"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. "
- John Adams
Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories.
- Thomas Jefferson
Hey guys... 233 Years and Counting...
For Valentine's Day, I thought it would be clever to write my wife a love letter/poem using the words from some of our greatest couples. So I did some research to see what I could come up with. I was pleased to find a variety of resources online that had primary sources and transcripts of letters written from soldiers, presidents and first ladies.
John and Abigail Adams
The first letters I attempted to find were those from John and Abigail Adams. As was the custom in those times, both John and Abigail chose pen names. John was Lysander, a Spartan war hero. Abigail at first was Diana, the Goddess of the moon, but later used the name Portia, the wife of Brutus a great Roman politician. Below is a letter from Abigail to her "Dearest Friend" John, from December 23, 1782.
See more letters and more information about John and Abigail below: http://www.libraryonline.com/default.asp?pID=57…should I draw you the picture of my Heart, it would be what I hope you
still would Love; tho it contained nothing new; the early possession you
obtained there; and the absolute power you have ever maintained over it; leaves
not the smallest space unoccupied.
Abraham Lincoln
Nothing would make me more miserable than to believe you miserable – nothing
more happy, than to know you were so... ...If it suits you best to not
answer this farewell – a long life and a merry one attend you.
In 1791, in a quaint Philadelphia town house near Sixth and Market Streets, just a short walk from Chestnut Street where his congress would meet, President George Washington approved a plan to move the nation's capital to an undeveloped plain of undulating hills along the Potomac River. Coincidentally, this new plan would place the president's house and Congress over a mile apart. But with the hiring of Peter Charles L'Enfant, that mile and the rest of the 10-square mile plot would become one of the grandest cities this nation will ever see.
I had never thought much about Washington, D.C. I understand its importance. I've stood on Pennsylvania Avenue, in awe of the White House. I've seen the reflection pool and pictured Martin Luther King proudly shouting "I have a dream!". I've seen the Washington monument and thought of "the republic for which it stands". But I had never given thought to the blank canvas that existed on the banks of the Potomac River a little more than 200 years ago and the planning and work that had gone into creating it. Until now.
Washington Burning by Les Standiford
What starts out as a story of the building of our capital city becomes an excellent account of history and the roller-coaster life of the cities original designer, P. Charles L'Enfant.
L'Enfant is a very curious character, one who in my opinion deserves way more recognition in American history than he's received. His visions of grandeur, as expensive as they may be, eventually do come to fruition under the tutelage of other designers. L'Enfant's life seems to parallel the ebb and flow of the making of the city, it's demise during the War of 1812 and it's eventual resurgence.
Standiford has a knack for helping the reader to visualize the correspondence between the rotating architects commissioned to finish the job L'Enfant started, and each of the founding fathers who had a say in the city's planning. His ability to describe war movements and the "what if's" in history compare to Michael Shaara's account of Gettysburg in The Killer Angels
Each chapter is a small vignette of the history of the making of Washington D.C.. Standiford often goes into great detail, demonstrating his ability to research and describe only what is most important. Washington Burning brings out great stories of George Washington, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson and James & Dolly Madison. The intimacy of these stories and those of some lesser known characters make Washington Burning a great read.
For more information about the author Les Standiford, you can visit his website at
http://www.les-standiford.com/, or read his blog.
Here is a link to the book on Amazon.com if you're interested in purchasing it.
Notes:
In doing some of my own research on the topic I came across this website, which is a well written account Washington's history by Bob Arnebeck: http://www.geocities.com/bobarnebeck/introduction.html
And if you're super curious, like me, and you're wondering how Washington D.C. got it's name. Then you can check out this link by Arnebeck who describes the christening well: http://www.geocities.com/bobarnebeck/name.html
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Thomas Paine and Lewis and Clark. Each of these men owe a great deal of their success to a lesser known man named Benjamin Rush.
Each and every one of the aforementioned characters was aided in one way shape or form by Dr. Benjamin Rush.
In 1813, at the time of his death, Dr. Benjamin Rush was arguably one of America’s three most notable men, George Washington and Ben Franklin being the others. Rush was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, he served under 3 presidents, founded five colleges, and trained thousandas of medical students.
In June 1776, he was appointed to represent Philadelphia at the Continental Congress. He later became the physician-general of the Continental Army, where he campaigned for the removal of George Washington as the Army General, after a series of defeats. He later expressed regret for his actions. Washington and Rush were not the best of friends...
Read more about the conversations between George Washington and Benjamin Rush.
Rush is most famous, however, for helping to reconcile the friendship of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.
Dr. Rush did not align himself with either party. His ecumenical approach to politics allowed him to foster relationships with men from both parties, and kept him employed under three different Presidents of varying political beliefs. Thus, Rush was friendly with both Jefferson and Adams.
Rush's efforts would eventually help to reconcile differences between the two great minds. Our good friend Hercules Mulligan of the Foundation Forum puts it best on his blog entry: The Dream of Benjamin Rush. Why reinvent the wheel? Read his post, after finishing mine of course.
Rush also played an important role in the creation of one of America's most influential and inspiring documents, the pro-independence Common Sense. Rush consulted Thomas Paine on the writing of the document.
Thomas Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis to Philadelphia to meet with Dr. Rush with the hope of preparing them for their great exploration. Rush taught Lewis about many of the illnesses he would encounter in the frontier as well as a crash course on bloodletting. Rush provided the expedition crew with a medical kit which included laxatives that contained mercury. As it turns out, these laxatives came in very handy as the lack of clean water and the diet heavy in meat caused the corps to use the pills often.
Incidentally, the large traces of mercury in the crews' feces have allowed scientists and archaeologists to trace more closely the actual route blazed by Lewis and Clark.
All this said, I'm proud to be a founding teacher of a brand new high school in the Philadelphia School District named none other than: The Arts Academy @ Benjamin Rush.
I'm very fortunate to be a part of this once in a lifetime opportunity of building a high school from the ground up... from the mission statement to graduation. I can't wait to get started.
If anyone out there has any experience in a brand new school... and I mean brand new, first time opened... please share some pointers.
For more information about Benjamin Rush, visit:
Benjamin Rush: Patriot and Physician
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Rush
You shouldn't have any trouble finding information about Rush. Rush wrote over 2,000 pages of published letters and essays, in addition to hundreds of unpublished papers. His works are scattered around the world and can be found in both public and private collections.
Here are just a few of his selected writings.
The results are in from the first USHistorySite Survey... after 50 votes, Teddy Roosevelt is our winner taking 44% of the vote.
The lines are now open for suggestions for the next survey.
HBO brought to life the pageantry and showiness of 18th Century France, with all its pomp and formalities. A far cry from the brash nature of John Adams and his more simple life from Braintree, Massachusetts. Suffice it to say, Adams was out of place in Paris. He himself said that he was unsuitably "accoutered" to be in the company of such opulence.
Sent to France, with Benjamin Franklin, to present to Louis XVI a proposition of a treaty to defeat the British together, Adams often felt as if he was alone in this endeavor.
"The longer I live in Europe and the more I consider our affairs, the more important our alliance with France appears to me", Adams wrote in his diary. Though upon his arrival, as alluded to in HBO's series, to his astonishment France and the United States had already formed an alliance. It was after the victory at Saratoga that France agreed that this fight was winnable and agreed that...
"If War should break out between France and Great Britain, during the continuance of the present War between the United States and England, his Majesty and the said united States, shall make it a common cause, and aid each other mutually with their good Offices, their Counsels, and their forces, according to the exigence of Conjunctures as becomes good & faithful Allies"
:"There was no news from Congress, no news of the war at home, which was a formidable a problem as any. Dispatches from Philadelphia that evaded capture at sea took at least six weeks to reach Paris under ideal sailing conditions. The great distance separating America from Europe, the inevitable long delay in any communications with Congress, or worse, the complete lack of communication for months at a stretch, would plaque both Franklin and Adams their whole time in Europe, and put them at a decided disadvantage in dealing with European ministers, who maintained far closer, more efficient contact."
Franklin's aloofness furthered the tension between he and Adams. Though what Franklin lacked in awareness, he made up for with his respect from the French people.
Just some quick thoughts on Part 2 of the HBO miniseries. HBO did run this back to back with Part 1 last week, luring people with the excitement of 2 full hours of drama.
Part 2, entitled Independence, picks up at the First Continental Congress. I'm paralleling my reading of McCullough's John Adams with the mini-series and notice that HBO has decided to take what Adams wrote in his journals and use it in the dialog in Adams' conversations. It's a much better strategy than that of a voice over, which to me can be a distraction.
Once again, many great events in American history are referenced and not highlighted, and for good reason. It must be noted that these are the trials and tribulations of John Adams and not an overview of the Revolution, and thus Lexington and Concord warrants only a mention in passing. So if you're wondering when you're going to see George Washington at Valley Forge, you won't.. but pay attention, it is alluded to.
Another observation I found curious was the editing of Jefferson's version of the Declaration of Independence. In the past, I've seen it as being picked apart by many of the Delegates in front of the entire Congress. Director, Tom Hooper, has decided that it was edited in private by Adams, Ben Franklin and Jefferson at Jefferson's apartment. Like the image to the left. This idea would fit to be more realistic as it was a document that had not yet been presented in any way, shape or form to the Congress, and it would seem that it should be perfected before doing so.
The final vote for Independence, which required a unanimous decision was very well done, though not as dramatic as the one I'm more familiar with in the musical 1776. But on that note, the reading of the Declaration of Independence is effectively passionate, as it starts with John Hancock, President of the Congress, and moves to Adams' daughter reading amongst Abigail and her siblings, and then to an assembly in front of the Pennsylvania State House (now known as Independence Hall).
The voting and the reading of the Declaration of Independence can be effective if shown in class. Especially if followed with 'The Price They Paid', which is a reading about what happened to the 56 delegates after signing the Declaration. I also challenged my students to take it even a step further to see if they could prove if all the stories about the Delegates were true. They're not all true... See for yourself.
HBO's John Adams debuted Sunday night, and I must say I was impressed. I worked with Comcast to finagle HBO for free for a 6 months. I had to buy all the channels in the 100s to do so, but I worked that to only be $4/month, and it includes the Do It Yourself (DIY) Network, which is well worth the $4 alone. All it took was to say NO to their first 3 offers.
Though I don't encourage showing an unguided movie in class, I do encourage the use of a film like John Adams to enhance the learning. That said, Part 1, entitled 'Join or Die' contains an excellent portrayal of the Boston Massacre and all of the indecision and doubt that surrounded the trial. For about minutes, HBO took you through the "riot", the reaction from the Colony, the decision for Adams to defend Captain Preston and the soldiers and finally the trial.
Done succinctly and with very little off topic tangents, it would be of good use in a US History class discussing the Boston Massacre and how it catapulted Adams into the spotlight and further ripped the seam between the Colonies and the King. It would also serve the purpose of a government class, exemplifying the "innocent until proven guilty" mantra as well as the emphasis of "facts and evidence" as clearly stated by Adams.
In addition to the Boston Massacre, part 1 alludes to the Boston Tea Party, the Intolerable Acts and concludes with Adams being selected to attend the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia.
Here is HBO's recap of episode one: http://www.hbo.com/films/johnadams/. It's cool and interactive. Heck, use this in class. Then show bits of the film. If you've got a DVD recorder show it now... it's for education... copyright? bahumbug!!!
Laura Linney is great and the guy who plays John Dickinson is impressive as well. George Washington, is played by the usually familiar face of David Morse (Green Mile, Hack), who incidentally was born in Massachusetts, Adam's "country".
If this film does anything it changes my perception of John Adams only in as much as how he looks and talks. I'm a big fan of the movie 1776, where Adams is portrayed brilliantly by William Daniels (aka Mr. Feeny from Boy Meets World, Dr. Craig from St. Elsewhere and of course... the voice of K.I.T.T from Knight Rider).
For your pleasure I've included an excerpt from 1776, to give you an idea of how I used to view John Adams... Paul Giamatti might just be good enough to change my mind. Can't wait for Sunday night.
As a blogger of US History I get a lot of people sending me information hoping I'll promote it here on my blog. Some of it I read, and figure it doesn't apply, others are more appropriate.
"I thought that you might be interested in the recent HUP book,
MY DEAREST FRIEND: Letters of Abigail and John Adams Edited by Margaret A. Hogan and C. James Taylor of the Massachusetts Historical Society.
Soon to be featured in the March 2008 HBO miniseries, these letters not only detail the courtship and long marriage of a prominent presidential couple,they also offer keen observations and articulate commentary on world events at a critical time in American history.
If you think your readers may be interested in learning more about this famous couple, we welcome you to use—for free—the following features that we’ve created for MY DEAREST FRIEND."
And... I do think my readers would be interested. Because this one is very appropriate... for several reasons...
The second reason is the upcoming HBO Miniseries on John Adams starring Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney as John and Abigail. Though I don't have HBO I have toyed with the idea of getting it for one month to watch the 7 part miniseries, which starts Sunday, March 16 at 8pm. Don't know if Comcast would do that....So there you have it...
I inquired to HUP about sending me the book to review it here... I haven't heard back. But would surely be interested. There has been one book I was sent to review called California Justice. You can read that review here. I will be highlighting several of the stories from the book in the future. Coincidentally, my review didn't bring justice to the book. I was busy and owe the publisher another shot...
PS - Thank you to all of those who have signed up for my feed. I created the link late last night and got 14 subscribers after day one. Thanks for reading. Please comment, I'd like to know who my readers are...
PSS - And if you're a publisher.. I'm always up for a good read.
I'm a few days late with this one...but I was busy... with a new house and some handy work to be done, we can't always be on time for something we're not paid to do....
Here is a great site describing and validating Adams' last words via first hand accounts from the woman who was with him during his passing and from a diary from his son John Quincy Adams.
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