This George Washington movie is based on the biography of Washington written by James Thomas Flexner. Flexner was the first to unmask and bring to real life the man that so many Americans consider the indispensable man, the only man who could have been the first President of our new nation.
It was not inevitable at that time that this new nation, "conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal", that we would survive even for a decade, let alone for over 200 years. It was Washington who brought us to the point that we could even have a President, and it was Washington who most expected to be our first President. And as President he held it all together for the first eight years of our Republic. And for that we should be grateful and we should honor him; with a national holiday in my opinion, but who am I.
After his retirement from public service he was monetarily poorer for the experience, but rich with the appreciation of his fellow countrymen. He lived only a few more years, spending the rest of his days at Mount Vernon doing what he loved best; playing cards, backgammon, and billiards. He also attended to his farming and to his new distillery. And on occasion he would entertain guests, as was a great honor to visit the former President and General at Mount Vernon.
Then the end came too soon. He caught a bad cold while out riding on his land. The best doctors in the land bleed him and did all that they could for him, but he continued to get weaker and weaker despite their effort. He died at home on December 14, 1799 with his loved ones beside him. His last words were, "Tis well", but it was not, at least for him it was not. But it was well for his country, a country that he spent most of his lifetime nurturing like a Father would nurture his only son. He had no children, so perhaps it is fitting that he is known as the Father of his country, of our country.
jbranstetter04
Continuing the story of George Washington the mini-series from two years earlier is George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation. Taken again from that most accessible and readable of Washington biographies by James Thomas Flexner, this series deals with Washington as our first president under the new Constitution.
Barry Bostwick and Patty Duke continue with their roles as George and Martha Washington and have a good cast of supporting players in roles that step from the history books.
Washington as president dealt with working out the forms the government would operate under. In every single decision he made, he was mindful of the fact would set a precedent for all 42 of his successors to follow. In fact it was the general understanding that Washington would be the first president by the makers of the Constitution in 1788.
This series unfortunately gets a little too deep into the complexity of the issues facing Washington. Historians would love it, but I do fear that the general public would have trouble following it. Though there's no doubt of what they would see in the antagonism of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton played here by Jeffrey Jones and Richard Bekins respectively.
Washington did have one rather foolish notion that today would strike us as quaint. He really believed that political parties such as developed in the British Parliamentary system would be left behind in Europe. The quarrel between Jefferson and Hamilton with both eventually leaving the cabinet was the foundation of our two party system. Washington did make a concerted effort to at first govern non partisanly, but eventually came down on the side of Hamiltonian Federalists. It was with a Federalist cabinet that he left the presidency after his second term in March of 1797.
George and Martha must have been lonely figures in retirement. He did in fact come down on the side of the Federalists. But his native Virginia was now under the domination of Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans. With the exception of future Chief Justice John Marshall, all the prominent figures in Virginia were Jeffersonian followers down the line.
The Forging of a Nation is a good mini-series for classrooms, but it's very scholarly tone does not make it as good as the first series dealing with Washington through the American Revolution. I liked this series a lot, but fear it might be too complex for the average viewer.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090437/
George Washington: The Forging of a Nation; Farewell Address; Great Uniter; Father of his Country | |
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| Education | Upload TimePublished on 3 Apr 2011 |
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