Shows
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential LibraryRevolutionary Leadership with Rick AtkinsonIn this episode of Leadership and Legacy, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist Rick Atkinson delves into the nature of military leadership through the lens of George Washington during the Revolutionary War. Atkinson outlines the essential traits of an effective commander—unshakable resolve, strategic communication, and a keen ability to navigate the complexities of the battlefield across both space and time. He also highlights Washington’s political acumen and talent for recognizing potential in others, setting him apart from his British counterparts, whose flawed assumptions and leadership missteps raise the intriguing question: Could the British have won? Tune in to gain...2025-06-2342 minLeadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential LibraryHistorical Lessons of Leadership with Catherine AllgorIn this episode of Leadership and Legacy, historian Catherine Allgor explores the early First Ladies of the United States, examining how they navigated gendered power dynamics within their roles. She delves into how these women found agency in a male-dominated world, leveraging the social sphere to influence Washington culture and shape political policy. At the heart of her discussion, Allgor emphasizes the importance of leaders recognizing and treating people as full, complex human beings. Tune in to gain insights on historical leadership, gendered power, American identity, and what Washington, D.C., needs today. Leadership and Legacy: Conversations...2025-04-2138 minLeadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential LibraryThe Power of Character with Jeffrey EngelIn this episode of Leadership and Legacy, Jeffrey A. Engel, Director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University, shares his personal experience with former President George H.W. Bush and the valuable lessons he learned about the presidency—an office for which no one can truly prepare. Engel identifies memory, energy, and empathy as the key traits of an effective leader, while emphasizing that voters should prioritize character and judgement over personality when evaluating presidential candidates. He also highlights the importance of a deep understanding of history for a successful presidency. Tune in to gain valuable ins...2025-04-0739 minLeadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential LibraryLeadership on the Supreme Court with Steve VladeckIn this episode of Leadership and Legacy, Georgetown University Law Center professor Steve Vladeck explores the history of leadership on the United States Supreme Court, the qualities of an effective justice, and how public opinion does—or doesn’t—influence the court. He highlights the importance of institution building—his choice for most important justice in this sense may surprise you—and the influential roles played by justices beyond the Chief Justice. Vladeck also cautions that while Court decisions have immediate real-world impact, a lasting legacy takes time to develop. From Bushrod Washington to John Roberts, tune in to gain valua...2025-03-2438 min
Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount VernonNOW AVAILABLE: Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington LibraryNew from the Washington Presidential Library, Leadership and Legacy invites prominent leaders and historians to reflect on their growth, challenges, and innovative approaches that made them the leaders that they are today, as well as how these questions can be informed by the past — in particular the lessons and legacy of George Washington.Learn more at www.georgewashingtonpodcast.com.2024-10-2201 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential LibraryNOW AVAILABLE: Inventing the PresidencyNow Available on all platforms! In this new podcast from the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon, we'll explore George Washington as both President and precedent. From the very origins of the US presidency at the Constitutional Convention to Washington’s final warnings in his Farewell Address, we will break down how one man shaped the Presidency—and the many times that it could have all fallen apart. Learn more at www.georgewashingtonpodcast.com.2024-03-1201 min
Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount VernonNOW AVAILABLE: Inventing the PresidencyNow Available on all platforms! In this new podcast from the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon, we'll explore George Washington as both President and precedent. From the very origins of the US presidency at the Constitutional Convention to Washington’s final warnings in his Farewell Address, we will break down how one man shaped the Presidency—and the many times that it could have all fallen apart.
Learn more at www.georgewashingtonpodcast.com.
2024-03-1201 min
Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount VernonNow Available: The Secrets of Washington's ArchivesWhat did George Washington write in his personal copy of the Constitution? Who left behind messages inside some of Washington’s books? How did Washington learn to become a professional soldier?
Mount Vernon introduces its latest podcast and video series, The Secrets of Washington's Archives. Come explore the books, manuscripts, and maps found inside the George Washington Presidential Library’s special collections and hear stories about George Washington, the American Revolution, and the Presidency.
Learn more at www.georgewashingtonpodcast.com.
Music by SoulProdMusic at Pixabay.2023-07-0301 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential LibraryNOW AVAILABLE: The Secrets of Washington's ArchivesWhat did George Washington write in his personal copy of the Constitution? Who left behind messages inside some of Washington’s books? How did Washington learn to become a professional soldier?
Mount Vernon introduces its latest podcast and video series, The Secrets of Washington's Archives. Come explore the books, manuscripts, and maps found inside the George Washington Presidential Library’s special collections and hear stories about George Washington, the American Revolution, and the Presidency.
The series will release June 5, 2023 for Mount Vernon members and June 19 for audiences everywhere. Learn more at www.georgewashingtonpodcast.com.
Musi...2023-06-2001 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library227. Welcoming a Deserving Brother with Mark TabbertIn 1752, George Washington joined the Masonic Lodge in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He was just twenty years old. Despite his early interest in masonry, Washington was not as active in the organization as some might imagine, but Masonic Lodges became important sites of social gathering for men in early America. And while masons and masonic rituals played important roles in the American Revolution and in the early days of the Republic, you won’t find any conspiracy theories here. On today’s show, Mark Tabbert joins Jim Ambusketo discuss his new book, A Deserving Brother: George Washington and Freemasonry, published by the Univ...2022-11-1425 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library226. Cross-examining Washington's Heir with Prof. Gerard MaglioccaWhen George Washington wrote his final will in the months before he died in December 1799, he named Bushrod Washington as heir to his papers and to Mount Vernon. He took possession of his uncle’s Virginia plantation when Martha Washington passed away in 1802. But Bushrod was not as interested in agriculture as George had been. He was a lawyer who later became an Associate Justice on the United States Supreme Court, where he became a staunch ally of Chief Justice John Marshall. Yet, like George, Bushrod owned numerous enslaved people and became one of the founding members of the American Co...2022-10-3142 min
Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount VernonIntertwined Stories: What We Leave Behind...In Intertwined Stories, we’re taking a deeper dive into the history behind the podcast Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount Vernon by bringing you extended versions of some of the interviews with the series' contributors.
The Quander Family can trace its roots in Virginia and Maryland back to the early seventeenth century. This family became part of the Mount Vernon story in the early nineteenth century when a free Black man named Charles Quander married Nancy Carter, a woman formerly enslaved by George Washington.
But the connection didn’t end there. In more...2022-04-2615 min
Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount VernonIntertwined Stories: Martha Washington's Mount VernonIn Intertwined Stories, we’re taking a deeper dive into the history behind the podcast Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount Vernon by bringing you extended versions of some of the interviews with the series' contributors.
Mount Vernon was as much Martha Washington’s home as it was George Washington’s. It was Martha’s wealth, after all, that helped fund the plantation’s expansion and allowed George to claim his place among the Virginia elite. Like so many Virginia women in the period, Martha was already a widow when she married George in 1759. In fact, she...2022-04-1917 min
Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount VernonIntertwined Stories: Rediscovering FamiliesIn Intertwined Stories, we’re taking a deeper dive into the history behind the podcast Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount Vernon by bringing you extended versions of some of the interviews with the series' contributors.
As a child, Ann Chinn didn’t understand her family’s connection to Mount Vernon, the Washingtons, or the Custis Family. But later in life, she came to learn that she was a descendent of Sall Twine. Twine was a woman assigned to work as a field laborer on Dogue Run Farm. She was owned by the estate of Marth...2022-04-1118 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential LibraryIntroducing Intertwined Stories: Finding Hercules PoseyWe're delighted to bring you one of the bonus episodes from our other podcast, Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount Vernon. In Intertwined Stories, we're featuring extended interviews with some of the expert contributors to the main Intertwined show. Today, you'll hear part of the conversation that Jim Ambuske and Jeanette Patrick had with Ramin Ganeshram about Hercules Posey. Posey was the Washington’s enslaved chef, and for more than 200 years old we didn’t know happened to him after he self-emancipated on George Washington’s birthday - February 22, 1797. But now we do....2022-04-0619 min
Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount VernonIntertwined Stories: The Origins of Slavery in VirginiaIn Intertwined Stories, we’re taking a deeper dive into the history behind the podcast Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount Vernon by bringing you extended versions of some of the interviews with the series' contributors.
The origins of Mount Vernon’s enslaved community are linked directly to the early history of slavery in Virginia. Although the first enslaved people arrived in Virginia in 1619, slavery did not become the dominate labor system in the Chesapeake Bay region for more than a century.
As we heard in Episode 1 of Intertwined, race-based slavery developed slowly i...2022-04-0519 min
Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount VernonIntertwined Stories: Living and LaboringIn Intertwined Stories, we’re taking a deeper dive into the history behind the podcast Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount Vernon by bringing you extended versions of some of the interviews with the series' contributors.
Labor dictated life for enslaved communities at Mount Vernon and beyond. And yet despite their enslavement, people like Sambo Anderson, Kate, and Carolina Branham carved out time for themselves, created families, and forged relationships – sometimes across vast distances – that brought them comfort and some sense of control over their own lives.
As we heard throughout Intertwined, reconstruc...2022-03-2917 min
Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount VernonIntertwined Stories: How Historians HistoryIn Intertwined Stories, we’re taking a deeper dive into the history behind the podcast Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount Vernon by bringing you extended versions of some of the interviews with the series' contributors.
Historians are in constant conversation with each other about the past. As we uncover evidence, ask new and better questions of our sources, and think about history in relation to our own present, the way that we interpret the past can and does change over time. We call this collective body of past interpretations “historiography,” or the history of histor...2022-03-2229 min
Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount VernonIntertwined Stories: Dividing FamiliesIn Intertwined Stories, we’re taking a deeper dive into the history behind the podcast Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount Vernon by bringing you extended versions of some of the interviews with the series' contributors.
In Episode 6 of Intertwined, we began to explore what happened to the enslaved community after January 1, 1801, the day that Martha Washington emancipated the people once enslaved by her late husband.
That day transformed the community forever. While it meant freedom for the people George Washington enslaved, it meant continued enslavement for the people owned by the esta...2022-03-1423 min
Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount VernonIntertwined Stories: Landscapes of MeaningIn Intertwined Stories, we’re taking a deeper dive into the history behind the podcast Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount Vernon by bringing you extended versions of some of the interviews with the series' contributors.
Throughout Intertwined, archaeological research helped us uncover the lives of Kate, Doll, Frank Lee, Neptune, and hundreds of other people enslaved at Mount Vernon.
While we can learn many important details about the past from letters, account books, or maps, equally important answers lay just beneath the surface.
To help us better understand how arche...2022-03-0821 min
Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount VernonIntertwined Stories: Finding Hercules PoseyIn Intertwined Stories, we’re taking a deeper dive into the history behind the podcast Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount Vernon by bringing you extended versions of some of the interviews with the series' contributors.
In Episode 5 of Intertwined we encountered Hercules Posey, a man enslaved by the Washingtons, worked as their chef, and who self-emancipated from Mount Vernon in February 1797. For over 200 years, we had little idea of Posey’s whereabouts after he left the plantation. But thanks to recent research, now we do.
To learn more about Hercules Posey, we talk...2022-03-0118 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library218. Finding Washington at the Plow with Dr. Bruce RagsdaleIn the 1760s, tobacco was one of Virginia’s chief exports. But George Washington turned away from the noxious plant and began dreaming of wheat and a more profitable future. Washington became enamored with new ideas powering the agricultural revolution in Great Britain and set out to implement this new form of husbandry back home at Mount Vernon. His quest to become a gentleman farmer reshaped Mount Vernon’s landscape and altered the lives of the plantation’s enslaved community, and his own ideas about slavery, forever. On today’s show, Dr. Bruce Ragsdale joins Jim Ambuske to chat about his new...2022-01-2044 min
Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount VernonEpisode 8: LegaciesEpisode 8: "Legacies"
Interpreting slavery at Mount Vernon was not part of the mission of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association when the organization purchased the estate in the mid-nineteenth century. Over time, however, investigating the people enslaved at Mount Vernon and educating the public about their lives and legacies has become central to the Association’s work. In our final episode, we look at how interpreting slavery has become intertwined with interpreting the Washingtons at Mount Vernon, and collaborative efforts by the Association and the Descendants Community to tell a story of lives bound together.
Featuring:
Je...2021-12-211h 02
Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount VernonEpisode 7: PreservingEpisode 7: “Preserving”
Edmund Parker never knew George and Martha Washington, but he knew Mount Vernon and the Washington Family very well. Parker was one of the many enslaved people who labored on the plantation in the nineteenth century after the Washingtons’ deaths. Later, as a free man, Parker was among Mount Vernon’s first interpreters when the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association purchased the property. In this episode, we explore what happened to the Mount Vernon landscape in the nineteenth century and various efforts to preserve the estate and George Washington’s memory as the nation headed for civil war.2021-12-2054 min
Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount VernonEpisode 6: LeavingEpisode 6: “Leaving”
Nancy Carter Quander was just a child when George Washington died in December 1799, but his death changed her life forever. Washington’s decision to emancipate his enslaved people in his will had consequences for Mount Vernon’s enslaved community and their descendants that persist into our own time. In this episode, we look at the meaning of freedom for a community intertwined through marriage and kinship, its continued evolution after Martha Washington’s own death in 1802, and how members of the descendent community are recovering their family histories.
Featuring:
Jessie MacLeod, Associate Curator, G...2021-12-1353 min
Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount VernonEpisode 5: ResistingEpisode 5: “Resisting”
In May 1796, Ona Judge self-emancipated by fleeing from President George Washington’s Philadelphia home. Her escape was just one example of the many ways that Mount Vernon’s enslaved community resisted their bondage. Some acts were subtle and easy to miss, others were much more dramatic, regardless the threat of punishment was ever present. In this episode, we follow Judge’s flight to freedom, and explore the stories of Hercules Posey and Harry Washington, to examine how enslaved people defied George and Martha Washington’s authority.
Featuring:
Jessie MacLeod, Associate Curator, George Washington’s...2021-12-081h 00
Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount VernonEpisode 4: LivingEpisode 4: “Living”
Kate, her husband Will, and their children lived and worked on Muddy Hole Farm. When her family suffered a tragedy, they drew strength from the kinship ties and friendships they shared with other members of Mount Vernon’s enslaved community. In this episode, we examine daily life, culture, and religious practices of the enslaved people at the plantation. We also explore how on-going archeological work at Mount Vernon helps us piece together the enslaved community’s lived experience and recover their voices when the written record falls silent.
Featuring:
Dr. Brenda Stevenson, Hillary...2021-11-2939 min
Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount VernonEpisode 3: RevolutionsEpisode 3: “Revolutions”
William Lee was George Washington’s trusted enslaved valet. For over two decades, he attended Washington from early morning until nightfall. In times of peace and war, Lee rode with Washington through Mount Vernon’s fields, out to his western lands, and into battle against the British. In this episode, we follow Lee’s journey to investigate revolutions in Mount Vernon’s agricultural life, American politics, and Washington’s views on slavery.
Featuring:
Dr. Bruce Ragsdale, former Director of the Federal Judicial History Office
Jessie MacLeod, Associate Curator, George Washington’s Mount Vernon
Dr. Cas...2021-11-2244 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential LibraryPreviewing Episode 1 of Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington's Mount VernonOn this week's show, we bring you Episode 1 of Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington's Mount Vernon. Entitled "Passages," it features the life of Sambo Anderson, who was just a boy when he was captured in West Africa, survived the Middle Passage, and purchased by an ambitious George Washington sometime in the late 1760s. During his years of enslavement at Mount Vernon, Anderson became a carpenter, a husband, and a father. In this episode, we tell the story of Anderson’s life to explore the rise of slavery in the Chesapeake Bay region, George and Martha Washington’s conn...2021-11-1742 min
Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount VernonEpisode 2: LaboringEpisode 2: “Laboring”
As an overseer, Davy Gray was entrusted by George Washington with the management of the enslaved laborers on Dogue Run Farm. His weekly reports to Washington revealed progress toward Washington’s goal of transforming Mount Vernon into a model of British agriculture. But Gray was also enslaved, just like the men, women, and children he oversaw. In this episode, we explore Gray’s complicated story to learn about the daily labor of Mount Vernon’s enslaved community and Washington’s relentless quest to make his plantation into a self-sustaining enterprise.
Featuring:
Jessie MacLeod, Ass...2021-11-1536 min
Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount VernonEpisode 1: PassagesEpisode 1: “Passages”
Sambo Anderson was just a boy when he was captured in West Africa, survived the Middle Passage, and purchased by an ambitious George Washington sometime in the late 1760s. During his years of enslavement at Mount Vernon, Anderson became a carpenter, a husband, and a father. In this episode, we tell the story of Anderson’s life to explore the rise of slavery in the Chesapeake Bay region, George and Martha Washington’s connections to the transatlantic slave trade, and the laws that marked the boundaries between slavery and freedom in Virginia.
Featuring:
Dr...2021-11-1541 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential LibraryIntertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington's Mount Vernon (Coming November 15, 2021)Intertwined tells the story of the more than 577 people enslaved by George and Martha Washington at Mount Vernon. Told through the biographies of Sambo Anderson, Davy Gray, William Lee, Kate, Ona Judge, Nancy Carter Quander, Edmund Parker, Caroline Branham, and the Washingtons, this eight-part podcast series explores the lives and labors of Mount Vernon’s enslaved community, and how we interpret slavery at the historic site today. Intertwined is narrated by Brenda Parker and is a production of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association and CD Squared. Find Intertwined on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you...2021-11-1001 min
Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount VernonIntroducing Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount VernonIntertwined tells the story of the more than 577 people enslaved by George and Martha Washington at Mount Vernon. Told through the biographies of Sambo Anderson, Davy Gray, William Lee, Kate, Ona Judge, Nancy Carter Quander, Edmund Parker, Caroline Branham, and the Washingtons, this eight-part podcast series explores the lives and labors of Mount Vernon’s enslaved community, and how we interpret slavery at the historic site today.
Intertwined is narrated by Brenda Parker and is a production of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association and CD Squared.
Find Intertwined on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you...2021-11-0401 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library207. Offering George Washington a Royal Gift with Professor José Emilio Yanes (Summer Repeat)In 1784, King Charles III of Spain sent George Washington a token of his esteem. Knowing that Washington had long sought a Spanish donkey for his Mount Vernon estate, the king permitted a jack to be exported to the new United States. Washington named the donkey Royal Gift in recognition of its royal origin, and the donkey became somewhat of a minor celebrity when he disembarked from his ship in 1785. As it turns out, Spanish jacks like Royal Gift were highly prized animals in the Atlantic world. And in this case the Spanish, who had supported the United States during the...2021-08-0539 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library205. Grieving with the Widow Washington with Dr. Martha SaxtonIn the eighteenth century, death stalked early Americans like a predator hunting its prey. In Virginia, as in other colonies, death made children orphans and wives widows, making a precarious existence all that much more challenging. For the Virginia elite, death also created opportunities for widows and widowers alike to protect their interests, their property, and their social standing through advantageous re-marriages. But the predator’s teeth never dulled, and when it took another life some Virginians like Mary Washington turned to devotional texts for comfort and for the strength to press onward. Historians have not looked favorably on George Wa...2021-07-1240 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library198. Contesting Monuments and Memory in South Carolina with Dr. Lydia BrandtThe South Carolina State House Grounds is a landscape of monuments and memory. Since the capital moved from Charleston to Columbia in the 1780s, South Carolinians have been erecting, moving, and contesting monuments on the capitol’s grounds, using them to debate the past as they really argue about their present. Monuments and statues are the subject of great debate right now, not only in the United States, but around the world, and South Carolina’s commemorations can help us to understand why. In 1858, South Carolinians purchased a George Washington statute for their capitol grounds, as did other legislatures in the...2021-04-0254 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library195b. [En Español] Ofreciendo a George Washington un regalo real con el profesor José Emilio YanesBienvenido a Conversaciones en la Biblioteca de Washington. Hoy, Jim Ambuske habla con el profesor José Emilio Yanes de la Universidad de Salamanca en España. Yanes es el autor del libro El Regalo de Carlos III A George Washington: El periplo de Royal Gift. El libro cuenta la historia de cómo un burro jugó un papel importante en la relación diplomática entre España y los nuevos Estados Unidos. Muchas gracias a Allan Winn, Jr. por traducir durante nuestra conversación. Gracias por escuchar. Obtenga más información sobre George Washington y...2021-02-1830 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library195a. Offering George Washington a Royal Gift with Professor José Emilio YanesIn 1784, King Charles III of Spain sent George Washington a token of his esteem. Knowing that Washington had long sought a Spanish donkey for his Mount Vernon estate, the king permitted a jack to be exported to the new United States. Washington named the donkey Royal Gift in recognition of its royal origin, and the donkey became somewhat of a minor celebrity when he disembarked from his ship in 1785. As it turns out, Spanish jacks like Royal Gift were highly prized animals in the Atlantic world. And in this case the Spanish, who had supported the United...2021-02-1843 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library194. Building Digital History Projects at the Washington Library with the ITPS InternsOne of the most important things we’re able to do at the Center for Digital History is offer internships to college students. Working with students allows us to move our projects forward while giving them real world opportunities to do the kind of work that historians do, and development skills that will hopefully serve them well later in life. Now, we’ve talked about our internship program on the show before – you might recall our chat with Jamie Morris of Washington College – and today you’ll get to hear from three excellent students who joined our...2021-02-0542 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library193. Rifling through Washington's Receipts with Dr. Julie MillerTake a receipt out of your pocket. What does it say about you? Receipts can tell us a lot about people and the world in which they lived. And George Washington kept receipts. On today’s show, Dr. Julie Miller joins Jim Ambuske to discuss the hidden lives we can find in Washington’s receipts and similar documents. Dr. Miller is a historian and the Curator of Early American Manuscripts at the Library of Congress, where she oversees a vast array of archival material, including Washington Papers. She’s also one of the forces behind the Li...2021-01-2153 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential LibraryThrowing a Change-Up at the Washington Library with Jim AmbuskeWe wanted to let you know of some exciting changes we’ll be making to the podcast that will allow you to hear more from groundbreaking historians and scholars in new ways. Beginning today, Conversations at the Washington Library is moving to an every other week schedule. That means no new episode this week, but we’ll be back on January 21, 2021 with my chat with Julie Miller of the Library of Congress about the hidden lives in George Washington’s papers. Now, why are we making this change? As you may know, since the be...2021-01-1401 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library192. Drinking Washington's Whiskey with Drew HannushFor many people, one of life’s great joys is a lovely dram of whiskey. Whether you’re a fan of Kentucky Bourbon, Single-malt Scotches, Japanese or Tennessee whiskey, every glass tells a story or contains memories that connect drinkers to different places, and different times. For Jim Ambuske, a dram of Cragganmore 12 instantly takes him back to Edinburgh, where he's spent many months hunting American Revolutionaries in the archives. But like most folks, he knows less about the stories behind the whiskies than I would like. That’s where Drew Hannush comes in. On today’s show, you’ll meet Dre...2021-01-0744 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library190. (Recast) The Only Unavoidable Subject of Regret with Mary Thompson: Part 1Forty years ago, Mary V. Thompson began her career at Mount Vernon as a museum attendant and history interpreter. She was quickly promoted to Curatorial Assistant, and within a few short years was named Curatorial Registrar, where she began researching numerous Washington and Mount Vernon related topics such as 18th-century foodways, animals, religion, Native Americans, genealogy, domestic life, & slavery. Today, she is the Washington Library’s indispensable Research Historian, and as many of our listeners no doubt know, she is the go to person for all things Mount Vernon and Washington. In celebration of Mary’s 40...2020-12-3131 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library191. (Recast) The Only Unavoidable Subject of Regret with Mary Thompson: Part 2This is Part Two of Jim Ambuske's July 2019 chat with Washington Library Research Historian Mary V. Thompson. We’re recasting it in celebration of her 40th anniversary at Mount Vernon. If you missed Part One, please do give it a listen. Happy New Year to you all. About Our Guest: Mary V. Thompson is a long-time (38 year) member of the staff at Mount Vernon, where she is now the Research Historian. She is the author of In the Hands of a Good Providence: Religion in the Life of George Washington, A Short Biography of Ma...2020-12-3140 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library186. Exploring New Frontiers in Early American History with Alexi Garrett, Michael Blaakman, Derek O’Leary, and Krysten BlackstoneIn the eighteenth century, Benjamin Franklin and other early Americans likened themselves to a rising people who were creating something new under the sun. It’s fair to say that historians have a similar mindset: we’re constantly striving to uncover new evidence, make new arguments, and offer new interpretations that help us better explain the past. So on today’s show, we’re going to introduce you to just a few among a rising generation of historians who are doing cutting edge work in early American history. Recently, the Washington Library partnered with the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jeff...2020-12-031h 34
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library185. Seeking a City of Refuge in the Great Dismal Swamp with Marcus P. NeviusThe Great Dismal Swamp is a remarkable feature of the southern coastal plain. Spanning from Norfolk, Virginia to Elizabeth City, North Carolina, the Swamp is now a National Wildlife Refuge home to Bald cypress, black bears, otters, and over 200 species of birds, among many other critters. But in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it was the home to the ambitions of planters and businessmen who sought to transform the swamp into a plantation enterprise of rice, timber, and other commodities. It was also home to the enslaved individuals who labored to make those dreams a reality. 2020-11-1952 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library2020 George Washington Symposium AnnouncementElections that Shaped the American Presidency To learn more and to register, please visit: www.mountvernon.org/gwsymposium As our nation approaches its next presidential election, the 2020 George Washington Symposium focuses on several pivotal contests throughout American history that shaped and defined the election process and the American Presidency. Each day at noon during the week of October 26-30, we will feature a LIVE conversation with an eminent scholar to explore elections during Washington’s lifetime and key elections that followed, including those from the Civil War era, the depths of the Great Depression, and th...2020-10-1901 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library180. Reading Letters by Early American Women with Kathryn GehredIf you pull any decent history book off your shelf right now, odds are that it’s filled with quotes from letters, diaries, or account books that help the author tell her story and provide the evidence for her interpretation of the past. It’s almost always the case that the quotation you read in a book is just one snippet of a much longer document. Perhaps, for example, Catharine Greene’s letters to her husband Nathanael offer the reader insight into some aspect of the family business she was running while Nathanael served in the southern theate...2020-10-151h 04
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library178. Digitally Interning at the Washington Library with Jamie MorrisThe Washington Library's Center for Digital History often collaborates with students to advance its research and public history projects. That can take many forms. We work regularly with faculty to integrate our digital projects into their course assignments, on other occasions we deliver lectures to students about digital history or some aspect of eighteenth-century history, and we’re also fortunate to work with student interns throughout the year who assist with our projects while they gain practical, real world experience in the historical profession. On today’s episode, we’re excited to bring you a chat with Jamie M...2020-10-0131 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library173. Tracing the History of the Syphax Family with Steve Hammond and Brenda ParkerThe Syphax Family has deep historic ties to Mount Vernon and other sites of enslavement in Virginia. In 1821, Charles Syphax, an enslaved man at Arlington House in Northern Virginia, married Maria Carter, the daughter of a woman enslaved at Mount Vernon. Charles was the inherited property of George Washington Parke Custis, Martha Washington’s grandson. And there is very strong evidence that the woman that Charles married, Maria, was Custis’s daughter. On today’s episode, you’ll learn more about the fascinating history of the Syphax Family and its connections to Mount Vernon from Steve Ha...2020-08-271h 05
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library172. Exploring White Women as Slave Owners in the American South with Stephanie Jones-RogersIt’s easy to think of slave holding as a male profession. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and countless other men are often the names that come to mind when we think about early Americans who held other people in bondage. But white women, especially in the American South, were equally invested in slavery as owners in human property. A new generation of historians is helping us to understand why and how. One such scholar is Dr. Stephanie Jones-Rogers of the University California-Berkeley. She is the author of the new book, They Were Her Pr...2020-08-201h 02
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library171. Reinterpreting Mary Ball Washington with Karin Wulf, Martha Saxton, Craig Shirley, and Charlene Boyer LewisOn today's show, we bring you the audio from our annual Martha Washington Lecture. This year's topic was Mary Ball Washington, George's mother, and the recent work by historians to rethink what we know about her life. Dr. Karin Wulf, executive director of the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, served as our guest moderator for this event. She was joined on the virtual stage by Martha Saxon, a 2020 George Washington Book Prize Finalist for her work, The Widow Washington: The Life of Mary Washington (2019); Craig Shirley, author of Mary Ball Washington: The Untold Story of George W...2020-08-131h 10
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library168. Mining King George III's Papers with Zara Anishanslin and Arthur BurnsWhile work continues on the podcast's upcoming Season 5, we’re pleased to offer you another summer interlude. For today’s show, we bring you the audio version of Jim Ambuske's recent live stream chat with Professors Zara Anishanslin and Arthur Burns about the Georgian Papers Programme. Now, most of you probably know that some Americans had a little - shall we say – disagreement with King George III two centuries ago. Something about taxation, tea, and tyranny. But did you know that researchers, librarians, and digital humanists on both sides of the pond are busy di...2020-07-231h 13
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library167. Reconstructing the Indian World of George Washington with Colin CallowayWeek 3 of our summer hiatus is another opportunity to bring you a fascinating look at early America courtesy of some of our recent live stream programming. On today’s show, we bring you Library Executive Director Kevin Butterfield’s conversation with 2019 George Washington Book Prize winner, Dr. Colin Calloway. Calloway is 1943 Professor of History and Professor of Native American Studies at Dartmouth University. He won last year’s Book prize for his latest work, The Indian World of George Washington: The First President, the First Peoples, and the Birth of the Nation. It’s the definiti...2020-07-161h 10
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library166. Mobilizing the Will of the People with T. H. BreenWe're excited to bring you Season 5 of Conversations at the Washington Library in a few short weeks. But in the meantime we’ll keep you entertained as promised. Today, we bring you the audio version of Executive Director Kevin Butterfield’s recent live stream with Dr. T.H. Breen. Breen is the William Smith Mason Professor of History emeritus at Northwestern University. He has been a leading scholar of colonial America and the Revolution for the past several decades, and long has been interested in the ordinary, everyday folk who inhabited this world. Bree...2020-07-091h 04
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library163. Returning to Lives Bound Together on Juneteenth with Jessie MacLeodThis Friday marks the anniversary of Juneteenth, the holiday that commemorates the moment on June 19, 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas learned they were freed by Emancipation Proclamation and the Confederacy’s defeat in the Civil War. It is also known as Freedom Day or Liberation Day. To celebrate, Brenda Parker, Mount Vernon Character Interpreter & African American Interpretation & Special Projects Coordinator, will perform Freedom Skies, a special Live Stream event on Juneteenth focused on the experiences of four individuals at Mount Vernon on Manumission Day—January 1, 1801—when Martha Washington freed the late George Washington’s enslaved people. You...2020-06-1852 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library162. Ending Washington's Life with Jonathan HornIn March 1797, newly-inaugurated president John Adams thought he detected a glint of joy in George Washington’s eyes as the aging Virginian stepped off the world stage. Adams told his wife Abigail it was as if Washington was thinking, “I am fairly out and you fairly in! see which of Us will be happiest.” The first president had grown tired of the partisan rancor that plagued his second term and longed to sit under his own vine and fig tree at Mount Vernon in peace. But Washington’s vision of a tranquil retirement was not to be. In the l...2020-06-1147 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library156. Making a Pilgrimage to Washington's Tomb with Matthew CostelloIn December 1799, George Washington died after a short illness. His body and his legacy quickly became fodder for nineteenth century Americans – free and enslaved – who were struggling to make sense of what it meant to be an American as well as the nation’s identity. Americans across the divide used Washington and his memory to advance various political and economic interests. Some, like Federalists, yoked their political fortunes and their belief in a strong central government to Washington’s legacy, much to the abhorrence of Jeffersonian Republicans, who championed the yeoman farmer and a smaller federal...2020-04-3055 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library152. Creating George Washington's Cabinet with Lindsay ChervinskyThere are many things that we take for granted in the modern United States. The president’s cabinet is one of them. Although the cabinet is a prominent fixture of the federal government, and a powerful and essential one at that, it has no foundation in the Constitution. The Framer’s discussed the idea of a cabinet at the Constitutional Convention, but they ultimately rejected it and left it on the cutting room floor. Yet, despite the fact that the cabinet has no Constitutional origin, it does have a historical one. On today’s epis...2020-04-0250 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library150. Teaching Online in a Time of Covid-19 with Sadie TroyIt's mid-March 2020 and chances are you're listening to this episode from the comfort of your home as you practice social distancing. Over the past few weeks many schools and businesses has suspended public operations and transitioned to an online environment in an effort to help limit the spread of the coronavirus, known as Covid-19. While the Washington Library and Mount Vernon may temporarily be closed to the public as well, that doesn't mean we're not hard at work doing what we can to help students, teachers, and scholars make the most of this uncertain time. We've created a...2020-03-1941 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library147. Setting the Table for the American Cincinnatus with Ron FuchsIn 1784, Revolutionary War veteran Samuel Shaw set sail on the Empress of China destined for the city of Canton, or Guangzhou, in southern China. Shaw was a Boston native who served under Major General Henry Knox during the War for Independence. He also became one of the founding members of the Society of the Cincinnati, a hereditary, and at times controversial, organization made up of American and French officers who served in the Continental Army during the war. George Washington served as the society’s president from 1783 to 1799. Shaw went to China acting on...2020-02-2749 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library146. Doing Public History at Mount Vernon with Jeanette PatrickLike many folks around the country, you might have spent the last three evenings watching Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Washington documentary series on the History Channel. Documentaries are a form of public history, which we might define loosely as making historical knowledge available and accessible for the public’s benefit. At Mount Vernon, we think about how to do this work a great deal. How can we create frameworks for public understanding of the past that balances expertise with accessibility? On today’s episode, Jeanette Patrick discusses her efforts to make the Washingtons, Mount...2020-02-2035 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library144. Sizing Up the Thigh Men of Dad History with Alexis CoeThe modern biography as we know it dates to the eighteenth century when Scottish author and lawyer James Boswell published The Life of Samuel Johnson. Boswell produced an account of the rascally Englishman, a friend of his for more than twenty years, that became a kind of template that future biographers have followed. We've all read our fair share of biographies, especially presidential biographies, to know that they follow a similar structure. This is especially true of biographies of the American Revolutionary generation. So how can we shake up this genre? And perhaps more importantly...2020-02-0655 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library142. Plotting against General Washington with Mark Edward LenderIn late 1777, George Washington’s disappointing performance as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army was a source of growing concern among some army officers and members of Congress. While he had won important victories at Princeton and Trenton months earlier, he had lost New York City, and Philadelphia, and suffered defeats at Brandywine and Germantown. Patriots intended to win the war, not lose it. And to win it, some came to believe that Washington ought to be removed from power, or at least his authority weakened. On today’s episode, Dr. Mark Edward Lender joins Jim Ambuske to discu...2020-01-2356 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library139. Harnessing the Power of Washington's Genealogy with Karin WulfEarly Americans like George Washington obsessed over genealogy. Much was at stake. One's place on the family tree could mean the difference between inheriting a plantation like Mount Vernon and its enslaved community, or working a patch of hardscrabble. Genealogy was very much a matter of custom, culture, and law, which explains in part why Washington composed a long-ignored document tracing his own lineage. It was as much a reflection of his family's past as it was a road map to his future power, wealth, and authority. On today's episode, Dr. Karin Wulf helps us understand the...2020-01-0248 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library137. Seeing the British Side of the American Revolution with Andrew O'ShaughnessyWhat does the American Revolution look like from a British vantage point? How does that change the way we think about the origins of the United States, and major figures such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, or George III? And in the new republic, how did Jefferson try to keep the revolution alive through his ideas on education. On today’s episode, Dr. Andrew O’Shaughnessy helps us explore these questions. O’Shaughnessy is a historian of the American Revolution. He is also the Saunders Director of the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studie...2019-12-1950 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library128. Digitizing the Constitution with Julie SilverbrookThe word “impeachment” is in the air these days. Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a website to find information about what the Constitution’s framers thought about impeachment or any other Constitutional issue. Well, The Constitutional Sources Project is the place for you. The project, called ConSource for short, is a Washington, D.C.-based initiative to digitize and transcribe the documents that shaped the Federal Constitution, and increase our historical literacy. On today’s episode, you’ll hear from Julie Silverbrook, ConSource’s executive director. Julie is an attorney and she is lea...2019-10-1752 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library126. Entering a World of Paine with Harlow Giles UngerOn today’s show, veteran journalist and biographer Harlow Giles Unger talks to Jim Ambuske about revolutionary radical Thomas Paine, one of his predecessors in the newspaper business. He is the author of the new book, Thomas Paine and the Clarion Call for American Independence. It is the latest in a long line of Unger biographies about the founding generation. Unger reveals a fascinating character in Paine, a man who never met a revolution he didn’t like. He also shares with Ambuske about how his previous life as a journalist informs his appr...2019-10-0351 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library122. Making Sense of Murder in the Shenandoah with Jessica Lowe: Explorations in Early American Law Part 4On July 4, 1791, fifteen years after Americans declared independence, two men walked into a Virginia field. Only one walked out alive. John Crane, the son of an elite Virginia family, killed a man named Abraham Vanhorn after the two exchanged some heated words. Crane was arrested in the name of the law, but two decades earlier he would have been detained in the name of the king. Why does this change matter? And what does it have to tell us about how Virginians and other Americans remade their British identity into an American one in the...2019-09-0544 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library121. Interpreting George Washington's Constitution with Lindsay Chervinsky: Explorations in Early American Law Part 3In the fall of 1789, George Washington ordered a printed copy of the Constitution along with the laws passed by the First Federal Congress. A book binder bound the printed sheets in leather and added the words "President of the United States" to the front cover. Washington referred to the volume as the "Acts of Congress." Inside, he made a few short marginal notations next to key passages in the Constitution. You can see a digitized version of the Acts of Congress here. Why did Washington write in this book? And what can his brief scribbles tell us...2019-08-2959 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library120. Meeting Alexander Hamilton, Attorney at Law, with Kate Brown: Explorations in Early American Law Part 2We all know Alexander Hamilton for his service during the Revolutionary War, his tenure as the first Secretary of the Treasury, and his death at the hands of Aaron Burr. But have you met Alexander Hamilton, Attorney at Law? In Part 2 of our four-part exploration of early American law, Dr. Kate Elizabeth Brown of Western Kentucky University introduces us to a man who was as ferocious in the court room as he was battling Thomas Jefferson over the National Bank. And as Dr. Brown argues in her book, Alexander Hamilton and the Development of American Law, you can't separate...2019-08-2248 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library118. Finding George Washington in Scotland with Rachel HoskerHow did a George Washington letter find a home Scotland? In this episode of Conversations at the Washington Library, Jim Ambuske talks with Rachel Hosker, deputy head of special collections and archives manager at the University Edinburgh Library about a document that connects Washington to Adam Ferguson, one of the major figures of the Scottish Enlightenment. Recorded in Edinburgh at the library's Centre for Research Collections, Ambuske and Hosker also look over Washington's Political Legacies, a book published in New York in the months just after Washington's death. They also discuss Hosker's early fascination with manuscripts and rare books...2019-08-0839 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library115. The Only Unavoidable Subject of Regret with Mary Thompson: Part 2In this episode, Dr. Jim Ambuske continues his conversation with the Washington Library's Research Historian Mary V. Thompson to discuss her new book, "The Only Unavoidable Subject of Regret": George Washington, Slavery, and the Enslaved Community at Mount Vernon. Listen to Part 1 here. About Our Guest: Mary V. Thompson is a long-time (38 year) member of the staff at Mount Vernon, where she is now the Research Historian. She is the author of In the Hands of a Good Providence: Religion in the Life of George Washington, A Short Biography of Martha Washington, and "The Only Una...2019-07-1140 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library114. The Only Unavoidable Subject of Regret with Mary Thompson: Part 1In this episode Dr Jim Ambuske sits down with the Washington Librarys Research Historian Mary V Thompson to discuss her new book The Only Unavoidable Subject of Regret George Washington Slavery and the Enslaved Community at Mount Vernon. About Our Guest: Mary V. Thompson is a long-time (38 year) member of the staff at Mount Vernon, where she is now the Research Historian. She is the author of In the Hands of a Good Providence: Religion in the Life of George Washington, A Short Biography of Martha Washington, and "The Only Unavoidable Subject of Reg...2019-07-0430 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library111. Aboard the USS George Washington In this episode Dr Douglas Bradburn sits down with Captain Glenn Jamison Captain Daryle D Cardone and Command Master Chief Maurice Coffey of the USS George Washington on location at the aircraft carrier.2019-06-1325 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library105. Buried LivesIn this episode, Dr Kevin C. Butterfield sits down with Carla McClafferty author of the book, Buried Lives The Enslaved People of George Washington's Mount Vernon. For more information check out our website www.mountvernon.org/podcast.2019-05-0226 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library98. Listener Questions!In this episode, Anthony King sits down with Dr. Joe Stoltz, Co-Director of the George Washington Leadership Institute at Mount Vernon, and Dr. Dana Stefanelli, Assistant Editor for the Papers of George Washington Project for to answer submitted listener questions about George Washington, the Revolutionary War, and the founding era. For more information check out our website at www.mountvernon.org/podcast.2019-03-1431 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library95. A Toast To George WashingtonIn this episode, Dr. Joseph Stoltz sits down again with Steve Bashore, the Director of Historic Trades at George Washington's Mount Vernon, to further discuss the whiskey production on-site. For more information check out our website at www.mountvernon.org/podcast.2019-02-2134 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library92. Researching at the Washington LibraryIn this episode, Anthony King sits down with Samantha Snyder, Access Services Librarian at the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon, to discuss the research operations at the Library as well how people can visit for their own research purposes. For more information check out our website at www.mountvernon.org/podcast.2019-01-3126 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library90. Growing Up At Mount VernonIn this episode, Dr. Joseph Stoltz sits down with Cassandra Good, former Library research fellow and Assistant Professor of History at Marymount University, to discuss her latest research on George Washington's step-grandchildren and their lives at Mount Vernon. For more information check out our website at www.mountvernon.org/podcast.2019-01-1733 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library88. Funding Mount VernonIn this episode, Dr. Joseph Stoltz sits down with Joe Bondi, the Senior Vice President of Development at George Washington's Mount Vernon. The two discuss the challenges and processes behind fundraising for the various projects that keep Mount Vernon running. For more information check out our website at www.mountvernon.org/podcast.2019-01-0335 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library87. Lives Bound TogetherIn this episode, Dr. Joseph Stoltz sits down with Jessie MacLeod, Associate Curator here at George Washington's Mount Vernon. The two discuss the behind-the-scenes details that went into creating the acclaimed exhibition, Lives Bound Together: Slavery at George Washington's Mount Vernon. For more information check out our website at www.mountvernon.org/podcast.2018-12-2738 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library82. Thanks-GivingIn this episode, Dr. Joseph Stoltz sits down with Anthony King, Library Projects Assistant at George Washington's Mount Vernon and co-producer/sound engineer of the Conversations at the Washington Library Podcast. The two reflect on the previous year recording the podcast since they took administrative and creative control over the series. From all of us here at Mount Vernon, have a happy Thanksgiving! For more information check out our website at www.mountvernon.org/podcast. 2018-11-2226 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library78. Jack-O'-Lanterns, George, and Sheep's Blood: Halloween at Mount VernonIn this episode, we take a spook-tacular tour of Mount Vernon's history, featuring stories and voices from across the ages. Happy Halloween from all of us here at Mount Vernon! For more information check out our website at www.mountvernon.org/podcast.2018-10-2522 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library76. 'A Deserving Brother': George Washington And FreemasonryIn this episode, Dr. Kevin C. Butterfield sits down with Washington Library research fellow Mark Tabbert to discuss his latest research regarding George Washington and his membership in/relationship with Freemasonry. For more information check out our website www.mountvernon.org/podcast.2018-10-1130 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library75. Happy Birthday Washington Library!In this episode, to celebrate the five-year anniversary of the opening of the Washington Library, current Executive Director Dr. Kevin C. Butterfield sits down with Dr. Douglas Bradburn, the former Founding Director of the Library and now President and C.E.O. of George Washington's Mount Vernon. The two discuss the highlights of the Library's history, the important events and acquisitions, as well as the future of the facility. For more information check out our website at www.mountvernon.org/podcast.2018-10-0439 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library74. Rain Makes Corn, George Makes Whiskey!In this episode, Dr. Joseph Stoltz sits down with Steve Bashore, the Director of Historic Trades at George Washington's Mount Vernon. The two discuss the history and operations at the Distillery & Gristmill, including the popular line of whiskey products produced on-site. For more information check out our website at www.mountvernon.org/podcast.2018-09-2733 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library69. The Lakota Values and George WashingtonIn this episode, Mount Vernon's Vice President of Education Allison Wickens sits down with Valerie Shull, a 23-year veteran teacher of the Douglas School District in Box Elder, South Dakota and current Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings educator for the Rapid City Area Schools in Rapid City, South Dakota. In their conversation, they discuss Shull's time at Mount Vernon as a teacher fellow as well as her main research project, connecting the Lakota Values with George Washington. For more information check out our website at www.mountvernon.org/podcast.2018-08-2335 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library66. How Do I Reach These Kids?In this episode, Dr. Joseph Stoltz sits down with Allison Wickens, Vice President of Education at George Washington's Mount Vernon. For more information check out our website at www.mountvernon.org/podcast.2018-08-0232 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library65. George Washington: Master FarmerIn this episode, Dr. Joseph Stoltz sits down with Sam Murphy, Manager of Historic Trades at George Washington's Mount Vernon. For more information check out our website at www.mountvernon.org/podcast.2018-07-2630 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library64. Who Interprets History?In this episode, Dr. Joseph Stoltz sits down with Jeremy Ray, Manager of History Interpretation at George Washington's Mount Vernon. For more information check our website at www.mountvernon.org/podcast.2018-07-1935 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library61. Reflections on a Historian's LifetimeIn this episode, Dr. Gordon Wood sits down with Dr. Douglas Bradburn, the President and C.E.O. of George Washington's Mount Vernon, to discuss Dr. Wood's fifty-three year career as a historian of early America. For more information check out our website at www.mountvernon.org/podcast.2018-07-0434 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library60. Friends Divided: John Adams and Thomas JeffersonIn this episode, Dr. Gordon Wood sits down with Dr. Douglas Bradburn, the President and C.E.O. of George Washington's Mount Vernon, to discuss Dr. Wood's new book, Friends Divided: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. For more information check out our website at www.mountvernon.org/podcast.2018-07-0428 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library59. Revolution Song: A Story of American FreedomIn this episode, Dr. Douglas Bradburn, the President and C.E.O. of George Washington's Mount Vernon, sits down with author Russell Shorto to discuss his monumental new book, Revolution Song: A Story of American Freedom. For more information check out our website www.mountvernon.org/podcast.2018-07-0433 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library53. How To "Be Washington"In this episode, Dr. Joseph Stoltz sits down with Matt Briney, the Vice President of New Media at George Washington's Mount Vernon, and Joseph Cortina, the founding partner of Cortina Productions, to discuss the new interactive experience, Be Washington: It's Your Turn To Lead. For more information check out our website at www.mountvernon.org/podcast.2018-07-0435 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library50. Patrick Henry And Jefferson TooIn this episode, Dr. Douglas Bradburn, the President and C.E.O. of George Washington's Mount Vernon, sits down with Dr. Jon Kukla to discuss his book, Patrick Henry: Champion of Liberty. For more information check out our website at www.mountvernon.org/podcast.2018-06-2948 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library37. Lydia BrandtDr. Lydia Brandt is Assistant Professor of Art History at the University of South Carolina, where she teaches the history of American art and architecture as well as methods of historic preservation. She was a member of the inaugural class of fellows at the Washington Library; the work she did during that time led to the publication of her first book, "First in the Homes of His Countrymen: George Washington's Mount Vernon in the American Imagination," in 2016. She discusses how replicas and imitations of Washington's estate have risen in popularity throughout history and how the home became and American Icon...2017-07-2346 min
Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library28. Bruce RagsdaleDr. Bruce Ragsdale has served as director of the Federal Judicial History Office at the Federal Judicial Center and as an associate historian at the U.S. House of Representatives. He was also a fellow at the Washington Library during the 2014-15 academic year and was the recipient of the James C. Rees Entrepreneurship Fellowship. Dr. Ragsdale discusses his work studying George Washington’s agricultural entrepreneurship, including Washington’s interest in the continual improvement of his farms at Mount Vernon.2016-07-2557 min