SUIT. A FEW UNRECONSTRUCTED PLACES, MAYBE PARTS OF VIRGINIA,
00:17:46FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT CAN STILL
00:17:49RAISE BLOOD PRESSURES AROUND THE
00:17:51COUNTRY AND.
00:17:53AND SO I'M NOT WHEN I SAY THAT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT WAS ONE OF
00:17:57THE THREE GREAT PRESIDENTS, NOT NECESSARILY GREAT AND GOOD, BUT GREAT.
00:17:59AND HAVING A VERY LARGE INFLUENCE ON AMERICAN LIFE.
00:18:03AND I WROTE A BOOK ABOUT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT IN WHICH I MAKE THE CASE AND I MAYBE I
00:18:07SHOULD GIVE YOU A WARNING OR AT
00:18:10LEAST A NOTICE WHAT TO EXPECT SHOULD YOU READ MY BOOK ON
00:18:13GEORGE WASHINGTON? I MAKE A POINT.
00:18:17MAYBE, I THINK UNUSUALLY AMONG
00:18:19BIOGRAPHERS AND USUALLY AMONG
00:18:21HISTORIANS IN NOT PASSING
00:18:25JUDGMENT ON MY SUBJECTS, I WANT YOU KNOW, WHAT GEORGE WASHINGTON
00:18:28WAS LIKE. I WANT YOU TO SEE THE WORLD THROUGH GEORGE EYES.
00:18:32BUT I'M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU AT THE BEGINNING, IN THE MIDDLE OR
00:18:35THE END, THE GEORGE WASHINGTON WAS A GREAT, GOOD MAN.
00:18:38I HAVE MY THOUGHTS THAT. BUT I LEAVE THAT TO YOU.
00:18:42I GIVE YOU ALL THE EVIDENCE YOU NEED TO DECIDE WHETHER YOU LIKE
00:18:46HIM OR NOT, WHETHER YOU THINK HE WAS IMPORTANT OR NOT.
00:18:48I TELL YOU PRETTY MUCH AS MUCH
00:18:52OF WHAT HIS CRITICS, WHAT HIS ENEMIES SAID ABOUT HIM AS
00:18:56ANYBODY KNEW IT AT THE TIME. SO I LEAVE THAT TO YOU. IN THE CASE OF FRANKLIN
00:19:00ROOSEVELT, IT IS EASY FOR ME TO CHARACTERIZE THIS. I WRITE ABOUT THE NEW DEAL.
00:19:04I EXPLAIN, WELL WHAT THE NEW DEAL WAS ABOUT.
00:19:08I DON'T SAY THAT THE NEW DEAL WAS A GOOD DEAL OR THE NEW DEAL WAS A BAD DEAL.
00:19:11THAT DEPENDS MORE ON YOUR OWN VIEWS, YOUR OWN VALUES REGARDING
00:19:16GOVERNMENT, THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT INDIVIDUALS. BUT I DO EXPLAIN WHY THE NEW
00:19:19DEAL WAS A BIG DEAL AND ANYWAY,
00:19:24SO. WHY IS LINCOLN CONSIDERED ONE OF THE THREE GREATS?
00:19:27BECAUSE HE SAVED THE UNION AND HE FREED THE SLAVES.
00:19:31IS FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT CONSIDERED ONE OF THE THREE? GREAT BECAUSE. HE GUIDED AMERICA THROUGH THE
00:19:34GREAT DEPRESSION AND HE GUIDED THE FREE WORLD, WORLD WAR TWO
00:19:38AND THE DEFEAT OF FASCISM.
00:19:40BUT WHAT DID GEORGE DO TO RANK
00:19:44AS ONE OF THE THREE GREAT PRESIDENTS?
00:19:47I'LL ASK IF YOU HAD TO SAY,
00:19:51WHAT'S THE FIRST THING YOU THINK ABOUT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT
00:19:54GEORGE WASHINGTON'S PRESIDENCY AND ITS LEGACY FOR THE
00:20:00PRESIDENCY, THE COUNTRY? WHAT'S THE ONE THING THAT EVERYBODY IMMEDIATELY SAYS
00:20:03GEORGE WASHINGTON DID?
00:20:04AND THAT WAS IMPORTANT TERM LIMITS.
00:20:08HE LEFT AFTER TWO TERMS. AND I MEAN, IT'S OF A NEGATIVE
00:20:12THING TO SAY ABOUT SOMEBODY HE KNEW WHEN TO LEAVE.
00:20:14AND IT'S TRUE IT'S TRUE. AND I'M I HAVE ACTUALLY A GOOD
00:20:19DEAL TO SAY ABOUT THAT IN THE BOOK. AND IF YOU ASK ME I'LL TELL YOU
00:20:22WHY IT ISN'T EXACTLY MOST PEOPLE THINK IT IS.
00:20:27BUT BUT IF THAT'S THE LEADING
00:20:30ITEM FOR GEORGE PRESIDENTIAL
00:20:33GREATNESS, I DON'T KNOW SO SO
00:20:35THEN WAS FALL BACK ON WHY DID HE BECOME PRESIDENT?
00:20:39BECAUSE WAS A GENERAL. HE WAS A VICTORIOUS GENERAL IN
00:20:42AN IMPORTANT WAR. ALL RIGHT. FAIR ENOUGH.
00:20:45THERE HAVE OTHER GENERAL
00:20:48PRESIDENTS AFTER WASHINGTON WAS
00:20:50JACKSON AND THERE WAS AND THERE WAS EISENHOWER.
00:20:54AND WHEN I LOOK AT THEIR
00:20:58CAREERS, I. I UNDERSTAND PRETTY EASILY WHY
00:21:04JACKSON ACCOMPLISHED WHAT HE ACCOMPLISHED? HE WAS THE VICTOR, THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS.
00:21:07AND I CAN YOU THAT THE REASON
00:21:09FOR JACKSON'S SUCCESS WAS THAT
00:21:13HIS SOLDIERS WERE MORE SCARED OF
00:21:15HIM THAN THEY OF THE BRITISH.
00:21:17JACKSON HAD HOLD TOGETHER, PULL
00:21:19TOGETHER THE MOTLEY IEST ARMY
00:21:22THAT EVER FOUGHT IN DEFENSE OF THE UNITED STATES. AND THEY THAT IF THEY LET
00:21:26JACKSON DOWN THEY WOULD WELL
00:21:29THEY WOULD PAY THE CONSEQUENCES.
00:21:32IN THE CASE OF GRANT, GRANT WAS THE GREAT FIGHTER AND WHEN
00:21:36LINCOLN PROMOTED GRANT BE
00:21:38COMMANDER OF THE UNION ARMIES,
00:21:40HE SAID HE FIGHTS, HE FIGHTS THAT'S WHAT I WANT. I WANT SOMEBODY WHO FIGHTS.
00:21:44AND GRANT UNDERSTOOD THAT BY THE
00:21:46TIME HE GOT TO VIRGINIA, THE CIVIL WAR HAD REDUCED TO A WAR
00:21:50OF ATTRITION AND HE KNEW THAT
00:21:52FOR EVERY SOLDIER THAT HE LOST AND THAT ROBERT E LEE LEE
00:21:58COULDN'T REPLACE THAT SOLDIER. BUT GRANT COULD. AND SO WHAT THEY LOSE EQUALLY ON
00:22:02EACH SIDE THE UNION SIDE WINS I
00:22:05KNOW WHAT MADE EISENHOWER A
00:22:07GREAT GENERAL.
00:22:09IT WAS HIS POLITICAL AND DIPLOMATIC SKILL WITH THE
00:22:13VARIOUS CIVILIAN LEADERS HE HAD
00:22:16TO ACCOMMODATE WITH THE VARIOUS
00:22:18TEMPERAMENTAL GENERALS HE HAD TO DEAL WITH.
00:22:21HE WAS A GREAT BEFORE HE BECAME
00:22:24A POLITICIAN. BUT WHAT ABOUT WASHINGTON?
00:22:28WHAT MAKES WASHINGTON A GREAT
00:22:31SOLDIER, A GREAT GENERAL?
00:22:35WELL. THAT'S A HARD ONE TO ANSWER.
00:22:37I MEAN, THE BASE ANSWER IS THE
00:22:41BASIC ANSWER, AND IT'S WHY I REALIZE I'M TALKING TO A AN
00:22:45AUDIENCE OF PROBABLY MOST YOU A LOT OF YOU ARE VIRGINIANS.
00:22:49BUT IT'S WHY GRANT IS ALWAYS A
00:22:53BETTER GENERAL THAN LEE.
00:22:56BECAUSE YOU LOOK AT DISCOVER WHO WON THE WAR.
00:22:59IF YOU WIN THE WAR YOU'RE THE BETTER GENERAL.
00:23:03NOW THERE ARE WAYS OF PARSING
00:23:06THAT AND TEASING IT OUT. THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT QUITE SOUND
00:23:09SO SIMPLE.
00:23:11WHEN YOU THINK OF A GENERALS TO
00:23:16DEAL IN TACTICS AND D THEY HAVE
00:23:18TO DEAL IN STRATEGY. I MEAN, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE THE
00:23:21COMMANDING GENERAL, WHOLE ARMY STRATEGY IS A BIG DEAL FOR YOU
00:23:24IF YOU'RE JUST THE GENERAL OF A ONE DIVISION OR SOMETHING, THAT
00:23:28THEN YOU DON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE OVERALL STRATEGY SO MUCH
00:23:33TACTICALLY. TACTICALLY.
00:23:36GEORGE WASHINGTON WAS MAYBE
00:23:39MEDIOCRE. WASHINGTON LOST BATTLES.
00:23:42OTHER GENERALS E LEE WOULD HAVE WON.
00:23:45LEE WAS REALLY GOOD AT TACTICS,
00:23:48KNEW HOW TO TAKE AN ARMY ON, A BATTLEFIELD AGAINST ANOTHER ARMY
00:23:52AND WIN USE HIS OWN SIDE TO GREATEST EFFECT.
00:23:57WASHINGTON NOT GOOD AT THAT
00:23:59WASHINGTON LOST BATTLES THAT AS
00:24:02I SAY, OTHER GENERALS WOULD HAVE
00:24:04WON SO WHAT IS IT THAT MAKES HIM
00:24:08GREAT. WELL HE DID WIN THE WAR THAT'S TRUE. AND THE WAR WAS PRETTY
00:24:12IMPORTANT. WELL, PRETTY IMPORTANT THERE ARE
00:24:14WARS THERE TWO WAYS OF LOOKING AT WARS. THEY ARE WARS OF CHOICE AND
00:24:18THERE ARE EXISTENTIAL WARS. THE EXISTENTIAL WARS ARE WARS.
00:24:21YOU GOT FIGHT THAT'S REALLY ALL ABOUT EXISTENCE OF YOUR COUNTRY.
00:24:26AND WARS OF CHOICE. IT WAS YOU DON'T HAVE TO FIGHT.
00:24:28YOU COULD TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT. AND IF YOU WIN, THAT'S GREAT.
00:24:32IF YOU LOSE, WHILE IT'S NOT GOING TO DESTROY THE WHOLE
00:24:34COUNTRY AND FOR THE UNITED STATES, THERE WAS NEVER A MORE
00:24:38EXISTENTIAL WAR THAN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. I MEAN, LITERALLY THE SENSE THAT
00:24:41IF THE AMERICAN SIDE AND HAVE TO BE CAREFUL HERE BECAUSE ONE OF
00:24:44THE THINGS WASHINGTON HAD TO DEAL WITH WAS ALL THE AMERICANS
00:24:48WHO WEREN'T IN FAVOR OF INDEPENDENCE, THERE WAS A BIG
00:24:51BATCH OF LOYALISTS AND THIS GAVE WASHINGTON HEADACHES AT VARIOUS TIMES.
00:24:55SO BUT I WILL THE TERM AMERICAN
00:24:57SIDE TO DISTINGUISH GROUP FROM
00:24:59THE BRITISH AND SO WASHINGTON
00:25:05HAS TO FIGURE OUT, YOU KNOW, HOW
00:25:07TO HOW TO TAKE HIS SIDE AND TO
00:25:11DEFEAT THE BRITISH IN.
00:25:13HERE'S SOMETHING ELSE. THERE'S THINGS THAT PEOPLE HAVE
00:25:17KEEP IN MIND IN CONSIDERING
00:25:20EVENTS, PEOPLE THAT HAPPENED AND
00:25:23LIVED TWO CENTURIES, TWO AND A HALF CENTURIES AGO.
00:25:28AND ONE OF THEM HAS TO DO WITH THE SCALE OF LIFE.
00:25:31SO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE REVOLUTIONARY, VERY IMPORTANT
00:25:34WAR FOR THE UNITED STATES, BUT
00:25:37IT WAS A TINY WAR, IT WAS A TINY
00:25:39WAR COMPARED THE CIVIL WAR. IT WAS EVEN TINIER COMPARED WITH
00:25:44WORLD USE. IT WAS VERY SMALL SCALE WITH
00:25:46GRANT'S WAR AND EVEN SMALLER
00:25:48SCALE COMPARED WITH EISENHOWER'S
00:25:52WAR. AND SO, I MEAN, I THINK ABOUT I
00:25:55LIVE IN AUSTIN, I TEACH AT THE
00:25:57UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN, HAS A FOOTBALL TEAM AND IT HAS
00:26:01BIG STADIUM. AND SO I TELL STUDENTS THAT
00:26:03WASHINGTON'S ENTIRE DURING
00:26:07REVOLUTIONARY WAR COULD HAVE COMFORTABLY FIT IN THE SEATS IN
00:26:11THE END ZONE OF MEMORIAL STADIUM.
00:26:15AND IT REALLY SORT TAKES THEM ABACK.
00:26:18IT'S IT'S A VERY SMALL SCALE THING.
00:26:23SO ONE OF THE WAYS OF MEASURING THEIR SUCCESS IS IF SOMEBODY IN
00:26:26A COMPETITIVE AND HYPER COMPETITIVE LETHAL WAY,
00:26:30COMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE LIKE WAR IS YOU LOOK AT THEIR ONE LOSS
00:26:33RECORD, HOW MANY WINS, HOW
00:26:35LOSSES, IF YOU TALLY UP GEORGE
00:26:38WASHINGTON'S ONE LOSS RECORD, IT DOESN'T LOOK GOOD.
00:26:42HE LOST A LOT MORE BATTLES THAN.
00:26:44HE WON, BUT THAT'S BECAUSE
00:26:48WASHINGTON AS UNDISTINGUISHED AS
00:26:53HE WAS AS A TACTICIAN, HE WAS
00:26:56BRILLIANT STRATEGIST.
00:26:59HE UNDERSTOOD NATURE OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
00:27:03HE UNDERSTOOD WHAT HIS WAS AND
00:27:05HOW TO THAT TASK.
00:27:09I MENTIONED THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN EXISTENTIAL WARS AND
00:27:13WARS OF CHOICE. HE UNDERSTOOD THAT AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR WAS VERY
00:27:18ASYMMETRIC BETWEEN THE AMERICAN SIDE AND THE BRITISH SIDE.
00:27:20FOR THE AMERICAN SIDE, THIS WAS
00:27:24WASHINGTON AND EVERYBODY WHO WAS FIGHTING ON THE AMERICAN SIDE, IT BASICALLY PUT THEIR NECKS IN
00:27:27THE NOOSE IF THEY LOSE THE WAR,
00:27:29THEY MIGHT WELL LOSE THEIR LIVES. THEY WOULD LOSE THEIR COUNTRY,
00:27:33THEY WOULD LOSE EVERYTHING THAT THEY HAD PUT ON THE LINE FOR THE
00:27:37BRITISH IT WAS A WAR OF CHOICE. WASHINGTON UNDERSTOOD SOMETHING.
00:27:41THE THAT THE BEST GENERALS, THE MOST STRATEGICALLY VISIONARY
00:27:45GENERALS NEVER LOSE SIGHT OF. AND IT'S SOMETHING, THOUGH, THAT
00:27:49SOME PEOPLE IN THE MILITARY
00:27:53PROFESSION GET SORT OF ANNOYED WITH.
00:27:56BUT I WOULD SAY MORE OFTEN. SO KIND OF FANS OF THE MILITARY
00:28:00GET ANNOYED AT THIS WAR.
00:28:02EVERY WAR BEGINS IN POLITICS AND
00:28:04IT ENDS IN POLITICS AND THE
00:28:07STUFF IN THE MIDDLE TAKES PLACE ON THE BATTLEFIELD.
00:28:11POLITICS OFTEN INVOLVED, BUT THE WAR STARTS BECAUSE THE
00:28:15POLITICIANS CAN'T RESOLVE SOME ISSUE.
00:28:16THE WAR WHEN THE POLITICIANS SAY
00:28:20THE WAR IS OVER AND IT'S CRITICAL TO REMEMBER THAT THE
00:28:24WAR ENDS WHEN NOT WHEN THE
00:28:26WINNERS SAY IT'S OVER.
00:28:35BUT WHEN THE LOSERS SAY IT'S OVER, BECAUSE THE LOSERS ARE THE ONES WHO HAVE TO STOP FIGHTING. SO WASHINGTON, EARLY ON THAT HE
00:28:38DIDN'T HAVE TO WIN ANY BATTLE IN
00:28:41THE WAR EXCEPT THE LAST.
00:28:44AND IF HE WON THE LAST ONE THEN
00:28:46HE WOULD WIN THE WHOLE THING THE
00:28:50BRITISH CONTRAST THEY HAD TO WIN AND WIN AND WIN. AND WHEN THEY HAD WIN.
00:28:54SO THAT THEY WOULD CAUSE THE TO
00:28:56GIVE UP THE AMERICANS WOULD HAVE
00:28:59TO COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT IF WE KEEP WE'RE JUST GOING TO
00:29:03KEEP LOSING. AND SO WE MIGHT AS WELL QUIT ALL
00:29:08WASHINGTON HAD TO DO WAS KEEP FIGHTING LONG ENOUGH THAT THE
00:29:11BRITISH WOULD SAY, WE CAN'T KEEP
00:29:13DOING THIS FOREVER.
00:29:17AND SO WHEN HE FINALLY WON DECENT BATTLE, YEAH, HE WON AT
00:29:20TRENTON, WHICH WAS THIS PRIZE OVER A BUNCH OF DRUNKEN GERMANS
00:29:24AND HE WON A FOLLOW UP AT PRINCETON, WHICH WASN'T A BIG
00:29:29DEAL. BUT BEYOND THAT, IT'S A FULL
00:29:31LIST OF LOSSES AFTER LOSSES. SOME PEOPLE CLAIM THAT WHEN THE
00:29:36BRITISH LEFT BOSTON AND SAILED
00:29:41TO SEE THAT WASHINGTON HAD DRIVEN THEM AWAY. NO, ACTUALLY, THEY HAD ESCAPED.
00:29:45AND WASHINGTON REALLY HOPED TO CORNER THEM AND END THE FIGHTING, BUT THEY GOT AWAY TO
00:29:49FIGHT ANOTHER DAY. WASHINGTON'S ONE BIG SUCCESS ON
00:29:53THE BATTLEFIELD AT YORKTOWN AND
00:29:56IT WAS A VERY IMPORTANT VICTORY. NO QUESTION ABOUT IT.
00:29:59AN ENTIRE ARMY SURRENDERED TO
00:30:03WASHINGTON. BUT THAT DID NOT SIGNAL THAT THE
00:30:07BRITISH HAD RUN OUT OF
00:30:11RESOURCES, HAD RUN OUT OF THE ABILITY TO CONTINUE THE WAR.
00:30:13THEY COULD VERY EASILY HAVE
00:30:17RAISED ARMY PAST ANOTHER APPROPRIATIONS BILL AND
00:30:21CONTINUED THE FIGHTING.
00:30:22BUT THEY CHOSE NOT TO BECAUSE.
00:30:27THEY HAD CONCLUDED THAT THIS WAR
00:30:29MIGHT INDEED LAST. AND WE'RE NOT. WE DON'T WANT TO FIGHT IT
00:30:34FOREVER. AS IMPORTANT AS WASHINGTON
00:30:37VICTORY AT YORKTOWN WAS HIS MOST IMPORTANT VICTORY IN THE
00:30:41REVOLUTIONARY WAR WAS AT VALLEY FORGE.
00:30:45NOW, THAT'S NOT EVEN A BATTLE THAT WAS AN ORDEAL.
00:30:47THAT WAS A TRIAL, A TRIAL BY
00:30:49WINTER, A TRIAL BY DISEASE, A TRIAL BY HUNGER.
00:30:51THE FACT THAT HE COULD HOLD HIS
00:30:53ARMY TOGETHER AND IT WOULD STILL
00:30:56BE THERE IN THE SPRING, MEANT
00:30:59THAT THE STRUGGLE WOULD CONTINUE. THAT'S WHAT WASHINGTON AIMED TO
00:31:03DO. KEEP THE WAR GOING AS LONG AS HE
00:31:06COULD KEEP FIGHTING. EVENTUALLY THE BRITISH WOULD SAY ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
00:31:10AND THE WAR END. IN FACT, WASHINGTON COULD THINK
00:31:13IT THROUGH EVEN IN GREATER DETAIL THAN THAT.
00:31:18WASHINGTON, AS MOST AMERICANS WHO THOUGHT ABOUT THIS DID THAT,
00:31:22JUST AS IT WASN'T EVERY AMERICAN IN FAVOR OF ONE SIDE ON THE
00:31:27AMERICAN SIDE, NOR WAS IT EVERY
00:31:30IN BRITAIN WHO WANTED CRUSH THE AMERICANS.
00:31:33THERE HAD BEEN THERE WAS THROUGHOUT THE WAR SUPPORT FOR
00:31:36THE AMERICAN SIDE OR AT LEAST OPPOSITION TO FIGHTING A WAR
00:31:40AGAINST THOSE AMERICANS. THIS ISN'T BIG ENOUGH DEAL TO GO
00:31:43TO WAR OVER, SAID THE OPPOSITION PARTY.
00:31:46IT WAS IN THE MINORITY THROUGH
00:31:48MOST OF THE WAR. IT WASN'T NEGLIGIBLE AND
00:31:52RECOGNIZED WHEN A BIG AND THE
00:31:58GOVERNMENT THEN WE WOULD CALL THE ADMINISTRATION THE
00:32:01RESPONSIBLE FOR STARTING THE WAR AND FIGHTING THE WAR WILL FALL
00:32:04AND THEY'LL BE REPLACED BY THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAD BEEN SKEPTICAL OR
00:32:07HOSTILE TO THE WAR. THEY'LL TAKE OVER AND THEY'LL SAY, LET'S END THE WAR.
00:32:11THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED.
00:32:14SO THIS IS THIS IS THE SOURCE OF
00:32:18WASHINGTON'S SUCCESS IN THE WAR
00:32:20OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
00:32:23DOES THAT RISE TO THE LEVEL OF
00:32:27MAKING WASHINGTON, A GREAT
00:32:29FIGURE OH, I THINK SO.
00:32:32FOR A LONG TIME I'VE BEEN
00:32:34WRITING AMERICAN FOR PRETTY LONG.
00:32:37I'VE BEEN AWARE OF WASHINGTON.
00:32:39I STARTED WRITING BIOGRAPHIES
00:32:42NOW, I GUESS ABOUT, 25, 28 YEARS AGO.
00:32:45I HAD MIND THAT I WAS GOING TO WRITE THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED
00:32:50STATES IN THE FORM OF BIOGRAPHIES.
00:32:53AND THIS BECAUSE WHEN I CALLED
00:32:55IT HIST I'LL BE VERY MERCENARY
00:32:59MERCENARY ABOUT THIS. NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE WERE MY BOOKS
00:33:03A OF PEOPLE SEEM ALLERGIC TO
00:33:05HISTORY AS HISTORY, AND I THINK IT'S BECAUSE THEY REMEMBER THEIR
00:33:09HIGH SCHOOL HISTORY CLASS AND IT
00:33:11WAS A BUNCH OF NAMES AND DATES AND BORING STUFF LIKE THAT.
00:33:15SO I THOUGHT WELL WHY DON'T I DO THIS IN ANOTHER WAY, I'LL WRITE
00:33:21BECAUSE NOBODY HAS AN INNATE OBJECT TO BIOGRAPHIES.
00:33:25PEOPLE LIKE BIOGRAPHIES. WHY BECAUSE BIOGRAPHIES ARE
00:33:28ABOUT PEOPLE AND PEOPLE ARE
00:33:31INTERESTED IN PEOPLE.
00:33:33IS THERE STILL THAT MAGAZINE CALLED PEOPLE? YEAH, YEAH.
00:33:37IF I IF A TITLE ALREADY BEEN TAKEN, THAT'S WHAT I CALL MY BOOKS.
00:33:41THIS IS THIS IS WHY THIS IS HOW I SELL MY HISTORY CLASS TO MY
00:33:46STUDENTS. AND THESE ARE STUDENTS WHO, FOR
00:33:49THE MOST, I TEACH A VERY LARGE CLASS. I HAVE 500 STUDENTS IN MY CLASS
00:33:52AND NEARLY OF THEM ARE THERE BECAUSE HAVE TO BE.
00:33:56IN FACT, I ASKED THEM ON THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS.
00:33:59WHY ARE YOU HERE NOW? IS IT BECAUSE IT'S A REQUIREMENT?
00:34:03WE'VE GOT TO TAKE THE CLASS. FINE. OKAY. AND THIS IS B AND THE REASON
00:34:06THAT THEY ARE IN THIS CLASS, THEY HAVE TO TAKE EVERYBODY AT A
00:34:10PUBLIC UNIVERSITY IN TEXAS HAS
00:34:12TO TAKE TWO SETS, TWO SEMESTERS OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
00:34:16SO THEY I FIND THEM IN MY CLASS.
00:34:20MOST THEM ARE COMPUTER SCIENCE MAJORS. THEY'RE ENGINEERS OR THEY'RE
00:34:24PHYSICISTS AND PEOPLE WHO THEY'RE UNDER DURESS.
00:34:26THEY SAY THEY THEY DON'T WANT TO BE THERE.
00:34:29BUT BUT THIS A GREAT WELL, FOR ME IT'S, A CHALLENGE AND AN
00:34:33OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE THE CHALLENGE THEY COME IN THINKING
00:34:36THEY DON'T LIKE THEY'RE GOING TO
00:34:39JUST GET THROUGH THIS AS QUICKLY AS THEY CAN.
00:34:42BUT AN OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE I USED TO BE A MATH TEACHER AND I
00:34:48THINK WAS REASONABLY, YOU KNOW,
00:34:50ENGAGING AS A MATH TEACHER. BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE
00:34:54SUBJECT IS KIND OF DRY, YOU KNOW, SO HOW WE'RE GOING TO WORK
00:34:56OUT THE TRIGONOMETRIC FUNCTIONS ON THIS, YOU KNOW, IT'S YOU DO
00:34:59WHAT YOU CAN. WHEREAS WHEN YOUR TALENT WHEN
00:35:03YOU TALK IN HISTORY, I TELL
00:35:05STORIES TO MY STUDENTS, I THEY COME AND I TELL THEM THEY CAN'T TAKE NOTES.
00:35:09THEY JUST HAVE TO SIT THERE AND LISTEN.
00:35:11THEY DO HAVE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS THAT I THROW OUT TO THEM.
00:35:15OCCASIONALLY THEY WRITE THEM DOWN. THEY'RE NOT TAKING NOTES. I DON'T GIVE THEM EXAMS.
00:35:19I SAY, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE TESTED ON THAT. I SAY IN CLASS, THEY THEY'RE
00:35:23THEY'RE TESTED ON OTHER STUFF SEPARATELY. BUT I JUST WANT YOU TO LISTEN. I WANT YOU TO PAY ATTENTION.
00:35:26I WANT YOU TO USE YOUR IMAGINATION. I WANT YOU TO PUT YOURSELF IN
00:35:29THE SHOES OF SOMEBODY SOMETIME
00:35:31IN THE PAST, I TELL THAT ONE OF
00:35:35THE REASONS, ONE OF THE REASONS
00:35:38HISTORIANS ARE SO INFLUENTIAL IN THE WORLD AND WE ARE MORE
00:35:41INFLUENTIAL THAN YOU THINK.
00:35:45IF YOU LOOK AROUND, YOU'LL SEE VARIOUS PEOPLE WHO ARE IN
00:35:47LEADERSHIP POSITIONS, POLITICS AND THE CORPORATE WORLD,
00:35:52NONPROFITS, PLACES LIKE IN FINANCE. THE HISTORIAN IT MAKES SENSE.
00:35:55BUT HERE'S WHY. AND I TELL THIS TO MY STUDENTS, I'LL TELL IT TO YOU NOW
00:35:59HISTORIANS HAVE A SUPERPOWER WE
00:36:01HAVE A POWER THAT DOES NOT GIVEN TO OTHER PEOPLE, AT LEAST AS
00:36:05CONSISTENTLY, AND NOT TO THAT DEGREE.
00:36:07THE SUPERPOWER IS THIS THE
00:36:11ABILITY TO SEE THE WORLD THROUGH EYES?
00:36:15THIS IS WHAT WE DO DAY AFTER DAY. THE TIME WHEN I'M WRITING ABOUT
00:36:18GEORGE WASHINGTON, I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE WORLD LOOKED LIKE
00:36:22TO GEORGE WASHINGTON. ONE OF THE REASONS I WRITE ABOUT
00:36:24GEORGE WASHINGTON IS IT'S POSSIBLE TO FORM THESE
00:36:28IMPRESSIONS BECAUSE GEORGE WASHINGTON WROTE, LOTS OF
00:36:30LETTERS AND EXPLAINING WHAT THE
00:36:32WORLD LOOKS LIKE TO HIM. BY THE WAY, THIS IS ALSO WHY I
00:36:35SAID EARLIER, I DON'T SIT IN JUDGMENT ON MY SUBJECTS IN PART
00:36:40BECAUSE OF ALL I THINK IT'S IT'S SUCH SORT OF CHEAP SHOT AT
00:36:45PEOPLE LIVE IN THE PAST TO SAY YOU SHOULD HAVE THIS DID I DID I DO THAT?
00:36:48WELL, YOU KNOW CAN'T YOU CAN'T DO THAT. BUT SECONDLY, BECAUSE IT'S MORE
00:36:52IMPORTANT TO ME TO GET MY STUDENTS AND MY IN THE HABIT OF
00:36:57PUTTING THEMSELVES IN SOMEBODY ELSE'S POSITION AND SEEING WORLD THROUGH THEIR EYES.
00:37:01I TELL MY STUDENTS, SOME OF WHOM ARE SKEPTICAL ABOUT THE IDEA OF
00:37:04THE IMPORTANCE OF HISTORY, WELL, WHY? HOW CAN I GET A JOB WITH THIS STORY?
00:37:08AND I SAID, WELL, YOU GET A JOB AS A HISTORIAN PER BUT THE THINGS THAT YOU LEARN TO DO AS,
00:37:12A HISTORIAN WILL SERVE YOU WELL IN WHATEVER YOU FIND YOURSELF IN.
00:37:15SO I POINT OUT, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT THE ABILITY TO SEE THE WORLD THROUGH OTHER EYES, THE
00:37:19ABILITY TO PUT YOURSELF IN SOMEBODY ELSE'S SHOES. IF YOU'RE IN A BUSINESS
00:37:22NEGOTIATION AND YOU'RE TRYING TO CUT A DEAL WITH SOMEBODY, IF YOU
00:37:25CAN IMAGINE THEY ARE THINKING WHAT THEY NEED, WHAT BOTTOM LINE
00:37:29MIGHT BE, EVEN IF THEY WON'T TELL YOU, THEN YOU HAVE AN ADVANTAGE.
00:37:32IF YOU'RE EVER IN A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP.
00:37:35AND WE ALL ARE AT SOME LEVEL AT
00:37:37SOME TIME, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO BE ABLE TO SEE WHAT THE WORLD
00:37:40LOOKS LIKE, WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE THROUGH THAT OTHER PERSON'S EYES.
00:37:44AND SO THIS IS WHAT THE HISTORIAN DOES. IT'S ONE OF THE REASONS THAT I CHOSE TO WRITE ABOUT WASHINGTON
00:37:48AND NOT OTHER PRESIDENT OR, I DON'T KNOW, MILLARD FILLMORE NOT
00:37:52I THAT'S OF A THROWAWAY LINE.
00:37:54BUT NO I WILL SAY THIS, THAT THERE ARE THERE ARE PEOPLE IN
00:37:58THE PAST THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO
00:38:00WRITE ABOUT IN THE WAY I WANT TO WRITE ABOUT THEM FROM THE INSIDE
00:38:05OUT. I WANT TO SEE AS I SAY, I WANT TO TAKE MY READER AND IMMERSE MY
00:38:09READER IN WASHINGTON AND READER
00:38:12WILL SEE WHAT THE WORLD LOOK TO WASHINGTON.
00:38:14IT'S POSSIBLE TO DO THIS BECAUSE WASHINGTON LEFT BEHIND SUCH A LARGE RECORD.
00:38:18NOW, OTHER PRESIDENTS MILLARD FILLMORE DID NOT.
00:38:22BUT IT'S ALSO IT'S ALSO WHY AND
00:38:24THIS IS OFTEN A CRITICISM OF HISTORIANS AND I UNDERSTAND
00:38:28WHERE CRITICISM IS COMING FROM,
00:38:30WHY WE GET CRITICIZED WRITING ABOUT THE SAME PEOPLE AGAIN AND
00:38:34AGAIN, BECAUSE THERE ARE ONLY SO MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE LEFT SO MANY LETTERS.
00:38:40IS. DID AND SO NOW IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE BOUND BY THE LETTERS, THEN
00:38:43YOU BECOME HISTORICAL NOVELIST. YOU GET TO MAKE THE STUFF UP.
00:38:47I DON'T DO THAT ANYWAY. SO.
00:38:49SO I'M TO GET INSIDE WASHINGTON'S HEAD AND I'M TRYING
00:38:53TO SEE WHAT THE WORLD LOOKS LIKE TO WASHINGTON AND BUT AT THE
00:38:59BOTTOM IT ALL, I'M TRYING TO
00:39:00FIGURE OUT WHAT MADE WASHINGTON
00:39:03THE SUCCESS HE WAS.
00:39:06I TOLD YOU HE HAD A GOOD SENSE OF STRATEGY. TRUE ENOUGH.
00:39:10AND I TOLD YOU THAT AS
00:39:12PRESIDENT, AND THAT'S WHAT MADE HIM A SUCCESSFUL GENERAL.
00:39:15SO HE WAS ABLE TO HOLD THE ARMY TOGETHER, THAT WAS HIS BIG
00:39:18ACCOMPLISHED AS A GENERAL AS PRESIDENT.
00:39:21WELL, HE LEFT IN A TIMELY FASHION.
00:39:23THAT'S PRETTY BIG DEAL.
00:39:26BUT HE WAS A BIGGER DEAL THAN
00:39:28THAT OF ALL OF THE HISTORICAL
00:39:32FIGURES I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT. I HAVEN'T RUN ACROSS ANY WHO
00:39:36WERE SO ALMOST UNIVERSALLY AND
00:39:41I'M NOT EVEN SURE I NEED TO SAY
00:39:42ALMOST SO ALMOST UNIVERSALLY
00:39:46ESTEEMED AS WASHINGTON WAS IN DAY AND AFTERWARDS.
00:39:51NOW COURSE, LONG AFTERWARDS PEOPLE WOULD FIGURE OUT REASONS
00:39:53TO TAKE POT SHOTS AT WASHINGTON. THIS IS WHAT REVISIONIST
00:39:57HISTORIANS AND YEAH, THAT'S FINE. THAT'S WHAT IF A GRADUATE STUDENT YOU GOT TO FIND
00:40:00SOMETHING NEW TO SAY. AND SO YOU DO IT.
00:40:03BUT IF YOU LOOK AT PRESIDENTS,
00:40:07IF YOU LOOK AT GENERALS AFTER WASHINGTON, THEY'RE NOT TREATED
00:40:11THE SAME RESPECT. AND IT'S QUITE REMARKABLE. IF YOU LOOK AT THE WASHINGTON
00:40:16WAS VIEWED THE WAY WASHINGTON
00:40:19OBSERVED AT THE CONSTITUTIONAL
00:40:22THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION,
00:40:251787, THIS GROUP OF MEN.
00:40:29THERE'S 5055 GUYS THAT GOT TOGETHER TO WRITE A NEW CONSTITUTION.
00:40:31THESE HAVE OFTEN BEEN ESTEEMED
00:40:33AS THE GENIUSES AMERICAN
00:40:37POLITICS AND THOMAS JEFFERSON,
00:40:39WHO THERE CALLED THEM THE
00:40:42DEMIGODS BECAUSE THEY HAD BRILLIANT THOUGHTS AND EVERYTHING.
00:40:45AND IT WAS A PRETTY CAPABLE GROUP, THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT IT.
00:40:49I, I I, I THINK THAT AMERICA WITH A POPULATION 100 TIMES WHAT
00:40:53IT WAS BACK THEN, WE COULD COME UP WITH A COMPARABLE GROUP
00:40:56TODAY, BUT IT WOULDN'T BE THE
00:40:58SAME CERTAINLY WITH RESPECT
00:41:01ANYBODY LIKE WASHINGTON, BECAUSE
00:41:03WASHINGTON WAS SEEN BY EVERY ONE
00:41:06OF THEM AS IN FUNDAMENTAL WAY, STANDING HEAD, SHOULDERS ABOVE
00:41:10THEM MORE PRECISELY SITTING HEAD AND SHOULDERS ABOVE THEM.
00:41:12AND THIS I'M GOING TO GIVE AWAY ONE OF THE SECRETS OF
00:41:16WASHINGTON'S SUCCESS. IT WILL SOUND TRIVIAL, BUT IT
00:41:19NONETHELESS WAS IMPORTANT.
00:41:23WASHINGTON THE VALUE OF SILENCE
00:41:27DON'T SPEAK TO MUCH.
00:41:29SAY WHAT'S NECESSARY BUT DON'T SAY MORE THAN WHAT'S NECESSARY.
00:41:33NOW, TO SOME DEGREE, THIS COMES
00:41:35WITH THE TERRITORY OF BEING A
00:41:38GENERAL AT WAR, BECAUSE
00:41:42WASHINGTON THEN WOULD WRITE
00:41:42DOZENS OF ORDERS DAY AND IT'S IN
00:41:46THE NATURE OF ORDERS THAT THEY HAVE TO BE CLEAR AND THEY HAVE
00:41:49TO BE CONCISE.
00:41:51YOU CAN'T GO ON ON. YOU GOT LOTS MORE ORDERS TO WRITE.
00:41:55AND THEY HAVE TO BE CLEAR BECAUSE. THE RECIPIENT NEEDS TO KNOW
00:41:58WHAT'S EXPECTED HIM AND HOW TO DO IT.
00:42:01THIS IS WHERE THIS WAS THE
00:42:05EDUCATION OF ULYSSES GRANT, AS A WRITER.
00:42:07GRANT IS THE AUTHOR OF THE
00:42:11FINEST MEMOIR BY AN OF THE
00:42:14PRESIDENCY. HIS MEMOIR IS FANTASTIC AND IT'S
00:42:19EXCEEDINGLY WRITTEN. GRANT WAS NOT TRAINED AS A
00:42:23WRITER HE WASN'T A JOURNALIST OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
00:42:25HE GOT HIS TRAINING ON THE WHERE AGAIN, HE WAS WRITING ORDERS
00:42:29ORDER AFTER ORDER AFTER, ORDER. AND THEY HAD TO BE CLEAR AND
00:42:32THEY HAVE TO BE CONCISE.
00:42:33SO WASHINGTON WAS THE SAME WAY,
00:42:37ALTHOUGH I HAVE TO SAY THAT WHEN WAS WRITING NOT UNDER THOSE
00:42:41CIRCUMSTANCES HE COULD GO A BIT ON AND AND ON.
00:42:43AND IF YOU I TRY TO LET MY
00:42:47READERS SEE AND HEAR MY
00:42:51SUBJECTS. SO WASHINGTON SPEAKS A LOT IN BOOK.
00:42:55AND I WILL CONFESS TO YOU THAT I
00:42:57TOOK THE LIBERTIES OF THE 21ST
00:42:59CENTURY EDITOR ON WASHINGTON. NOT NOT WITH HIS WORDS A LITTLE
00:43:04BIT WITH CAPITALIZATION. YOU KNOW, BACK IN THE 18TH CENTURY, WHO CAPITALIZED
00:43:08EVERYTHING. AND THAT WOULD BE JUST TOO
00:43:10DISTRACTING, WOULD CAUSE READERS
00:43:13TO SEE THAT AND NOT WHAT HE WAS SAYING.
00:43:16BUT ALSO THEY HAD SENTENCES THAT
00:43:19WENT ON AND, ON AND ON.
00:43:21AND THEY USED SEMICOLONS, YOU
00:43:25KNOW, JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW, SLAP DOWN SOME SEMICOLONS HERE AND
00:43:29CHUCA BUNCH OF COMMAS IN. AND NOW ION'T KNOW IF YOU PAY
00:43:33ANY ATTENTION TO THE
00:43:34JURISPRUDENCE OF THE SECOND
00:43:37AMENDMENT, TO THE CONSTITUTION. DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE THE COMMAS
00:43:41AND THE USAGE THERE AND WHETHER
00:43:43THAT INTRODUCTORY CLAUSE ABOUT, A WELL-REGULATED MILITIA AND SO
00:43:46ON THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS SHOULD NOT BE INFRINGED.
00:43:49THERE HAVE BEEN DISQUISITIONS ON
00:43:51DOES THAT COMMA DOES IT
00:43:55CONSTRAIN LAST THING THAT LAST PART ABOUT THE RIGHT TO BEAR
00:43:58ARMS OR IS THAT THAT THE FIRST PART JUST A THROWAWAY?
00:44:01SO SO I HAD TO I HAD TO SORT OF
00:44:06TRIM WASHINGTON'S I HAD TO CLEAN UP HIS SPELLING NOT KNOW HIS SPELLING HIS SPELLINGS.
00:44:10OKAY EXCEPT THAT OH YOU ARE STUFF WHICH YOU KNOW, THE BRITISH THING THAT THEY STILL DO
00:44:13ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ATLANTIC, BUT BUT ACTUALLY I WAS
00:44:18SURPRISED WHAT A GOOD WRITER HE WAS. BUT SO I LET HIM SPEAK.
00:44:21BUT THE FINAL THING, WHY WAS HE
00:44:24SO ESTEEMED BY THOSE PEOPLE AT THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION IN
00:44:27PART, HE DIDN'T TALK AND BECAUSE
00:44:30THEY WERE A BUNCH OF TALKERS, YOU GET A BUNCH OF THEY WERE
00:44:34LAWYERS. AND POLITICIANS, YOU GET GROUP TOGETHER AND THEY JUST JAR JAR,
00:44:37JAR JAR JAR JAR JAR AND WASHINGTON WAS THE ONLY ONE NOT
00:44:41SAYING ANYTHING. NOW HE WASN'T SAYING ANYTHING IN PART BECAUSE HE KNEW HE WAS NOT
00:44:45A GOOD PUBLIC SPEAKER. HE WASN'T, BUT ALSO BECAUSE HE
00:44:50HAD ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE
00:44:52CONVENTION AND HE THIS PRESIDING OFFICER THAT IS AND HE
00:44:56INTERPRETED THE WAY THE BRITISH INTERPRET THE ROLE OF THE
00:44:59SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF
00:45:01COMMONS IS NOT A MEMBER OF THE HOUSE HE'S THIS FUNCTIONARY WHO
00:45:07SLAMS A GAVEL. YOUR TURN, BANG, YOUR TURN, AND SO ON. HE'S A REFEREE.
00:45:10AND WASHINGTON DID THAT, AND HE INTERPRETED HIS ROLE THAT IN
00:45:13FACT, IN THE DAYS OF THE US
00:45:17CONSTITUTION, TIMES THE U.S. CONGRESS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION,
00:45:20THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE DID NOT ACTUALLY TAKE PART IN DEBATES. THEY JUST DID THAT SAME THING.
00:45:24BUT WASHINGTON PLAYED THAT TO HIS BENEFIT.
00:45:26SO WHEN HAMILTON WAS GONE AWAY WITH MADISON AND EVERYBODY ELSE
00:45:30AND SAYING WE OUGHT TO DO THIS. WE HAD TO DO THAT.
00:45:33WASHINGTON SAT SILENT. AND WHEN SOMEBODY IS SILENT AND
00:45:36ALL OF THIS ESPECIALLY SOMEONE OF WASHINGTON'S DEMEANOR, IT WAS
00:45:41EASY FOR ALL OF THEM TO THINK HE
00:45:44KNOWS MORE THAN WE DO, BECAUSE YOU SPEAK, YOU BETRAY THE LIMITS
00:45:47OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE. WASHINGTON DIDN'T SPEAK, SO
00:45:49THERE WAS LIMIT TO HIS KNOWLEDGE.
00:45:52SO THERE'S THAT. BUT HERE'S THE HARDEST PART.
00:45:55NOW I'M COMING DOWN TO THE PUNCH LINE OF ALL OF THIS. WHAT THIS ALL THESE UP TO WHAT
00:46:00MADE THE SUCCESS THAT HE WAS. WHY HE STILL SO ESTEEMED.
00:46:02WHY WAS SO ESTEEMED THEN AND
00:46:04STILL TODAY.
00:46:08AND IT'S A CHANNEL AND FOR THE
00:46:12BIOGRAPHER BECAUSE IT'S TO
00:46:17QUANTIFY WHAT I'M ABOUT TO SAY. IT'S HARD DRAMATIZE WHAT I'M
00:46:19ABOUT TO SAY.
00:46:21BUT THERE IT IS AND SOME OF I'M
00:46:25SURE IN THE AUDIENCE HAVE IN A
00:46:27POSITION WHERE YOU SOMEBODY FOR
00:46:31IMPORTANT JOB AT AND YOU HIRE
00:46:36THEM ON THE BASIS OF OTHER JOBS THAT THEY'VE HAD. THEY'RE SORT OF LIKE THE JOB YOU'RE HIRING THEM FOR.
00:46:39BUT PERHAPS IT'S A LITTLE BIT
00:46:42BEYOND WHAT THEY'VE DONE BEFORE. YOU DO YOUR BEST. YOU THINK, OKAY, THIS PERSON
00:46:46WILL MAKE A GOOD DAD. OUR BUT HASN'T DONE THAT TODAY YET.
00:46:50AND SO YOU YOU TAKE A SHOT AND YOU HOPE YOU GET IT RIGHT.
00:46:54SO HERE'S WHAT WASHINGTON WAS REALLY GOOD AT AND IT'S
00:46:58ABSOLUTELY THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT I GENERAL HAS TO BE
00:47:02GOOD AT. AND THE MOST IMPORTANT THING
00:47:04THAT A PRESIDENT HAS TO BE GOOD AT.
00:47:06BUT YOU'LL APPRECIATE WHY IT'S
00:47:09SO HARD TO SEE IN ADVANCE AND WHY IT'S SO HARD TO QUANTIFY AND
00:47:13EVEN TO WRITE ABOUT WASHINGTON
00:47:16HAD TO MAKE GOOD DECISIONS
00:47:21DECISIONS. EXACTLY. I MEAN, WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THAT?
00:47:24IT'S NOT DRAMATIC IT'S NOTHING SURPRISING.
00:47:28AND HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT SOMEBODY HAS GOOD JUDGMENT?
00:47:32HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT THEY MAKE GOOD DECISIONS?
00:47:35YOU CAN'T TELL IN ADVANCE. SO I CAN'T SAY THAT WASHINGTON
00:47:39DECIDED TO DO THIS. AND OF COURSE, WAS GOING TO BE THAT. NO, YOU GOT TO WAIT AND SEE HOW.
00:47:43IT TURNS OUT DECISIONS ARE GOOD
00:47:45OR BAD, DEPENDING ON THEY TURN
00:47:47OUT AND SOMETIMES THE TURNING OUT DEPENDS ON A LOT MORE THAN
00:47:51THE INDIVIDUAL.
00:47:54AND I'LL GIVE YOU JUST A SIMPLE EXAMPLE. THIS APPLIES TO HISTORY.
00:47:57ALL TIME, BUT.
00:48:03WASHINGTON, AFTER HIS VERY FIRST
00:48:05BATTLE, A SKIRMISH, A FIREFIGHT
00:48:07AT THE BEGINNING, WHAT'S GOING TO BECOME THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR.
00:48:11WASHINGTON IS UNDER FIRE. HE WAS SURPRISED.
00:48:14THERE WAS SORT OF AN AMBUSH AND
00:48:17HE FINDS HIMSELF UNDER FIRE AND HE'S NOT KILLED.
00:48:20AND HE TO HIS BROTHER, HE SAYS,
00:48:24I HEARD THE BULLETS WHISTLE.
00:48:29AND BELIEVE ME, THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THE SOUND.
00:48:33WELL, THE FIRST THING IS, IF YOU
00:48:36FIND SOMEBODY WRITING THAT AFTER
00:48:38HIS FIRST BATTLE, HE'S OKAY, FELLA.
00:48:41YOU GOT A CAREER IN THE I WILL
00:48:45TELL YOU THAT THAT WAS ULYSSES GRANT.
00:48:47EXACT SAME RESPONSE TO HIS FIRST
00:48:50EXPERIENCE OF ENEMY FIRE.
00:48:51HE DISCOVERED THAT HE DID BETTER
00:48:55UNDER THAT KIND OF PRESSURE. MOST PEOPLE DO WORSE.
00:48:59MOST GET FLUSTERED. SOME PEOPLE RUN. THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.
00:49:02BUT GRANT FOCUSED, WASHINGTON
00:49:05FOCUSED AS WELL.
00:49:07BUT AS FAR AS THE JUDGMENT GOES,
00:49:10YOU MAKE THE DECISION AND THEY
00:49:14TURN OUT RIGHT OR THEY TURN OUT WRONG, MANY OF THEM TURNED OUT WRONG.
00:49:17HE MIGHT HAVE MADE THE SAME JUDGMENT, THE SAME DECISIONS,
00:49:21AND THINGS JUST DIDN'T LINE UP AND THEY TURNED OUT TO BE WRONG.
00:49:24THEN I WOULDN'T BE TALKING TO YOU ABOUT, GEORGE WASHINGTON,
00:49:28TODAY IF HE HAD IF THOSE BULLETS THAT WENT WHISTLING PAST HIS EAR
00:49:32HAD BEEN THREE INCHES THE OTHER WAY AND HIT HIM IN THE HEAD,
00:49:36OBVIOUSLY WE WOULDN'T BE TALKING ABOUT GEORGE.
00:49:38THE THING IS, WE'D BE TALKING ABOUT SOMEBODY ELSE.
00:49:43SO ONE LESSON TO TAKE FROM THIS
00:49:44IS THERE'S INEVITABLE ABOUT THE
00:49:47SUCCESS OF INDIVIDUALS. THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE WHO ARE OR
00:49:51YOU CAN SORT OF RULE OUT IF
00:49:53PERSON HAS EGREGIOUSLY BAD JUDGMENT, WELL, THEY'RE NOT
00:49:56GOING TO BE A LEADER, BUT GOOD JUDGMENT.
00:49:59IT DEPENDS ON A LOT OF STUFF. PATRICK HENRY, NEW GEORGE
00:50:03WASHINGTON FROM POLITICS IN VIRGINIA.
00:50:06AND HE SAID THAT WASHINGTON, THE SOUNDEST JUDGMENT OF ANYBODY
00:50:10KNEW AND THIS WAS THIS WAS THE
00:50:12GENERAL PERCEPTION OF WASHINGTON. THIS IS WHAT CAUSED THOSE PEOPLE
00:50:16OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION TO MAKE WASHINGTON PRESIDENT THE CONVENTION.
00:50:21IT'S EVERYBODY FROM THE CONVENTION SAID AFTER THE
00:50:25CONSTITUTION GOT RATIFIED, THE GEORGE WASHINGTON HAS TO BE
00:50:28PRESIDENT BECAUSE HE HAS THE
00:50:31SOUNDEST JUDGMENT. WHERE DID THIS COME FROM?
00:50:35SOME OF IT CAME FROM
00:50:36WASHINGTON'S POSITION IN LIFE HE
00:50:39WAS WELL BORN. HE WAS PART OF THE VIRGINIA
00:50:43GENTRY. HE DIDN'T HAVE TO STRUGGLE FOR
00:50:45EVERY THING THAT HE ACCOMPLISHED LIFE THE WAY ANDREW JACKSON DID.
00:50:49ANDREW JACKSON WAS CONSTANTLY TO CLIMB THAT LADDER.
00:50:52I WILL ADD HERE, AND I'M GOING TO CLOSE ON THIS NOTE.
00:50:55I GET ASKED AND WELL, I'LL
00:50:59PREEMPT MAYBE SOME QUESTIONS BY ANSWERING THIS QUESTION AHEAD OF
00:51:03IT. I'M THE FIRST PERSON TO WRITE
00:51:05ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON, BELIEVE IT OR NOT.
00:51:09AND I CAN TELL YOU THIS OUT OF A
00:51:13DEFINITE EXPERIENCE THAT I HAD.
00:51:15I MENTIONED EARLIER THAT I HAD BEEN THINKING ABOUT TALKING
00:51:19ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON FOR A LONG TIME, LONG TIME BEFORE I
00:51:21DECIDED TO WRITE ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON AS THE CENTRAL FIGURE
00:51:25OF A BIOGRAPHY.
00:51:27AND I DIDN'T REALIZE IT
00:51:29ACTUALLY, UNTIL I'D GOTTEN THE BIOGRAPHY THAT LONG BEFORE I
00:51:33EVEN BECAME A WRITER LONG BEFORE
00:51:35I EVEN BECAME A TEACHER, THE
00:51:37SEEDS OF A WASHINGTON BIOGRAPHY
00:51:39WERE PLANTED IN MY HEAD.
00:51:45MY FATHER WAS NOT A HISTORIAN HE
00:51:48WAS A BUSINESSMAN. HE RAN HIS OWN BUSINESS.
00:51:51HE WAS INTERESTED IN THE WORLD WHILE HE WAS STILL ACTIVELY IN
00:51:55THE BUSINESS. READ THE WALL STREET JOURNAL AND FORTUNE MAGAZINE AND FORBES AND
00:52:00HARDWARE AGE. IT WAS A HARDWARE BUSINESS.
00:52:02BUT AFTER HE RETIRED HE READ
00:52:04HISTORY, HE LIKED NON-VR FICTION. WHEN HE FINISHED THE BOOK, HE
00:52:08WANTED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE WORLD AS IT REALLY WAS.
00:52:11MY MOM, BY CONTRAST READ NOVELS.
00:52:13SHE WANTED KNOW ABOUT THE WORLD
00:52:15AS IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN ANYWAY, MY
00:52:19DAD HAD IN HIS OFFICE, IN THE
00:52:22HOUSE, A STUDY, BOOKSHELVES KIND
00:52:26OF LIKE THESE. BOOKSHELVES LIKE YOU SEE HERE.
00:52:29AND ON THOSE BOOKSHELVES HE HAD, THEY WEREN'T THEY WEREN'T CRAMPED.
00:52:32HE WAS NOT A BIBLIOPHILE BY ANY
00:52:33MEANS, BUT HE HAD THIS SEVEN
00:52:37VOLUME SET BOUND IN BLACK AND
00:52:41APPARENTLY FROM THE LOOKS OF
00:52:43THEM PUBLISHED WELL BEFORE I WAS
00:52:46I WAS BORN IN THE 1950S, BEFORE
00:52:48I WAS I IT SEEMED ANYWAY,
00:52:52BECAUSE WE TALKED ABOUT THIS
00:52:53WHEN I WAS JUST A KID I WAS
00:52:56PROBABLY 810 YEARS OLD AND DAD
00:52:58WOULD POINT THOSE BOOKS.
00:53:01IT WAS A SEVEN VOLUME BIOGRAPHY
00:53:05OF GEORGE WASHINGTON BY.
00:53:07DOUGLAS FREEDMAN OF AND MY DAD
00:53:11WOULD POINT OUT THOSE BOOKS. IT'S LIKE THEY ARE LIKE THAT. HE POINTED OUT THERE.
00:53:15AND HE SAID, BILLY, I READ THOSE
00:53:19SEVEN VINES, I READ EVERY PAGE AND I CAN TELL WHAT GEORGE
00:53:23WASHINGTON HAD FOR BREAKFAST
00:53:27EVERY DAY OF HIS LIFE.
00:53:29AND I WAS APPALLED TO HEAR THAT,
00:53:31OH MY GOD, SOMEBODY WOULD WRITE A BOOK THAT INCLUDED HE WAS
00:53:35EXAGGERATING A LITTLE BIT, BUT
00:53:37THAT KIND OF DETAIL, I DIDN'T
00:53:39SAY THIS TO MYSELF BECAUSE.
00:53:43WASN'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.
00:53:47BUT ANYWAY, SO THAT'S HOW I GOT
00:53:50TO THINKING ABOUT WASHINGTON AND
00:53:52I WILL JUST SAY THAT THAT BETWEEN THE TIME I STARTED
00:53:57WRITING WASHINGTON AND THE TIME I FINISHED THE BOOK, I CAME TO
00:54:01BELIEVE THAT WASHINGTON DESERVED
00:54:05THE ESTEEM IN WHICH HE WAS HELD,
00:54:07THAT HE WAS THIS MAN WHO WELL,
00:54:11IN FACT, IS THE QUOTE ONE OF THE QUOTES ON THE WALL JUST AS YOU
00:54:14COME INTO THE THEATER SAYS, I
00:54:16HAVE TAKEN AS THE DECISIVE
00:54:18INFLUENCE I KNOW MY LOVE OF COUNTRY SHALL BE THE DECISIVE
00:54:23INFLUENCE IN MY LIFE. THIS WASHINGTON'S MOTTO,
00:54:27WASHINGTON VALUED THE OPINION OF OTHERS, NOT IN THE TRIVIAL WAY
00:54:31OF WANTING PEOPLE TO LIKE HIM, BUT IN THE SENSE OF DOING THINGS
00:54:35THAT WOULD CAUSE TO ESTEEM HIM, DOING GOOD STUFF.
00:54:39AND FROM THAT, THEN PEOPLE WILL THINK WELL OF YOU.
00:54:43BUT HERE'S HERE'S THE IRONY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON.
00:54:47AND IT SUMMARIZED ACTUALLY IN
00:54:51THE WORKING SUBTITLE I HAD FOR MY BOOK.
00:54:54IT'S NOT THE SUBTITLE, IT'S THE TITLE PAGE.
00:54:56WHEN YOU WRITE HISTORY, YOU GET TWO WHACKS AT A TITLE, YOU GET A
00:55:00TITLE COLON, SUBTITLE.
00:55:02SO MY WORKING TITLE, COLON WAS
00:55:06GEORGE WASHINGTON AND THEN THE
00:55:10WORKING SUBTITLE, THE ONE THAT I WAS THINKING ABOUT WHILE I WAS
00:55:12WRITING IT WAS A RIFF ON THE
00:55:14EULOGY THAT HENRY LEE, FATHER OF
00:55:17ROBERT E LEE, GAVE ABOUT
00:55:21WASHINGTON AFTER WASHINGTON'S DEATH AND SOME OF YOU WILL BE
00:55:23FAMILIAR WITH IT, FIRST IN WAR,
00:55:26FIRST IN PEACE, AND FIRST IN THE HEARTS OF HIS COUNTRYMEN.
00:55:29NOW, SOME OF YOU WILL KNOW THE
00:55:33RIFF ON HENRY LEE THAT A
00:55:36SPORTSWRITER IN WASHINGTON YEARS AGO, YOU KNOW, THIS ONE ABOUT
00:55:40THE THEN WASHINGTON, A PERENNIAL
00:55:44DOORMAT AT THE MAJOR LEAGUES,
00:55:47FIRST IN WAR, FIRST IN PEACE, LAST IN THE AMERICAN LEAGUE.
00:55:53AND RIFF ON THAT, WHICH WAS MY
00:55:55WORKING SUBTITLE, WAS WASHINGTON
00:55:58FIRST IN WAR, FIRST IN PEACE AND
00:56:01LAST OF HIS KIND IN AMERICA.
00:56:03AND THIS WHY AND THE REASON FOR
00:56:06THIS IS THAT WASHINGTON WAS THIS
00:56:08GREAT FIGURE FROM THE 18TH CENTURY.
00:56:11HE WAS HE WAS SORT OF THE BEST
00:56:16PRODUCT OF THE ARISTOCRATIC
00:56:18VIRGINIA CLASS FROM WHICH HE SPRANG.
00:56:22HE'S A VERY GOOD ARGUMENT FOR,
00:56:24HAVING AN ARISTOCRACY, SOMEBODY WHO COULD PUT THE NATIONAL
00:56:28INTEREST ABOVE HIS OWN INTEREST. NOW, PARTLY BECAUSE HE WAS WELL
00:56:31ENOUGH OFF THAT HE DIDN'T HAVE
00:56:33TO PURSUE PERSONAL. HE DID NOT HAVE THAT ITCH FOR
00:56:39POWER THAT. SOME PEOPLE HAVE THAT ALMOST EVERYBODY HAS, BUT SOME PEOPLE HAVE.
00:56:43AND SO HE SET ASIDE POWER AT THE END OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, HE
00:56:46SET ASIDE POWER WHEN HE RESIGNED
00:56:48THE PRESIDENCY AFTER TWO TERMS.
00:56:54HE WAS THE PRODUCT OF AN
00:56:58ARISTOCRATIC UPBRINGING OF AN
00:57:00AGE, AT LEAST IN VIRGINIA. AND THIS HAPPENED IN VIRGINIA.
00:57:03IT WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED HAD HE BEEN FROM MASSACHUSETTS, MASSACHUSETTS HAD A DIFFERENT
00:57:08CULTURE, BUT HE CREATED THING
00:57:12WITH OF COURSE, IS HIRED AN ENTIRE GENERATION. THEY CREATED A REPUBLIC.
00:57:16AND A REPUBLIC IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM.
00:57:18AN ARISTOCRACY IN A REPUBLIC YOU
00:57:21CAN'T STAND UP THERE THE WAY WASHINGTON DID AND EXPECT PEOPLE
00:57:25TO LOOK UP TO YOU. WASHINGTON EXPECTED PEOPLE TO
00:57:28LOOK UP TO HIM, AND HE DID STUFF
00:57:29SO THAT THEY WOULD BUT HE CAME
00:57:33FROM AN AGE AND FROM A PART OF THE COUNTRY WHERE PEOPLE EXPECTED TO DO THIS.
00:57:37BUT THEN HE HELPED CREATE THIS
00:57:39REPUBLIC THAT IS BUILT ON A VERY DIFFERENT SET OF VALUES BASED ON
00:57:43THE PRINCIPLE EVERYBODY EQUAL.
00:57:48WASHINGTON WAS AMERICA'S FIRST PRESIDENT AND HE WAS A VERY GOOD
00:57:51A GOOD MODEL AS, A PRESIDENT.
00:57:54BUT IF WASHINGTON HAD NOT BEEN THE FIRST PRESIDENT, HE NEVER
00:57:57WOULD HAVE BEEN PRESIDENT. ALL HE COULDN'T HAVE BEEN THE SECOND PRESIDENT OR THE THIRD PRESIDENT.
00:58:01I CALLED MY BOOK, THE FINAL
00:58:03TITLE IS AMERICAN AND PATRIARCH
00:58:07COURSE REFERS TO THE FOUNDER OF
00:58:09A CLAN, A COLONY, A LARGE GROUP
00:58:11OF PEOPLE. BUT I ALSO WANTED TO TO DRAW
00:58:17ECHOES OF THE BIBLICAL PATRIARCHS MOST SPECIFICALLY
00:58:20MOSES YOU THE MOSES STORY HE LEADS THE ISRAELITES OUT OF
00:58:24EGYPT AND TO THE PROMISED LAND.
00:58:26BUT HE DOESN'T GET TO ENTER THE
00:58:29PROMISED LAND IN A CERTAIN WAY.
00:58:32WASHINGTON LEAD AMERICA OUT OF
00:58:35THE AGE OF MONARCHY TO THE PROMISED LAND OF.
00:58:39AND ALTHOUGH DID ACTUALLY GET
00:58:42ONE TOE ACROSS, HE NEVER REALLY
00:58:44THAT NEW THAT NEW PROMISED LAND.
00:58:48HE HAD TO BE THE FIRST PRESIDENT
00:58:51BECAUSE IF NOT FIRST, HE NEVER WOULD HAVE BEEN A SECOND OR THIRD OR FOURTH.
00:58:55I'LL STOP THERE AND HAVE
00:58:59QUESTIONS.
00:59:05WOW. OH, I LOVE IT.
00:59:09FANTASTIC. THANK SO MUCH FOR THAT. ALL RIGHT.
00:59:12NOW'S YOUR CHANCE TO GET YOUR QUESTIONS ON THE LIST. I'M THERE'S A SHOCKINGLY SHORT
00:59:17NUMBER OF QUESTIONS SO FAR FOR SUCH AN ESTEEMED AUDIENCE. I FILIBUSTERED THE WHOLE THING.
00:59:21THEY WERE THERE WON'T BE TIME AND THAT'S THAT.
00:59:24I THINK THERE WAS A THEME RUNNING THROUGH THAT IN WHICH
00:59:28YOU BASICALLY HAVE COME TO
00:59:31ADMIRE WASHINGTON MORE THAN YOU THOUGHT YOU WOULD.
00:59:33YOU SAID, YOU KNOW, YOU DIDN'T
00:59:36THINK THERE WAS SO MUCH IN THAT
00:59:37STORY OF THE GENERAL, THE
00:59:40MEDIOCRITY THAT WOKE. WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT HIM.
00:59:44AND THEN AS YOU GOT DUG IN AND SEEING THE WORLD THROUGH HIS
00:59:48EYES AND SEEING OTHER PEOPLE SEE
00:59:49HIM THROUGH THEIR YOU'VE COME TO APPRECIATE HIM MORE.
00:59:53IS THAT ALL DEFINITELY TRUE. THAT'S SOMETHING TO TALK TO THAT A LITTLE.
00:59:56OKAY. AND THIS BECAUSE AT EVERY
00:59:58CRUCIAL MOMENT.
01:00:02WITH ONE GLARING EXCEPTION
01:00:06WASHINGTON MADE THE RIGHT
01:00:08DECISION SO WASHINGTON WAS NOT THE FIRST BY ANY MEANS TO
01:00:12ENDORSE INDEPENDENCE FROM BRITAIN.
01:00:14SAM ADAMS JAMES OTIS THOSE SONS
01:00:17OF LIBERTY BOSTON, THEY WERE WAY AHEAD OF IT.
01:00:20BUT WHEN WASHINGTON CAME TO THAT
01:00:23CONCLUSION, HE CAME TO IT ON THE
01:00:25BASIS OF SOUND REASON OF A
01:00:29JUDICIOUS WEIGHING THE
01:00:31ALTERNATIVES AND THE EVIDENCE IN FAVOR OF WASHINGTON WOULD HAVE
01:00:35MADE A GREAT JUROR.
01:00:37HE WAS NOT SWAYED BY EMOTION.
01:00:41HE WAS GENERALLY NOT SWAYED BY
01:00:43PERSONAL INTEREST, BUT HE MADE GOOD DECISIONS.
01:00:46THE GLARING ANYBODY WANT TO
01:00:49VOLUNTEER A CHOICE OF A SUBORDINATE OFFICER, ONE WHOSE
01:00:53INITIALS ARE B, A BENEDICT
01:00:58ARNOLD HAIG REALLY BAD THERE AND
01:01:01WASHINGTON WAS ABSOLUTELY ASIDE
01:01:04FROM DAMAGE THAT BENEDICT ARNOLD'S DEFECTION AND TURNING
01:01:08COAT OVER THE BRITISH DID TO AMERICA'S SECURITY POSITION.
01:01:11IT MADE WASHINGTON LOOK REALLY
01:01:13BECAUSE HE HAD BEEN PROMOTING
01:01:17BENEDICT ON THE BENEDICT ARNOLD DONE A REALLY GOOD JOB BEFORE
01:01:19NOW WHY HE WHY ARNOLD SWITCHED
01:01:23SIDE IS A VERY DIFFERENT STORY BUT WASHINGTON HE THOUGHT I
01:01:26SHOULD HAVE SEEN THIS BUT HE
01:01:31DID. ONE OF THE THINGS AT THE END OF
01:01:33YOUR BOOK, SPOILER ALERT FOR YOU
01:01:36ALL AS YOU YOU TALK ABOUT WASHINGTON'S CHARACTER WAS THE
01:01:41CRITICAL FACTOR AND YOU TALKED ABOUT JUDGMENT A LITTLE BIT.
01:01:44BUT WHAT DOES CHARACTER MEAN TO
01:01:46YOU IN DESCRIBING A BECAUSE I
01:01:50FIND, YOU KNOW, WE TEACH ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON'S CHARACTER. WE TRY TO TEACH ABOUT CHARACTER
01:01:54TO OF DIFFERENT AUDIENCES. YOU THINK ABOUT WHEN TRYING TO
01:01:56DESCRIBE TO YOUR STUDENTS, YOU KNOW, WHAT WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY A
01:02:00MAN'S CHARACTER? I MEAN, YOU SAY GEORGE WASHINGTON'S CHARACTER WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS CRITICAL TO
01:02:03HIS SUCCESS. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? GEORGE WASHINGTON WAS A MAN OF INTEGRITY.
01:02:07IF HE SOMETHING IF HE PROMISED SOMETHING, HE FOLLOWED THROUGH.
01:02:11BUT JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THAT AND FOLLOWING THROUGH ON WHAT
01:02:14YOU SAY IN BEING A MAN OF
01:02:17INTEGRITY IT IS, DON'T FOOL
01:02:20YOURSELF. DON'T DELUDE YOURSELF BY YOUR
01:02:24OWN SELF-INTEREST IN SAYING THIS IS WHAT THE INTERESTS OF THE COUNTRY ARE.
01:02:27WASHINGTON I THINK VERY BETTER THAN MOST PEOPLE.
01:02:31BETTER THAN MOST FOLKS WHO GO INTO POLITICS AND IT BEING ABLE
01:02:34TO DISTINGUISH WHAT HIS OWN PERSONAL INTEREST WAS FROM THE
01:02:37INTERESTS OF HIS COUNTRY AND PUTTING THE COUNTRY'S INTERESTS FIRST.
01:02:41SO WHY SHILLINGTON AFTER THE
01:02:44REVOLUTIONARY HE STILL OWNED WITH MARTHA A TON OF PROPERTY
01:02:48INCLUDING A WHOLE BUNCH OF SLAVES, BUT HE HAD SERIOUS CASH
01:02:50FLOW PROBLEMS, AND HE WAS
01:02:54EMBARRASSED TO HAVE TO SOME MONEY.
01:02:56AND HE WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW, I'M ONE OF THE WEALTHIEST MEN IN VIRGINIA. YOU GOT TO BORROW MONEY TO PAY
01:03:00SOME SHORT TERM DEBTS, SO ON.
01:03:02BUT HE WAS STILL HE WAS STILL
01:03:04ABLE TO DISTINGUISH WHAT THE
01:03:07COUNTRY NEEDED FROM GEORGE WASHINGTON NEEDED.
01:03:09IT'S THE COMMON THING IN PUBLIC
01:03:12LIFE, ESPECIALLY IN THE POLITICS
01:03:14OF DEMOCRACY FOR.
01:03:16CANDIDATES OFFICE TO CONCLUDE
01:03:20THAT WHAT IS IN THE INTEREST OF THE COUNTRY IS WHAT'S IN THEIR
01:03:23OWN INTEREST AND VICE VERSA. WASHINGTON WAS GOOD AT THAT, AS
01:03:28SOME. THIS COMES FROM THE FACT THAT WASHINGTON, AS I SAY, WAS
01:03:33WELL-OFF. AND SO WE DIDN'T HAVE TO MAKE A LIVING AT ANY GIVEN TIME.
01:03:37WASHINGTON COULD HAVE JUST PUT DOWN WHATEVER HE IS DOING AND
01:03:41COME BACK TO MOUNT VERNON. AND HE WOULD HAVE BEEN HAPPY BEING A FARMER ON A DAY TO DAY
01:03:45BASIS, BEING THE MANAGER OF MOUNT VERNON GAVE HIM MORE
01:03:48SATISFACTION THAN JUST ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE.
01:03:50HE HATED HIS TIME AS PRESIDENT BECAUSE HE HAD TO DEAL IN
01:03:55POLITICS. HE ABSOLUTELY DESPISED POLITICS,
01:03:57SAID EARLIER THAT IT'S OFTEN MISUNDERSTOOD WHY WASHINGTON
01:04:01LEFT TWO TERMS. IT WASN'T TO SET A GOOD EXAMPLE
01:04:03FOR HIS SUCCESSOR.
01:04:06IT WAS BECAUSE HE WAS SO FED UP WITH POLITICS HE COULD NOT STAND
01:04:09ANOTHER MINUTE. AND JOHN ADAMS, HIS SUCCESSOR ON
01:04:13INAUGURATION DAY, ADAMS AFTERWARDS IS WRITING TO HIS
01:04:17WIFE ABIGAIL AND SAYS THE GENERAL WASHINGTON WAS THERE.
01:04:21AND I THOUGHT I SAW A GLEAM IN
01:04:24HIS EYE AND WASHINGTON IS NOT
01:04:27THAT GO DOESN'T HAVE A GLEAM IN
01:04:29HIS EYE NOT LIKE WASHINGTON FELT
01:04:31LEAVING THE REALM POLITICS AND
01:04:34AND ADAMS GOES ON TO SAY AND I
01:04:36THOUGHT I HEARD HIM SAY WELL YOU
01:04:39ARE FAIRLY IN AND I AM FAIRLY
01:04:42OUT AND WE WILL SEE WHICH OF US
01:04:44IS THE HAPPIER AND WASHINGTON KNEW WHICH ONE IT WOULD BE.
01:04:47YEAH ABSOLUTELY.
01:04:49SOME OF THE OTHER HISTORIANS HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT WASHINGTON,
01:04:53PARTICULARLY 150 YEARS AGO, JAMES FLEXNER, ANOTHER
01:04:56MULTI-VOLUME WORK, QUITE AS LONG
01:04:58AS DOUGLAS SOUTHALL FREEMAN'S, BUT HE CALLS GEORGE THE
01:05:02INDISPENSABLE MAN. HOW DO YOU FEEL THAT WORD?
01:05:06DO YOU THINK THAT SAME?
01:05:08AND WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU?
01:05:10I WOULD GO SO FAR AS TO SAY THAT
01:05:12SOMEBODY IS NEARLY INDISPENSABLE.
01:05:16SOMEBODY IS MORE INDISPENSABLE THAN OTHER PEOPLE.
01:05:19I WOULD SAY IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY
01:05:22WAR, I WOULD HAVE TO IDENTIFY TWO PEOPLE.
01:05:26WASHINGTON AND FRANKLIN WASHINGTON HANDLES THE MILITARY SIDE OF THINGS.
01:05:30FRANKLIN HANDLING THE DIPLOMATIC AND POLITICAL SIDE OF THINGS.
01:05:33BUT HAVING SAID THAT, IF
01:05:37WASHINGTON HAD NEVER LIVED IF THAT BULLET IN NEAR WHAT'S GOING
01:05:39TO BECOME PITTSBURGH HAD ACTUALLY HIT HIM IN THE HEAD, DOES THE UNITED STATES NOT
01:05:43BECOME INDEPENDENT NOW, OF COURSE, THE UNITED STATES BECOMES INDEPENDENT IF
01:05:47WASHINGTON HAD FALLEN IN THE EAST RIVER, IN THE EVACUATION OF
01:05:52BROOKLYN AND DROWN, WOULD THE AMERICAN SIDE HAVE LOST?
01:05:56MAYBE THAT'S THAT'S A POSSIBILITY.
01:05:59BUT WOULD THAT HAVE MEANT THE END OF THE POSSIBILITY.
01:06:02AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. NO, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO IMAGINE
01:06:06THAT TODAY THE UNITED STATES
01:06:10WOULD STILL BE PART OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. WE'D ALL BE SPEAKING ENGLISH.
01:06:13I MEAN, ACTUALLY, YES, BUT WE SPELLING.
01:06:16BUT, YOU KNOW WHAT? I MEAN. SO THERE THERE ARE LARGER FORCES
01:06:20AT WORK. I CAN SAY THIS, THOUGH, IF NOT FOR WASHINGTON, AND I'LL PUT
01:06:24FRANKLIN PRETTY NEAR THERE BECAUSE WASHINGTON WOULDN'T HAVE
01:06:26WON AT YORKTOWN, NOT FOR THE ASSISTANCE OF THE FRENCH. AND FRANKLIN WAS REALLY
01:06:30IMPORTANT IN DELIVERING THE FRENCH.
01:06:34AMERICA'S EARLY YEARS WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT.
01:06:38MAYBE THE UNITED STATES WOULD
01:06:40HAVE GAINED INDEPENDENCE TO THE WAY CANADA DID.
01:06:44SO EVOLUTION WHERE THE BRITISH. WELL, I MEAN, THERE ARE A LOT OF
01:06:47WHAT IFS HERE. ONE OF THE REASONS THAT THE
01:06:50BRITISH TO THE CANADIANS IN THE 1860S. GO AHEAD.
01:06:53YOU HAVE YOUR INDEPENDENCE AND. YOU DON'T HAVE TO FIGHT A WAR
01:06:56FOR IT WAS THEY THAT WHEN THEY FOUGHT A WAR WITH THE AMERICANS
01:07:00WHILE THEY LOST. SO THEY'RE GOING TO GET THE INDEPENDENCE ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.
01:07:04SO INDISPENSABLE. CAN'T SAY THAT. ABSOLUTELY.
01:07:08BUT IF ANYBODY WAS, IT WAS WASHINGTON.
01:07:12HMM. ONE OF THE QUESTIONERS HERE WANT
01:07:14TO KNOW A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR IDEA
01:07:18RELATION GEORGE WASHINGTON'S RELATIONSHIP TO THOMAS JEFFERSON. JEFFERSON.
01:07:22THE MAN OF THE HOUR THIS YEAR, 250 YEARS SINCE THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
01:07:26THIS IS, OF COURSE, WRITTEN AND THEN APPROVED.
01:07:30WHAT WAS THE RELATIONSHIP LIKE. IN WASHINGTON?
01:07:35AND JEFFERSON, OF COURSE, WERE FELLOW VIRGINIANS. SO THEY SHARED WHAT RUNNING A
01:07:41PLANTATION IS LIKE IN VIRGINIA. JEFFERSON DEFINITELY CONSIDERED
01:07:45HIMSELF JUNIOR MEMBER OF THIS PARTNERSHIP. HE WAS YOUNGER.
01:07:48THAT WAS PART OF IT. HE WAS CERTAINLY LESS DISTAL ANGUISHED.
01:07:52AND AS LONG AS WASHINGTON LIVED, HE WAS THE PEN MAN OF
01:07:57DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, BUT HE HAD A RATHER UNDISTINGUISHED
01:07:59STINT AS GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA.
01:08:01AND THEN HE WAS IN WASHINGTON'S CABINET. WASHINGTON WAS HIS BOSS.
01:08:06AND ONE OF THE STRIKING THINGS ABOUT WHAT JEFFERSON'S
01:08:08RELATIONSHIP WITH WASHINGTON AND
01:08:11THE SIMULTANEOUS RELATIONSHIP OF WITH WASHINGTON WAS THAT
01:08:17JEFFERSON AND HAMILTON DISAGREED
01:08:19ABOUT EXCEPT THAT.
01:08:22WASHINGTON WAS THE ABSOLUTELY INDISPENSABLE GUY.
01:08:24AND THEY BOTH ACKNOWLEDGED THAT
01:08:28WASHINGTON HAD AN EDGE ON THEM
01:08:30IN A CERTAIN.
01:08:34WHICH, LIKE IN A CERTAIN MORAL WAY AND A WAY OF OF CHARACTER, OF LEADERSHIP.
01:08:38HAMILTON DIDN'T THINK ANYBODY WAS AS SMART. HE WAS.
01:08:42AND THAT'S NOT THAT OUTLAND WAS
01:08:46A POSITION FOR HAMILTON TO TAKE. AND JEFFERSON THOUGHT THAT
01:08:50NOBODY WAS A BETTER WRITER THAN HE WAS.
01:08:52AND AGAIN, THAT'S NOT ALL THAT INACCURATE TO SAY.
01:08:57SO HAMILTON KNEW HE WAS SMARTER THAN WASHINGTON. JEFFERSON KNEW IS A BETTER WRITER THAN WASHINGTON, BUT THEY
01:09:02BOTH DEFERRED TO WASHINGTON. THEY BOTH RECOGNIZE THAT
01:09:06WASHINGTON SOMETHING THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE AND PROBABLY NEVER
01:09:09WOULD HAVE. AND IT GETS TO THIS THING THAT I WAS TALKING THAT'S SO HARD TO
01:09:13QUANTIFY AND IT'S OF THE REASONS THAT I STAYED AWAY FROM FOR SO LONG.
01:09:17WHAT KIND OF STORY CAN YOU MAKE OUT OF THIS, ANDREW JACKSON THE
01:09:23ONLY PRESIDENT EVER TO HAVE KILLED A MAN IN COLD BLOOD BEFORE HE WAS PRESIDENT.
01:09:26HE KILLED A MAN IN A DUEL. WASHINGTON DIDN'T DO ANYTHING DRAMATIC LIKE THAT.
01:09:29AND YOU KNOW, HIS HIS LIFE IS
01:09:33NOT IT'S TOUGH TO MAKE A GOOD
01:09:35ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON BECAUSE
01:09:37THERE AREN'T ANY REALLY DRAMATIC MOMENTS. YOU GET HIM.
01:09:40WELL, YOU HAVE TO JAZZ IT UP A LITTLE BIT AND HAVE THEM KNEELING DOWN IN THE SNOW AT
01:09:43VALLEY FORGE. BUT IT'S JUST THAT HE WAS HE WAS
01:09:48THERE AND HE MADE GOOD DECISIONS. ONE AFTER THE OTHER.
01:09:52AND THIS IS BY FAR THE MOST
01:09:56IMPORTANT QUALITY A PRESIDENT
01:09:59CAN HAVE. AND IT'S ALSO WHY IT IS SO HARD
01:10:02CHOOSE GOOD PRESIDENTS, BECAUSE THE KINDS OF DECISIONS YOU'RE
01:10:05GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE AS PRESIDENT, YOU DON'T MAKE IN ANY
01:10:09OTHER JOB THE CLOSEST THING IS,
01:10:11BEING GOVERNOR OF A BIG STATE, BUT GOVERNORS HAVE NOTHING TO DO
01:10:14WITH FOREIGN POLICY. SO YOU DON'T KNOW UNTIL THEY'RE.
01:10:17BUT HAMILTON THIS.
01:10:19JEFFERSON UNDERSTOOD THIS, BUT I'LL ADD FOR BOTH OF THOSE GUYS
01:10:23THEY WERE STILL THE LADDER FOR WASHINGTON.
01:10:27I'M GOING TO SAY SOMETHING HERE THAT'S REALLY WORTH KEEPING IN MIND.
01:10:30IT HAS TO DO WITH DON'T 21ST
01:10:32CENTURY NOTIONS. THE 18TH CENTURY.
01:10:36AND THAT IS THAT WASHINGTON WAS
01:10:40PRESIDENT AT A TIME WHEN BEING
01:10:42WASN'T A PARTICULARLY BIG.
01:10:46WASHINGTON WAS NOT THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
01:10:48THERE HAD BEEN PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES BEFORE WASHINGTON.
01:10:51THEY WERE PRESIDENTS OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS AND,
01:10:54PRESIDENTS OF THE CONFEDERATION, CONGRESS. THEY WERE PRESIDENTS OF CONGRESS.
01:10:58THEY WEREN'T THE PRESIDENTS UNDER THE NEW CONSTITUTION. THAT WAS WASHINGTON, THE FIRST. BUT ONE OF THE REASONS THAT
01:11:03WASHINGTON WAS PRESIDENT WAS
01:11:06THAT, WELL, THE CONSTITUTION CONVENTION RAN OUT OF TIME.
01:11:10WRITING ARTICLE TWO OF THE CONSTITUTION, WHICH IS ABOUT THE
01:11:13PRESIDENCY AND THE REASON THEY WERE JUST THEY JUST SKETCHED IT
01:11:17IN WAS THEY LOOKED ACROSS THE WAY THEY. WASHINGTON WELL, GEORGE, I'LL FIGURE THIS OUT BECAUSE
01:11:21EVERYBODY KNEW HE'D BE THE FIRST PRESIDENT. EVERYBODY'S WILLING TO DEFER TO THIS.
01:11:25BUT VERTUE WATCHING. BUT AFTER THEN THE COMPETITION
01:11:28BEGINS. AND SO THIS IS WHAT WASHINGTON NEVER WOULD HAVE EVEN TRIED TO
01:11:32BE PRESIDENT IF HE'D HAD TO ACTUALLY RUN THE OFFICE, IF HE
01:11:36HAD BEEN IF HAD BEEN CONTESTED, HE WOULD HAVE SAID, I WANT TO DO
01:11:40THAT FOR WASHINGTON. THE WAS A VICTORY LAP FOR WHAT
01:11:44HE HAD DONE AS COMMANDING GENERAL OF THE ARMY THAT WAS
01:11:48THAT WAS THE IN HIS OWN MIND, THAT WAS THE APEX OF HIS ACHIEVEMENT.
01:11:52AND BEING PRESIDENT. THAT WAS JUST I GOT TO DO THIS BECAUSE YOU'RE ASKING ME TO DO IT.
01:11:56AND THEY NEED A BIG NAME IN THIS OFFICE. BUT THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO
01:11:59BEAR IN MIND BECAUSE AND I'LL
01:12:01SAY THIS WHEN WASHINGTON GAVE UP
01:12:05THE PRESIDENCY AFTER TWO TERMS
01:12:08THESE DAYS IT'S SAID, WELL, YOU
01:12:11KNOW, IT WAS REALLY TEMPTING FOR HIM TO STICK AROUND BECAUSE.
01:12:15YOU GOT THAT POWER OF THE PRESIDENCY.
01:12:16THE PRESIDENT WASN'T POWERFUL IN THE 1790S.
01:12:20THE CONSTITUTION PUTS ALL THE POWER IN THE HANDS OF CONGRESS
01:12:24BY INTENT AND THE PRESIDENT IS
01:12:26JUST THE EXACT THEATER OF THE
01:12:28WILL OF CONGRESS. WENT ONE LAST THING.
01:12:32SO WHEN GEORGE WASHINGTON HANDED
01:12:35BACK TO THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
01:12:38HIS COMMISSION AFTER, THE PEACE TREATY WITH BRITAIN, WAS SIGNED,
01:12:42HE BIDS FAREWELL TO HIS OFFICERS.
01:12:44AND BY THE WAY, THIS ONE A MOMENT THAT'S REALLY
01:12:48UNCHARACTERISTIC WASHINGTON, BECAUSE WHEN HE SAYS GOODBYE TO THE OFFICERS, HE INSISTS THAT
01:12:52EACH ONE COME UP AND SHAKE HAND. BUT IN FACT, IT TURNED OUT TO BE
01:12:54AN EMBRACE WITH TEARS ON BOTH SIDES.
01:12:57WASHINGTON NOT WEEP EASILY AND
01:13:00NOT IN SORT OF SITUATION. BUT HE DID THIS TIME BECAUSE
01:13:04THERE WAS THIS EXPERIENCE THAT THEY HAD THAT WAS EVERYBODY
01:13:08REALIZED. THIS IS THE BIGGEST DEAL OF OUR LIVES. WE HAVE DONE THIS THING.
01:13:11WE HAVE SURVIVED WAR. WE HAVE FOUGHT TOGETHER. WE BLED TOGETHER.
01:13:15WE HAVE GONE HUNGRY TOGETHER. WE'VE BEEN CALLED TOGETHER. WE'VE SEEN OUR COMRADES DIE
01:13:18TOGETHER. BUT WE HAVE SURVIVED AND THEY ARE ABOUT TO LEAVE.
01:13:21AND THEY PROBABLY NEVER SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN. AND SO THERE WAS THIS PART OF
01:13:25THEIR LIFE WAS ENDING. AND BEYOND THIS.
01:13:28BEYOND THE PERSONAL ASPECT WAS THE THAT THEY HAD ACCOMPLISHED
01:13:32SOMETHING OF WORLD HISTORIC IMPORTANCE.
01:13:35THEY HAD CREATED THIS REPUBLIC. THEY HAD CREATED THIS COUNTRY
01:13:39OUT OF WHOLE CLOTH. THEY HAD STARTED AMERICA DOWN
01:13:43THE PATH OF THIS IN SELF
01:13:47GOVERNMENT. AND THIS IS WHAT I TELL MY LARGE
01:13:49CLASS OF THOSE RELUCTANT HISTORY STUDENTS AT.
01:13:53THE END OF THE SECOND SEMESTER,
01:13:55AND ESPECIALLY THIS 250TH YEAR
01:13:58AT THE AT AND THE OPENING DAY OF
01:14:00THE CLASS I SAID THE REASON
01:14:04REASON YOU HAVE TO TAKE THIS THE
01:14:07TEXAS STATE LEGISLATURE HAS
01:14:09MANDATED THAT EVERY PUBLIC STUDENT IN THE STATE OF TEXAS TAKE TWO SEMESTERS OF AMERICAN
01:14:13HISTORY. AND HERE'S WHY.
01:14:15BECAUSE MY STUDENTS ARE 18, 19, 20 YEARS OLD.
01:14:19I SAID, YOU ABOUT TO EMBARK ON
01:14:25THIS ONGOING GRAND EXPERIMENT.
01:14:28THIS STARTED NOW 250 YEARS AGO. AND THE EXPERIMENT IS TO
01:14:32DISCOVER WHERE PEOPLE CAN GOVERN THEMSELVES BEFORE THE AMERICAN
01:14:36REPUBLIC PEOPLE DIDN'T GOVERNMENT THEY WERE GOVERNED BY SOMEBODY ELSE.
01:14:39THEY CALLED THEM KINGS. THEY CALLED THEM CZARS AND THEY CALLED THEM EMPERORS.
01:14:42THE IDEA THAT PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY GOVERN THEMSELVES IS
01:14:45THIS EXPERIMENT THAT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR 250 YEARS.
01:14:49AND SO I TELL THEM AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEMESTER NOW
01:14:53YOU ARE PART OF THIS. PAY ATTENTION. THIS IS WHY YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE
01:14:56COURSE BECAUSE WE'RE SORT OF HANDING THE KEYS OF THE CAR YOU AND YOU'VE GOT TO KNOW SOMETHING
01:14:59ABOUT HOW IT WORKS SO THAT YOU WON'T MESS IT UP. AND SO WHEN WE GET TO THE END,
01:15:04THE VERY LAST THING I TELL THEM WHEN THEY'RE LEAVING THE CLASS,
01:15:07I SAY, OKAY, YOU NOW HEIRS TO
01:15:11THIS GRAND EXPERIMENT, I POINT
01:15:13OUT THEM THAT IF IF THEY DON'T
01:15:15LIKE I SAY, IF YOU DON'T, WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE UNITED STATES
01:15:19TODAY? IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT. IT'S MY FAULT.
01:15:23IT'S FOR ALL THE PEOPLE OUR AGE BECAUSE WE'VE HAD OUR SHOT FOR
01:15:26THE LAST SEVERAL DECADES AND NOW IT'S YOUR SHOT.
01:15:29AND I SAY BEAR IN MIND, THIS EXPERIMENT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR
01:15:33250 YEARS. AND IT IS AN EXPERIMENT THAT CAN FAIL AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT.
01:15:37IF AMERICANS JUST LOSE FOCUS, IF
01:15:41THEY LOSE SIGHT OF WHAT'S IMPORTANT, THEN MAYBE ALL THOSE
01:15:45NAYSAYERS AND THERE ARE A LOT OF THEM BACK IN THE 1780S NINETIES,
01:15:48THERE ARE A LOT THEM IN THE WORLD TODAY WHO SAY DOESN'T WORK
01:15:52BECAUSE PEOPLE CAN'T GOVERN THEMSELVES. I SAY, NOW WE'RE HANDING TO YOU
01:15:56IN THE LAST WORDS I SAY TO THEM IS DON'T SCREW IT UP.
01:16:00YEAH, WELL THAT'S GREAT. FANTASTIC.
01:16:07THAT I MEAN THAT'S A GREAT WAY TO END CONVERSATION ON.
01:16:10BUT I WILL ASK ONE MORE QUESTION AND GET YOU UP THERE TO SIGN SOME BOOKS FOR EVERYBODY WHO
01:16:14COME OUT TONIGHT. THEY CAN GET A GLASS OF WINE AND
01:16:18HAVE A LITTLE SNACK. BUT THIS IS THIS IS I THINK I
01:16:21WANT TO I WANT TO HEAR YOU RUMINATE ON HERE.
01:16:25HOW WOULD THIS BOOK BE DIFFERENT IF IT WAS THE FIRST BIO THAT YOU
01:16:30WROTE 30 YEARS AGO? ARE YOU GOING THROUGH? OH, THAT IS A REALLY GOOD QUESTION.
01:16:33WELL, THERE YOU GO. WHOEVER WROTE THAT ANONYMOUS WROTE A REALLY GOOD BOOK.
01:16:37AND I WILL TELL YOU THAT THE FIRST BIG BIOGRAPHY THAT I WROTE
01:16:40WAS ABOUT BENJAMIN FRANKLIN AND
01:16:44I HAD SOME SERIOUS DOUBTS WHETHER I COULD PULL IT OFF AND
01:16:46HERE'S WHY. BECAUSE BENJAMIN FRANKLIN DID
01:16:50HIS REALLY IMPORTANT STUFF, HIS
01:16:54IMPORTANT HISTORICAL STUFF WHEN
01:16:57HE WAS 70 YEARS OLD AND OLDER.
01:16:59I WAS WRITING THE BOOK IN MY EARLY FORTIES, AND I DID NOT
01:17:04KNOW I COULD SUFFICIENTLY
01:17:06CHANNEL A 70 YEAR OLD MAN TO BE
01:17:09ABLE TO MAKE COME ALIVE FOR READERS.
01:17:11IF I COULD SORT OF UNDERSTAND HIM.
01:17:13AND I DID WHAT ANY HARD WORKING
01:17:17BIOGRAPHER DOES, YOU YOUR BEST PLOW AHEAD.
01:17:22SO THERE WAS THAT PART WHEN I
01:17:23WAS DEALING WITH FRANKLIN, WITH
01:17:29WASHINGTON WELL, PART OF THE ISSUE IS THAT I HAVE NEVER BEEN A GENERAL.
01:17:33I'VE NEVER BEEN IN THE MILITARY
01:17:35I JUST MISS THE DRAFT IN VIETNAM.
01:17:39I'VE NEVER BEEN PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. I HAVE STUDIED A BUNCH OF PRESIDENTS. I HAVE STUDIED A BUNCH GENERALS.
01:17:43BUT STILL, IT'S A CHALLENGE TO
01:17:47FIGURE OUT WHAT MAKES A PERSON TICK.
01:17:50NOW, WASHINGTON KEPT A DIARY FOR
01:17:53MUCH OF HIS LIFE, BUT HIS DIARY
01:17:55IS UNHELPFUL IN THAT REGARD. IT SAYS, THIS IS WHAT I DID
01:17:59TODAY. WE PLANTED OATS IN THE SOUTH PASTURE AND WE DID THIS AND WE
01:18:03DID THAT. AND A TEMPERATURE WAS THIS. IT WAS RAINING. AND SO YOU SEE THE EXTERNALS OF
01:18:07WASHINGTON'S.
01:18:08IT'S NOT A DIARY OF, WELL THIS
01:18:11IS WHAT I WAS THINKING. AND THIS HOW I FELT ABOUT THAT.
01:18:14IT WASN'T AN INTROSPECTIVE DIARY.
01:18:16IT WAS ONE OF WASHINGTON FROM OUTSIDE IN.
01:18:20HE LETTERS.
01:18:23MOST OF THE LETTERS WERE SORT OF
01:18:25JUST ABOUT STUFF THEY WEREN'T
01:18:27ABOUT FEELINGS WHEN HE WROTE TO
01:18:29HIS SIBLINGS ESPECIALLY HIS BROTHER JACK.
01:18:33THEN HE SORT OF HE TOLD A LITTLE
01:18:35BIT MORE WHAT HE WAS THINKING.
01:18:38ONE BIG MISSING PART OF THE FOR ME, FOR EVERYBODY ELSE IS
01:18:43WRITING ABOUT WASHINGTON IS HIS CORRESPONDENCE WITH MARTHA,
01:18:45MARTHA BERNARD, THE LETTERS UPON
01:18:49GEORGE WASHINGTON'S DEATH. I DO NOT BEGRUDGE HER IN DOING
01:18:53SO SO.
01:18:55SHE DIDN'T WRITE LETTERS TO ME SHE WROTE THEM TO GEORGE.
01:18:57HE WROTE LETTERS TO NOT TO NOSY
01:18:59HISTORIANS OR BIOGRAPHERS ALONG 250 YEARS LIKE IT IS ANYBODY'S
01:19:03PREROGATIVE. WRITE TO BURN THE LETTERS THEY WANT.
01:19:06I WISH SHE HADN'T. I THINK I WOULD KNOW MORE WHAT
01:19:10WASHINGTON WAS THINKING, BUT
01:19:12MAYBE NOT THAT MUCH MORE. AND HERE'S WHY.
01:19:16I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT PEOPLE,
01:19:18PEOPLE WHO HAD SPOUSES AND TO
01:19:22WHOM THEY WROTE LETTERS.
01:19:24AND THE LETTERS SURVIVED.
01:19:26SO ANDREW JACKSON OCCASIONALLY
01:19:28WROTE TO HIS WIFE, RACHEL, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN OCCASIONALLY
01:19:33WROTE TO HIS WIFE, DEBBIE,
01:19:34ULYSSES GRANT WROTE TO HIS WIFE, JULIA, AND SO ON.
01:19:40AND IN SOME CASES THERE REVEALS
01:19:43IN SOME CASES THEY'RE NOT
01:19:45PARTICULARLY IN PART BECAUSE THE
01:19:47SPOUSE ISN'T THAT INTEREST DID
01:19:49PER SE IN WHAT THE GUY IS DOING
01:19:54NOW. BUT FOR WASHINGTON'S ERA,
01:19:57THERE'S THIS IMPOSSIBLE STANDARD FOR, LET'S SAY, A WASHINGTON A
01:20:01GEORGE MARTHA TO BE MEASURED
01:20:05AGAINST. AND THAT IS, OF COURSE, THE
01:20:07CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN JOHN AND ABIGAIL ADAMS.
01:20:12AND THERE ARE TWO REASONS THAT THAT CORRESPONDENCE IS SO
01:20:17REVEALING. MAYBE THREE.
01:20:21SO ONE OF THE REASONS IS THAT
01:20:23ABIGAIL WAS AT LEAST INTERESTED
01:20:25IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS, AS JOHN WAS,
01:20:29AND WHEN HE WROTE TO HER ABOUT
01:20:31THE INDIGNITY INDIGNITY OF BEING
01:20:36WASHINGTON'S VICE PRESIDENT, WELL, SHE WANTED TO HEAR ABOUT
01:20:38IT AND SHE WANTED AND SHE COULD RESPOND THAT WAY.
01:20:41SO SHE WAS VERY INTERESTED IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS IN A WAY.
01:20:44FOR EXAMPLE, MARTHA WASHINGTON
01:20:48NOT THERE'S ANOTHER DIFFERENCE
01:20:49THERE IS THAT JOHN ADAMS IS, THE
01:20:52BIGGEST COMPLAINER IN THE WORLD, AND HE THOUGHT THAT THE WORLD
01:20:58WOULD SIMPLY NEVER GIVE HIM THE
01:21:00CREDIT HE WAS DUE.
01:21:02HE TOLD BENJAMIN RUSH IT WASN'T JUST ABIGAIL. HE WAS WRITING.
01:21:05HE WROTE A BENJAMIN RUSHING CASE WHEN THE STORY THIS GENERATION
01:21:08IS WRITTEN, IT'S GOING TO COME OUT LIKE THIS.
01:21:14THAT DR. FRANKLIN STRUCK THE
01:21:16EARTH WITH HIS LIGHTNING ROD AND
01:21:19UP JABBED GENERAL WASHINGTON AND THE TWO OF THEM, THEY
01:21:23ACCOMPLISHED THE GREAT AFFAIRS OF WAR AND PEACE AND IT WENT
01:21:26WITHOUT SAYING AND THAT I, JOHN
01:21:28ADAMS, WAS NOT GIVEN CREDIT THAT I WAS DUE.
01:21:32SO ADAMS IS IS ONE WHO REALLY WEARS HIS EMOTIONS ON HIS SLEEVE
01:21:37AND, HIS EMOTIONS CHANGE FROM DAY TO DAY. SO THE NEXT DAY HE'S SORT OF
01:21:41LUCID AS FRANKLIN SAID ABOUT JOHN ADAMS.
01:21:44HE IS, AS HONEST AS THE DAY IS LONG.
01:21:47HE IS THE MOST INDUSTRIOUS
01:21:50PERSON AND HE'S ABSOLUTELY CRAZY. ABOUT HALF THE TIME.
01:21:53AND THAT'S THE KIND OF GUY YOU WANT TO QUOTE.
01:21:56SO I'M NOT SURE IF THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN THAT IN THE