Yorktown -- Now What?
On this Veterans Day, we honor all who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Military historian Joseph F. Stoltz III, Ph.D., Director of Leadership Programs at the Washington Library, describes what happened between the Yorktown victory and when American Revolutionary War soldiers officially became our nation's first veterans.
Feeding Washington's Army: A Conversation with Ricardo A. Herrera
Ricardo A. Herrera’s new book, Feeding Washington's Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778, examines the Continental Army’s leadership and performance through a major, but little-known, foraging operation undertaken during the Valley Forge winter of 1778.
This book moves far beyond oft-told tales of Valley Forge and digs deeply into its daily reality, revealing how close the Continental Army came to succumbing to starvation and how strong and resourceful its soldiers and leaders actually were.
Naturalization Ceremony at Mount Vernon from September 2022
Recorded on September 23, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services welcomed 50 new citizens during a special ceremony at George Washington’s Mount Vernon celebrating Constitution Day. The Honorable John K. Tien, Deputy Secretary, DHS administered the Oath of Allegiance and CNN journalist John Avlon offered congratulatory remarks.
"Hey" from our Horses 👋
Have a great Saturday everyone! 🐎
The 2022 USC George Washington Leadership Lecture
The annual George Washington Leadership Lecture explores the Father of our Country's lifelong accomplishments, providing a better understanding of him as a person, as well as his remarkable leadership, professional achievements, and lasting legacy.
This year's event will feature the premiere of the new film George Washington and the Pursuit of Religious Freedom. It will also include a conversation with former Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf, who is the author of the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA), which infused religious freedom into U.S. foreign policy.
First Among Men: A Conversation with Maurizio Valsania
Join us for the official book launch of Maurizio Valsania’s new book, First Among Men: George Washington and the Myth of American Masculinity. This compelling work dispels the many common myths about the first U.S. president while revealing a full, complete portrait of George Washington as readers have rarely seen him before.
Lincoln and the Fight for Peace: A Conversation with John Avlon
John Avlon discusses his book, "Lincoln and the Fight for Peace," and compares and contrasts our First and 16th Presidents.
Bon anniversaire, Marquis de Lafayette!
Bon anniversaire, Marquis de Lafayette! Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier was born September 6, 1757, better known as the Marquis de Lafayette. A French general, he was a celebrated hero of the American Revolution, abolitionist, and a beloved friend of George Washington. After the American War of Independence, he returned to France and participated in the early years of the French Revolution, even sending George Washington the key to the infamous Bastille prison.
Lafayette paid an extended visit to Mount Vernon in 1784. The room where he stayed has been newly restored and officially reopened on Bastille Day, July 14, 2022. Curator Adam T. Erby takes viewers on a tour of the Lafayette Bedchamber.
Descendant Stories from the enslaved community at Mount Vernon
In honor of #AncestorAppreciationDay, hear the stories from the descendants of the enslaved community at Mount Vernon.
18th c. Weaving
Learn about the process of 18th century style weaving with Margaret Lineberger🧵
2021 Founding Debates: Civic Education in America: Origins, Aspirations, Challenges
This year’s exciting program will explore why civic education was so important to America's Founding generation and what we are learning in the twenty-first century about how we should prepare students for a lifetime of citizenship.
The Founding Debates are sponsored by The Ammerman Family Foundation to honor former Mount Vernon President and CEO James C. Rees, whose vision lives on with the Washington Library.
Teaching Them How to Say Goodbye: Reflections on Washington's Farewell Address
In honor of the 225 Anniversary of his famed Farewell Address, an all-star panel discuss George Washington’s warnings to and hopes for future generations of Americans. Featuring CNN’s John Avlon, author Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky, and historian Dr. Joseph Ellis.
The Mount Vernon Prize for Excellence in Civics and History in Honor of Dr. Jennifer London
Join us in celebrating young minds!
The Mount Vernon Prize for Excellence in Civics and History in Honor of Dr. Jennifer London is awarded to two projects led by outstanding middle and high school students who applied their understanding of Washington’s life to extend his legacy of public service within their classrooms, schools, or communities.
Applications are now open for the 2021-2022 school year.
Learn more here: https://www.mountvernon.org/education/for-students/student-of-the-year-award/
A More Perfect Union (Full Movie)
Ahead of #ConstitutionDay, check out our film A More Perfect Union, which explores the many challenges facing the new nation and describes how our founding fathers, led by George Washington, created the United States Constitution.
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We've got all our geese in a row 😌
En Route to Victory! Washington's homecoming with his French alliés
Join Dr. Iris De Rode live from Paris as she reflects on the 240 anniversary of Washington’s only visit home to Mount Vernon during the entire Revolutionary War, when the American and French Armies joined forces and marched to Yorktown and -- ultimately -- victory.
During his stopover at Mount Vernon, he invited the French General Rochambeau and his Major General Chastellux to join him. At their "princely dinner," the gentlemen discussed not only the last details of their Yorktown campaign, but also their belief in the promises of the American Revolution and the future of the French-American relations.
Presented in partnership with the National Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route Association
Ford Evening Book Talk: Julie Flavell
Join Mount Vernon for a virtual Ford Evening Book Talk with Dr. Julie Flavell. We will discuss her new book The Howe Dynasty: The Untold Story of a Military Family and the Women Behind Britain's Wars for America.
A special moment 🦋✨
A special moment at the Slave Cemetery & Memorial 🦋
The Upper Garden 🌷
The Upper Garden is a pollinator's paradise 🌷🐝💕#LoveVA
Sneak Peek Members Only Rebroadcast George Washington Visionary Farmer, Entrepreneur, Inventor
Our first president, commanding general of the Continental Army, surveyor; these are the jobs we most associate with George Washington. For Washington, these were just that -- jobs. His passion, income, and vision for the new republic were tied to farming. We will look at the economics of the tobacco trade and address Washington’s switch to wheat, along with how he implemented creative approaches to agriculture. We’ll discuss inventions and innovations that helped make Mount Vernon profitable. And we’ve arranged a private virtual treading!
Please enjoy this sneak peek of the video conversation for members with Sam Murphy, Mount Vernon's Manager of Historic Trades, as we dig into Washington's role as a visionary farmer entrepreneur, and inventor. This video has been previously recorded.
Discovering Your Patriot Ancestor
Discovering Your Patriot Ancestor: Tips from the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution
Calling all family genealogists! Think you've discovered an ancestor who lived in America during the Founding Era? Learn about resources to assist in tracing and documenting lineage back to the Revolution. We will also discuss the many kinds of patriotic aid considered valuable during the struggle for independence and learn how even if your ancestor was not a soldier, you may be eligible for membership in the DAR.
We are proud to welcome Allie Golon, National Chair Lineage Research Committee, NSDAR for this fascinating virtual event.
Brenda Parker 🎶
“In that Great Gettin’ Up Morning” performed by Brenda Parker
Today is the United Nations International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition and we commemorate it with song.
This song is about the day of freedom. It could be referring to freedom from earthly labor or to emancipation and the end of slavery. The lyrics, “put on my long white robe” allude to heavenly attire. “Walk the streets of gold” refers to the “beautiful city” with pearly gates. It is a song of jubilation that could have been sung at a funeral.
African American spirituals and hymns are a vital part of American history and culture. Spirituals had religious origins, often containing messages of hope or heavenly rewards. Once "freed” however, many of these same songs would evolve into gospel, blues, R&B, jazz, hip hop, rap, and other genres we enjoy today.
Genealogy 🌳
Join us in the Library to learn about Genealogy and tracing your family history.
Ford Evening Book Talk: Christopher Pearl
Mount Vernon welcomes author Christopher Pearl to the Smith Auditorium to discuss his new book Conceived in Crisis: The Revolutionary Creation of an American State.
Transatlantic Slavery Symposium: Public Memory and Oral History
Join historian Annette Gordon-Reed (author of On Juneteenth and the Pulitzer Prize–winning The Hemingses of Monticello) as she leads a panel discussion about the importance of oral histories in understanding how individuals and communities experienced the forces of history. Andrew Davenport, Public Historian & Manager of the Getting Word African American Oral History Project, will discuss Getting Word's near 28-year history and how descendants are “getting word” to us today about their lives, their families, and their dreams. Justin Reid is the director of Community Initiatives at Virginia Humanities and co-founder of The Lemon Project, which is aimed to address the history of slavery at the College of William & Mary. Alan Rice is Professor of English and American Studies at the University of Central Lancashire and co-director of the Institute for Black Atlantic Research (IBAR) and director of the UCLan Lancashire Research Centre in Migration, Diaspora and Exile (MIDEX). Together they will discuss the importance of learning from the past to grapple with issues that face us today.
The Transatlantic Slavery Symposium is a joint venture between Benjamin Franklin House in London, the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, and the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. Our aim is to bring together scholars from both sides of the Atlantic to address the lasting impact of the Transatlantic Slave Trade through panel discussions on themes ranging from its historical foundations and development in the Revolutionary Atlantic world to current best practices in the museums and heritage sector. We hope that by addressing this complex topic from a historical and contemporary perspective, we can spark further discussions on how to bring stories of enslaved people to the forefront of public history internationally.
Transatlantic Slavery Symposium: Historic Sites Interpreting Slavery
Dr. Laura Sandy, Senior Lecturer in the History of Slavery and co-director at the Centre for the Study of International Slavery at the University of Liverpool will lead a discussion about interpreting slavery at historic sites on both sides of the Atlantic. Featuring Ramin Ganeshram, Executive Director, at the Westport Museum for History & Culture; Dr. Antoinette T. Jackson, Professor and Chair of the Department of Anthropology at the University of South Florida; and Jean-Francis Manicom, Curator at the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool, the panel will consider the challenge of presenting slavery at public history sites.
The Transatlantic Slavery Symposium is a joint venture between Benjamin Franklin House in London, the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, and the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. Our aim is to bring together scholars from both sides of the Atlantic to address the lasting impact of the Transatlantic Slave Trade through panel discussions on themes ranging from its historical foundations and development in the Revolutionary Atlantic world to current best practices in the museums and heritage sector. We hope that by addressing this complex topic from a historical and contemporary perspective, we can spark further discussions on how to bring stories of enslaved people to the forefront of public history internationally.
Transatlantic Slavery Symposium: Public Programming and Interpreting Slavery in the Founding Era
Join Dr. Márcia Balisciano (Founding Director of Benjamin Franklin House), Brandon Dillard (Manager of Historic Interpretation at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello), and Brenda Parker (Coordinator of African American Interpretation at George Washington’s Mount Vernon), as they discuss how these three institutions contextualize and interpret Slavery in the Founding Era.
The Transatlantic Slavery Symposium is a joint venture between Benjamin Franklin House in London, the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, and the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. Our aim is to bring together scholars from both sides of the Atlantic to address the lasting impact of the Transatlantic Slave Trade through panel discussions on themes ranging from its historical foundations and development in the Revolutionary Atlantic world to current best practices in the museums and heritage sector. We hope that by addressing this complex topic from a historical and contemporary perspective, we can spark further discussions on how to bring stories of enslaved people to the forefront of public history internationally.
Transatlantic Slavery Symposium: Capitalism and Slavery
Join Dr. Stephen Mullen (University of Glasgow), Dr. Stephanie Jones-Rogers (University of California -- Berkeley), Dr. Ronald Bailey (University of Illinois), and Dr. Andrew O'Shaughnessy (Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello, moderator) as they discuss the connections between slavery and global economic development.
The Transatlantic Slavery Symposium is a joint venture between Benjamin Franklin House in London, the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, and the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. Our aim is to bring together scholars from both sides of the Atlantic to address the lasting impact of the Transatlantic Slave Trade through panel discussions on themes ranging from its historical foundations and development in the Revolutionary Atlantic world to current best practices in the museums and heritage sector. We hope that by addressing this complex topic from a historical and contemporary perspective, we can spark further discussions on how to bring stories of enslaved people to the forefront of public history internationally.
Transatlantic Slavery Symposium: Constitutions and Slavery
Dr. Kevin Butterfield, executive director of The Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington, will moderate a discussion about constitutions and slavery in a transatlantic setting. Featuring Dr. David Waldstreicher, Distinguished Professor of History, City University of New York; Dr. Robert J. Cottrol, Harold Paul Green Research Professor of Law, The George Washington University Law School; and Dr. Padraic X. Scanlan, Assistant Professor at the Centre for Diaspora and Transnational Studies at the University of Toronto, the panel will explore the relationship between constitutions – written and unwritten, national and provincial – and slavery in the eighteenth and early nineteenth-century Atlantic world.
The Transatlantic Slavery Symposium is a joint venture between Benjamin Franklin House in London, the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, and the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. Our aim is to bring together scholars from both sides of the Atlantic to address the lasting impact of the Transatlantic Slave Trade through panel discussions on themes ranging from its historical foundations and development in the Revolutionary Atlantic world to current best practices in the museums and heritage sector. We hope that by addressing this complex topic from a historical and contemporary perspective, we can spark further discussions on how to bring stories of enslaved people to the forefront of public history internationally.
Transatlantic Slavery Symposium: Transatlantic Abolition and Law
Dr. Miranda Kaufmann (award-winning author of Black Tudors: The Untold Stories and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, part of the School of Advanced Study, University of London) will lead a panel discussion on how the law and abolition affected the lives of enslaved people on both sides of the Atlantic. Joining her to discuss this topic are Dr. John Cairns (Professor of Civil Law at the University of Edinburgh), Dr. Vincent Brown (Charles Warren Professor of American History at Harvard University), and Dr. Manisha Sinha (James L. and Shirley A. Draper Chair in American History at the University of Connecticut).
The Transatlantic Slavery Symposium is a joint venture between Benjamin Franklin House in London, the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, and the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. Our aim is to bring together scholars from both sides of the Atlantic to address the lasting impact of the Transatlantic Slave Trade through panel discussions on themes ranging from its historical foundations and development in the Revolutionary Atlantic world to current best practices in the museums and heritage sector. We hope that by addressing this complex topic from a historical and contemporary perspective, we can spark further discussions on how to bring stories of enslaved people to the forefront of public history internationally.
