Building America

Our first president and two members of his cabinet discuss and debate the ways and means of financing the government of our fledgling nation. Originally presented as part of the 2011 George Washington Summer Residential Teachers' Institute, this lively presentation gives teachers new insights into questions on the role of government and the national economy that are just as relevant today as they were over two hundred years ago.

Fractured Union examines the complex and often tumultuous relationships between our founding fathers. Historical interpreters — portraying Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Mason — offer high school students a close look at the statesmen engaged in heated discussions.

The Challenges of Nationhood: Presidential Perspectives explores the struggles to establish a nation as seen through the eyes of our nation's first four presidents—George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. Cokie Roberts moderates this spirited discussion as the founding fathers talk about the sometimes tumultuous relationships that they formed while founding the nation.

How did the ideas and vision which formed a new nation impact the enslaved community? I Ain’t No Three Fifths of a Person: Slavery and the Constitution explores the reactions and perspectives of key members of the Mount Vernon and Monticello enslaved communities to major events during the founding of our nation. Through dramatic reenactments students will hear the views of Billy Lee, who served as General Washington’s manservant throughout the Revolutionary War; understand the concerns of Caroline Branham and Oney Judge, who worked under Mrs. Washington’s supervision in the mansion; meet Christopher Sheels, who served as General Washington’s manservant after Billy Lee; and discover the ideas of Bob Hemmings, manservant to Thomas Jefferson. To provide a broader historical context, the human point of view presented by the enslaved men and women in the dramatic scenes is interwoven with interviews from prominent historians and comments from the actor/historical interpreters themselves.

Cokie Roberts hosts this fascinating discussion of the struggles to establish a nation as seen through the eyes of our nation's first First Ladies: Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, and Dolley Madison. Share their behind-the-scenes insights into the challenges faced by their husbands, as well as learn about the often overlooked contributions of these essential founding mothers

Historical interpreters from "I Ain't No Three Fifths of a Person" take us back to 1792 and discuss what the new constitution will mean to them. Billy Lee, who served as General Washington’s manservant throughout the Revolutionary War; Caroline Branham and Oney Judd, who worked under Mrs. Washington’s supervision in the mansion; Christopher Sheels, the General’s manservant in Washington’s later years; and Bob Hemings, manservant to Thomas Jefferson, join host Kate Sullivan for a discussion on our Nation’s founding period from the point of view of the enslaved community.

What did the founding fathers intend the powers of the chief executive to be? How has judicial review added or subtracted from these powers? How has the President’s relationship with Congress evolved? At Mount Vernon, students and educators joined host Julie Silverbrook, executive director of The Constitutional Sources Project, and historians Joseph Ellis and Carol Berkin for an exploration of executive powers. Professor Ellis has written biographies of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington. His book Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation won a Pulitzer Prize in 1997. Professor Berkin is an expert on women in colonial America and the United States Constitution. Her best-known books are A Brilliant Solution: Inventing the American Constitution and Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence.

How do Americans measure leadership, vision, and policy to select the candidate they feel is best qualified to guide the nation? How has the process changed? Are the underlying principles of leadership consistent from the 18th to 21st centuries? How does the inauguration and inaugural address focus on our nation’s hope for the future? Recorded live at Mount Vernon's Ammerman Student Leadership Program, we look at the presidential inaugurations from George Washington to Barack Obama. Moderator Jennifer Nedeau, Director, Bully Pulpit Interactive; Peter Henriques, Associate Professor Emeritus George Mason University; and Dr. Stephen J. Farnsworth, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, University of Mary Washington lead students in discussions on presidential inaugurations and how the presidency defines our nation.