All language subtitles for Washington.S01E03_English

‐ After six long years,

the British
are striking directly

at the heart
of the Patriot cause

in a bid to finally end
the war.

‐ 20 hogshead.

Pure Virginia tobacco.
[sniffs]

A man could live off
that for years.

‐ At the tip of the spear
is the man

who nearly took down
the Continental Army

with an act of betrayal.

♪♪♪

‐ The turncoat
Benedict Arnold

is now a British
brigadier general

on the front lines
of their latest strategy

to crush the rebel spirit

and rouse a loyalist army
to fight the Patriots.

‐ Burn it all.

‐ The British think, okay,
we're gonna sweep south

and get control here

in a way
that we haven't before.

There's a lot of action
happening on a lot of fronts

at this point.

‐ Arnold is sent
to the Chesapeake

to attack the American forces

in Washington's backyard,

and soon Richmond,

the capital of Virginia,
is in flames.

‐ It's a double blow
not only to have betrayed

for the cause, but then
to lead a successful raid

in the heart
of the revolution.

It made Americans furious.

‐ What is it,
Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton?

‐ We just received word.

Arnold has been sighted
in the south.

‐ Where?

‐ Virginia.

Outside Richmond.

‐ Virginia.

How many men
does Arnold command?

‐ It's hard to be certain.

Over a thousand.
Less than 1,500?

‐ Send the marquis.

‐ I suppose we could spare
a thousand men, but‐‐

‐ Well, if the reports
are accurate,

Lafayette will be outnumbered.

‐ Well, our troops
are already stretched thin,

and if we truly aim
to reclaim New York‐‐

‐ I would prefer,
when I return home,

Arnold has not
reduced it to ashes.

‐ Hmm.

Still no word
from the French.

‐ Rochambeau is waiting
to hear from his admirals.

For now, their ships remain
anchored off Rhode Island.

Perhaps if they see the urgency
in destroying Arnold's forces,

they will finally
join this war in earnest.

Our fleet has remained idle
far too long.

‐ The French have been allied
to America

since early 1778,

and while they have a fleet

and more than 5,000 troops
stationed in New England,

they have yet
to join the fight.

‐ Washington has been
cultivating Rochambeau

to plan for an all‐out assault
on New York City.

He still believes that's
the best way to win the war.

‐ But the French commander

Comte de Rochambeau
isn't convinced.

And for now,

Washington must face
the British surge

on his own.

‐ Provide the marquis
with 1,200 soldiers.

‐ Yes, sir.

With the French support
or not,

the marquis will have
the traitor's head on a pike.

‐ As long as he is brought
before me in the end,

the state of his person
bears no concern.

‐ Washington's determination
to catch Arnold

isn't just personal,

it's imperative.

By January, 1781,

the revolutionary cause
is teetering on the edge.

‐ Like every war, people think

that this is gonna be
over pretty quickly.

And they could not have had
the resources

or understood
what a protracted thing

this was going to be.

‐ The spirit of 1776

that had fueled this revolution
in the beginning

was long gone.

The American people
were tired of war.

‐ Because the economy
has collapsed,

because Congress
is ineffective,

because people are losing focus,

even Washington admits

that if this goes much longer,
we've lost.

‐ It's not just the country
that's wavering,

it's also the troops.

After years without
sufficient food or salary,

incidents of mutiny

in the Continental Army
are rising.

‐ The troops are beginning
to lose their hope.

In particular,
they've not been paid.

This is a big problem.

‐ Congress doesn't
have the money,

so the soldiers were told,

"We'll pay you
at the end of the war."

They've been provided alcohol

and firearms,
but that's about it.

‐ It is in vain to think

an army can be kept
together much longer

under such a variety
of sufferings

as ours has experienced,

and that,
unless some immediate

and spirited measures
are adopted

to furnish at least three
months' pay to the troops,

clothe and feed them better,

the worst that can befall us
may be expected.

‐ Three years.

We've been out here
three years fighting.

No food,

no shelter.

When was the last time

you had a decent pair
of boots on your feet?

‐ Never.
‐ Yeah.

‐ And what about pay?
‐ Yeah.

‐ We expected to risk
our lives for free?

‐ No.
‐ No.

‐ Go through hell
and not even receive

a decent belly full
before nightfall?

‐ No.
‐ Yeah.

‐ They said
things would change.

‐ Yeah.
‐ Yeah.

‐ And we listened to them.
‐ Yeah.

‐ Yeah.
‐ Yeah.

‐ Well, I tell you,

nothing will change
unless we make it.

‐ Yeah.
‐ Yeah.

‐ So I say we march.

‐ Yeah.
‐ Yeah.

‐ Tell it to them face to face!
‐ Yeah!

‐ And if we need
to spill blood...

so be it.

‐ Men: Yeah!

‐ No more without pay.

No more without food!
‐ Yeah!

‐ No bread, no soldiers!
‐ No more soldiers.

‐ [chanting] No bread,
no soldiers.

No bread, no soldiers.
No bread, no soldiers.

‐ The New Jersey troops will
soon march toward Trenton

to demand what they're owed
by force.

‐ Let us go!

‐ Washington is watching
the American war effort

wither on the vine.

And this adds
to Washington's anxiety.

"How do I present as good
a face on this as possible

when actually things
are not that good?"

‐ We have earned the respect
of the French, and now this.

What will they think?

How will the world see us

when we cannot even manage
our own men?

‐ Your orders, sir?

‐ Send as large a detachment
as we can spare.

Force the soldiers
back into line.

Execute the leader.

♪♪♪

‐ You have to understand
these young people

lost confidence
in their leaders

which is where a mutiny
comes from.

‐ [chanting]
No, bread, no soldiers!

‐ But you had to knock it
down as fast as you could.

You couldn't let it spread
because it's like a virus.

If it's not dealt with
immediately,

it will infect
the whole organization.

[crowd cheering]

‐ Go on!
‐ Yeah.

‐ Mutiny is tearing apart
the army

that George Washington
struggled to hold together

through six years of war.

Now, with the revolutionary
cause at risk,

he's restoring order
among his New Jersey troops

by force.

‐ The object is to compel
the mutineers

to unconditional submission.

‐ The mutiny
has been broken up.

The men have been disarmed.

They are ordered
to reveal their ringleaders.

‐ Go on.

Do it, then.

‐ You will represent to them
how dangerous to civil liberty

the precedent is
of armed soldiers

dictating terms
to their country.

‐ Drop.
‐ Drop.

‐ Move.
‐ Move.

‐ The mutineers,

they're given muskets
and a choice.

♪♪♪

"Execute your ringleader

or be executed.

♪♪♪

‐ Take aim!

‐ They have to raise
their muskets

and, at the order,

open fire
on their own comrades.

‐ I spoke nothing
but the truth.

‐ Fire!

‐ It's good to be a nice guy,

but at the end of the day
in those days,

you had to use these tools

to keep an organization
together.

And he was up to that task.

♪♪♪

‐ Washington's tactic

stemmed the tide of mutiny
and saved his army.

But in the South,

the British are
more determined than ever

to destroy it.

General Charles Cornwallis,

who has spent much
of the past two years

fighting in the Carolinas,

is now moving into Virginia.

‐ General Cornwallis
is one of the ablest

British generals.

He's quick‐minded.
He moves aggressively.

He knows how to handle troops
in the field.

♪♪♪

‐ Lord Cornwallis decides,

"I'm gonna go to Virginia.

"Virginia is home to Washington,

"home to Jefferson,

"all these Patriot leaders.

"If I can make them suffer,

"maybe I can get the Patriots
to come to terms."

‐ As Cornwallis arrives,

Benedict Arnold,
who's continued to burn

and loot the state,

is on his way out.

‐ Arnold is
a great commander,

and he was considered that way
by the British.

However, there are a lot
of British officers

who even see him as a traitor,

as a man with no honor.

‐ Ah, General Cornwallis.

‐ Brigadier General Arnold.

I have received reports
of your progress here.

‐ And yet
I am still being replaced.

I burn their ironworks
in Weston,

tobacco fields
and warehouses in Richmond.

Destroyed their gun powder,
poured out their rum.

‐ Yes, I know.
I read the reports.

‐ What we have to worry
about now is the French.

We can no longer take our
naval advantage for granted.

If we're not careful,

we'll become vulnerable
to attack by water.

‐ Well, then the responsibility
is mine now.

You need trouble yourself
no further.

‐ As I experienced‐‐
‐ If you will excuse me,

Brigadier General,

we have important matters
to attend to here,

and I am sure...

you need to prepare
for your journey north.

♪♪♪

‐ Within a year,

Arnold leaves for England
with his wife Peggy,

never again to set foot
on American soil.

The first order of business
for General Cornwallis

is to set up a base
on the Chesapeake

for the Royal Navy
and his roughly 8,000 troops.

By July, he chooses Yorktown.

The post is easily accessible
to the British fleet

for resupply
and reinforcement.

But it's also vulnerable
to the French,

who finally see an opening

to mount a decisive strike
against the British.

Within weeks,
the allies move into action.

‐ Cornwallis doesn't realize

that the French are prepared

to send a fleet
to trap him in Virginia.

‐ The French Navy was about
to arrive at the Chesapeake.

If Washington and Rochambeau

could get their armies down
there as quickly as possible,

the trap could shut
around Lord Cornwallis.

♪♪♪

‐ When the navies clash
in September,

the French score
an unexpected victory,

giving the alliance control
of the seas around Yorktown.

‐ For once, the French Navy
defeats the Royal Navy

and drives them away

from the mouth
of Chesapeake Bay.

‐ The French
have achieved temporary,

very brief naval superiority.

This is the moment

Washington has been
looking for since 1775.

♪♪♪

‐ The allied army arrives
on the outskirts of Yorktown

within weeks,

cutting off Cornwallis'
only remaining escape.

With a combined 19,000
French and Americans soldiers,

it's the most formidable
fighting force

Washington will ever command.

To defeat Cornwallis,

Washington and his allies
opt for a classic siege.

They create
a series of trenches

that creep ever closer
to the enemy.

If all goes to plan,

the British defenses should
collapse in a matter of days.

‐ Report,
Major General Lafayette.

‐ The trench should be
completed by morning.

‐ Then we move up
the artillery.

‐ Rochambeau and his best men
are with Knox now,

reviewing placements
and positions.

‐ Good.

‐ My countrymen are finally
think for themselves.

You Americans are fast learners.

‐ What other choices
do we have?

‐ The present moment offers
in prospect

the epoque which will decide
American independence

and the glory and superiority
of the allies.

The liberties of America

and the honor
of the allied arms

are in our hands.

♪♪♪

‐ This is the moment

where it all comes
together for Washington.

It was almost
beyond his ability

to comprehend that finally,

after six years of thinking

it was all
about to fall apart,

it was all on the edge
of actually happening.

[screaming]

Everyone...

fire!

Fire!

Fire!

Reload.

‐ Direct hit after direct hit.

‐ General George Washington's
dreamed of launching

a grand assault on the enemy

since the day the war began.

And now he finally
has the fire power.

Thousands of troops
and dozens of heavy guns

are being added
to his arsenal,

thanks to the French
and their commander

Comte de Rochambeau.

‐ Increase our bombardment.

We cannot let the British
to rebuild their fortifications.

‐ I doubt they will hold
for another day.

‐ And I doubt, Henry,

that they will give up
so easily.

‐ Incoming!

‐ 48 hours
into the bombardment.

‐ Out. All of you.

‐ Entrapped
by Washington's forces...

General Cornwallis is pinning
all his hopes

on reinforcement.

‐ Sir, I can only repeat
that nothing but a successful

naval action can save me.
‐ [explosion]

We have lost about 70 men,

and many of our works
have been seriously damaged.

Against so powerful an attack,

we cannot hope to make
a very long resistance.

[explosions]

Et cetera, et cetera,
et cetera.

[horse neighing]

‐ Where do we stand?

‐ Our bombardments have weakened
them considerably.

‐ General Cornwallis
has withdrawn most of his forces

into the city as it stands.

They're down
to two fortifications

with ops here and here.

‐ If we take the Redoubts,

we can run our next trench
all the way to the water.

‐ But then the barrels
of our cannon,

will breach the threshold
of their position.

‐ Known as Redoubts 9 and 10,

the fortifications
are the last line of defense

holding off the Americans

from advancing
their trench line

to bombard the town
at close range.

‐ How many men
does number 10 hold?

‐ Perhaps 50,

but heavily armed
and well‐fortified,

it will certainly
not be easy to take.

‐ We will need
to overwhelm them.

‐ And catch them by surprise.

As soon as our men
are spotted,

they will come
under heavy fire.

‐ Send 400 men.

Move out tonight under
the cover of darkness.

‐ And who shall lead them?

♪♪♪

‐ Alexander.

‐ Hamilton is Washington's
essential staff officer,

but he doesn't want
to stay a staff officer

because real glory
comes if you lead men

in combat to victory.

♪♪♪

Washington becomes dependent
upon Hamilton's competence,

so he's reluctant
to see Hamilton go.

‐ Washington recognizes
his own self in Hamilton.

Hamilton wants
to command an army.

This is how a man is made.

‐ This is command you've been
seeking, is it not?

‐ Yes, sir.

‐ The reward is high.

The risk is equally as great.

‐ I shall not
let you down, sir.

‐ Then the command is yours.

♪♪♪

‐ With Redoubt No. 10,

I think you see the American
talent for improvisation

coming to the fore.

They dispense
with the usual protocols

of clearing the way
before you storm the ramparts.

Hamilton said,
"Let's just go for it."

‐ Charge!

Forward, men! Forward!

Forward!

‐ Lieutenant Colonel
Alexander Hamilton

is leading the charge
to break through

the last line of defense
around Yorktown.

‐ Aah!

‐ Do not fall back! Forward!

♪♪♪

‐ Onward! Onward!

‐ Fall back! Fall back!

[cheering]

‐ The fighting is over
in just a matter of minutes.

‐ Yeah!

‐ With the taking
of Redoubt No. 10,

Hamilton is a legitimate
war hero.

In many ways,
it's the making of Hamilton.

‐ By the point those
two Redoubts are captured,

the writing is on the wall.

‐ From their position
at the captured Redoubts,

the Americans unleash
a punishing

point‐blank assault
on the British.

♪♪♪

Unsure if the reinforcements
he's requested

will ever arrive,

Cornwallis has seen enough.

♪♪♪

‐ Sir,

I propose
an immediate cessation

of hostilities
for 24 hours,

and that two officers
be appointed from either side

to discuss the terms

of the surrender
of the posts of York

and Gloucester,

et cetera, et cetera.

‐ Yorktown is a crucial,
crucial moment in the war.

The fact that the Americans
win that battle

has huge psychological

as well as military
consequences.

On the British side,

they're outraged
that they've lost

and that these Americans

appear to have gotten
the better of them.

‐ And the Brits
never quite understood

what they were getting into,

and they underestimated

the nation
that had been created.

It's a mistake many people
have made over the years.

When you're defending
a piece of land that's yours,

you're prepared to die for it.

‐ On October 19th,

after a three‐week‐long
siege,

the two sides meet
on the battlefield

for a formal surrender
ceremony.

‐ Cornwallis
is too embarrassed,

so he pretends that he's sick

and he sends out a subordinate
to surrender the sword.

This is the second British
Army to surrender.

The main British Army
is still intact

and still at New York City.

But the will to fight
in Great Britain is gone.

When word of Yorktown
reaches Britain,

Lord North,
the prime minister,

says,
"Oh, my God, it's over."

‐ While peace terms are being
negotiated in Paris,

Washington is not convinced
that the war is over.

He moves his headquarters
to Newburgh, New York,

within striking distance of
British‐occupied New York City.

‐ The king will push the war

as long as the nation will
find men or money.

Let us prepare for the worst.

There is nothing which will
so soon produce peace

as a state of preparation
for war.

‐ The British stopped major
action in North America,

but from Washington's
point of view,

that might not be permanent,

so he has to keep
this army trained

so it can respond and defend
and fight if he needs to.

‐ But with Congress still
failing to pay them

more than a year after
the battle at Yorktown,

Washington's troops
are growing restless

and angry.

‐ They've been given
promises for years.

Some of them have been there
seven, eight years long.

And so what happens is you
start getting a conspiracy

in the ranks to the officer
corps who are saying,

"Well, we're not gonna
lay down our arms

"when the peace treaty arrives
unless were paid by Congress.

"And if need be,
we're gonna march on Congress

and force them to pay us."

‐ What they're plotting
is more than a mutiny.

It's a military takeover
of the government,

and they want Washington
to lead it.

‐ There's a group in the army

that wants to march
on Philadelphia

and crown Washington
emperor.

‐ George Washington,
all of a sudden,

is this incredibly
popular superstar

with an Army
that is loyal to him.

What if he decided

that he was gonna declare
himself in charge,

that he's gonna ask
Congress to move along?

‐ If you ask me,
this is not a question

of what we must do,
the question is

what we must do if Washington
refuses to take charge.

‐ Right.
‐ Yeah.

‐ General Horatio Gates is
among the officers pushing

for Washington to lead
a rebellion against Congress.

Others, like Henry Knox,
are urging caution.

‐ How can we be certain?

‐ Washington has made
his assurances,

and I have never known him
to be a liar.

The worst we can do

is rush into action
that cannot be undone.

‐ Keep in mind that pretty much
every great revolution

that had been run before
to take on tyranny,

the rebellious general soon
revealed himself

to be the new king

and then a new kind of tyrant.

This is one of the most
important early moments

in the republic where things
could've all gone south.

‐ The question before us
is a simple one, I think.

Will we continue to allow

the men who risked their lives

in forging a new nation

to be treated a second class?

‐ We face enough real issues
than to allow ourselves

to fall into hyperbole.

‐ Is it hyperbole to say
we have been ignored,

treated indifferently?

I would list
all our grievances,

but every man here
is well aware.

‐ You know as well as I,

Washington will not
stand talk of rebellion.

‐ What rebellion?

It is the men in this room
who led us to victory.

‐ Men: Yes!

‐ Not those in Philadelphia.

‐ There are other ways to ensure
our grievances are heard.

‐ Letters, formal requests.

[laughter]

‐ Tell me, General Knox,

how has this helped us
in the past?

‐ I for one put my trust
in Washington,

and I would counsel
everyone here to do the same.

‐ And I would counsel
that if Commander Washington

is unwilling to do
what is necessary,

then we have no choice

but to take matters
into our own hands.

‐ May I have permission
to speakto speak?

‐ George Washington
has led his army

to victory against Britain.

But now some of his officers
are counting on him

to lead a new rebellion
against their own government.

‐ Gentlemen...

‐ There have been
plenty of revolutions,

and most of them fail,

and they fail because
people get frustrated.

They don't know where their
paycheck is coming from.

These are relatable concerns
that Washington is facing.

‐ As I have never left
your side one moment,

as I have ever considered
my own military reputation

as inescapably connected
with that of the army,

it can scarcely be possible,

in this late stage
of the war,

that I am indifferent
to its interests.

Let me entreat you
on your part

not to take any measures

which, viewed in the calm
light of reason,

will lessen the dignity

and sully the glory
you have hitherto maintained.

‐ Washington tells
his officers,

"No, you can't do this.

"You can't use the military
to pressure Congress

to get your back pay."
‐ If you do

what you are thinking of doing,

you will be undermining
the very core principles

that we have been fighting for
for seven years.

‐ Not only will
the American experiment

be killed in its cradle,

but it will reinforce
everyone who says

that self‐government
is not practical or possible.

‐ And now...

regarding of issue of payment.

I have recently received word

from a Virginia congressman.

"Congress have been
for some time past...

um, almost..."

Apologies.

I have grown blind
as well as gray

in the service of my country.

♪♪♪

‐ He pulls out his spectacles
from his, uh, breast pocket,

unfolds them.

And there he is,
showing this, uh, frailty

in front of his officers
for the first time.

‐ "A short time
will bring to a conclusion

"our efforts to this business,

which I'm in hopes
will terminate the adoption..."

‐ When he shows that "I have
aged during this time,

that I have suffered, too,"

they understand
that he hears them

and he's working
on their behalf.

‐ It's Washington
playing that moment.

What he does
is use who he is

and the symbolism of who he is
to dissipate a situation.

‐ And with that,
shame kicks in,

a sense of shared sacrifice
that galvanized the officers

and reminded them
what they were fighting for.

‐ You will, by the dignity
of your conduct,

afford occasion
for posterity to say,

when speaking
of the glorious example

you have exhibited to mankind,

"Had this day been wanting,

"the world has never seen
the last stage of perfection

to which human nature
is capable of attaining."

‐ When you look
at Washington in Newburgh,

it's hard not to remember
this impulsive young man

that he was during
the French and Indian War.

And you think the reason
that they trust him

is that he has proven himself
to be so steady,

that he has proven himself

to deliver the most outrageous
win of all time.

So if he can defeat

one of the greatest
superpowers in the world,

he can deliver their pay.

‐ Washington
and the Newburgh Address

is one of the very few moments
in world history

where revolution
in favor of liberty ended

without a military coup

and ended
with the rule of law.

♪♪♪

‐ Six months after Washington
puts talk of a coup to rest,

and nearly two years after
the final battle at Yorktown,

the Treaty of Paris
is finally signed.

The war is over.

Providence is the word
he uses a lot

to try to describe to people
how we won the war

right after the war.

"If historians ever take
to writing about this,

"they will be accused
to writing fiction

"because no one will believe

"that, uh, a group
of ragtag soldiers like this

could ever possibly defeat
the British Army and Navy."

‐ On November 25th, 1783,

seven years after running
Washington out of New York,

the Redcoats evacuate the city.

Within hours,
hundreds of citizens

are lining the streets
to celebrate

Washington's triumphant
return to New York.

Soon after,
the Continental Army

is peacefully disbanded

and Washington formally
resigns his post

as commander‐in‐chief.

‐ If you had just defeated

the greatest empire
in the world,

the idea
that you would then say

"Okay, thanks, I'm going to go
farm and make whiskey

and grow hemp,"

it wasn't done,
but he did it.

‐ In England,
when King George III hears

that Washington has surrendered
power and gone home,

he replies by saying,
"Well, if he did that,

"he will be the greatest man
in the world."

♪♪♪

[birds chirping]

‐ When George Washington
wrote to Martha in 1775,

he said,
"I'll be home by Christmas,"

he meant
the following Christmas.

But it's already
into the 1780s.

♪♪♪

‐ I am once again
a private citizen, Martha.

‐ And it did not take
that long at all.

‐ [laughs]

‐ Come, everything is ready.

‐ I feel myself eased
of a load of public care.

I hope to spend
the remainder of my days

in cultivating the affections
of good men

and in the practice
of domestic virtues.

♪♪♪

‐ He's done his duty.

He doesn't assume
that more is to come.

And he doesn't know

that there's gonna be
a new constitution.

He doesn't know
there's gonna be

anything
called the presidency.

‐ In the years

immediately
following the Revolution,

the young country
is in turmoil.

The 13 states
are bound together

under the Articles
of Confederation.

But while the pact allows
Congress to enact laws,

it has no power
to enforce them.

And there's no consensus
among the states

about how to run a government.

‐ All the states
looked upon themselves

as independent nations.

They owed nothing
by way of sovereignty

to any higher authority.

‐ They understood
that there had to be

strength in union,

but they never wanted
the strength in union

to take their autonomy away.

‐ The country had been
ravaged by war,

the economy had been destroyed,

and there was no
national currency.

So Congress couldn't raise
any money

to pay off its national debt.

‐ The states all turned inward,

and you begin to have
a variety

of different kinds
of disruptions and arguments

and disagreements
throughout the states.

And, really, the fragility
of what's being attempted here

becomes very apparent.

‐ And it looked
as though the victories

that had been won
on the battlefield

were gonna be lost
in the halls of politics.

And for somebody
like George Washington,

in particular,
this is really discouraging

because by this time

he's being called
the father of his country

and his country
is falling apart

before his very eyes.

‐ How melancholy
is the reflection,

that in so short a space

we should've made
such large strides

towards fulfilling
the prediction

of our transatlantic foe!

Leave them to themselves

and their government
will soon dissolve.

Will not the wise
and goods strive hard

to avert this evil?

♪♪♪

‐ In the spring of 1787,

the Founding Fathers
call on delegates

from the 13 states
to convene in Philadelphia.

Their mission,
build a more effective union.

Benjamin Franklin,

Alexander Hamilton,

now an assemblyman
from New York,

and James Madison
from Virginia

all agree to attend.

But George Washington
is undecided.

‐ This is one of many moments
in which people step forward

and say, "You know,
it's pretty important

that you'll be there.
People trust you."

And so he ends up being at the
constitutional convention.

He presides over
the constitutional convention,

not because he's eager,
necessarily, to shape things,

but because he felt
it was important to be there.

‐ In its nearly
four months in session

the constitutional convention

reinvents
the American government,

writing a new constitution
that paves the way

for Washington to be elected
its first chief executive.

‐ The Jeffersons, the Madisons,
and all the others,

assembled in
Independence Hall in 1787.

And they all looked to him
because he was a war hero.

They wouldn't be there
if it hadn't been for him.

‐ It was understood without
anybody having to say anything

that the presidency
was gonna be occupied

by George Washington.

It's one of the reasons
that, in the Constitution,

the presidency
is simply sketched in.

They just looked over
at Washington, said,

"Okay, well,
he'll figure it out."

‐ Washington, right before
he becomes president,

is in the perfect position.

He has done the unthinkable.

He's won the Revolution.

He is a celebrity
in his own country

and every country.

The entire world respects him.

♪♪♪

He has everything to lose
by becoming president.

[crowd cheering]

‐ George Washington spent
decades of his life

helping to create
a new nation.

Now 57,

he's the only man
that people trust to lead it.

His election to the presidency
is unanimous.

‐ No president
in American history

did not wish to be president
more than George Washington.

‐ My movements to the chair
of government

will be accompanied
with feelings not unlike those

of a culprit who is going to
the place of his execution.

[crowd cheering]

‐ He knew, the minute
he actually assumed

the responsibilities of office,

no matter
how good a job he did,

he was gonna make
some enemies.

And that frightened him a lot,

but to then turn around
and walk away

from this new entity that he'd
worked so hard to create,

at the very moment when
arguably he was needed most,

would've been deemed
an act of selfishness

which would contradict
his code of honor.

[cheers and applause]

♪♪♪

‐ I do solemnly swear.
‐ I do solemnly swear.

‐ That I will faithfully execute

the Office of President
of the United States.

‐ That I will faithfully execute

the Office of President
of the United States.

‐ And will, to the best
of my ability...

‐ And will,
to the best of my ability...

‐ Preserve, protect, and defend

the Constitution
of the United States.

‐ Preserve, protect, and defend

the Constitution
of the United States.

‐ Long live
George Washington,

President of the United States.

[cheers and applause]

‐ Integrity and firmness
is all I can promise.

These, be the voyage
long or short,

never shall forsake me,

although I may be deserted
by all men.

[cheers and applause]

‐ What the heck is a president?
Like, no one knew.

He had to have enough
gravitas and dignity

to be seen as a leader
of a nation

in a world of monarchies.

But on the other hand,
he can't be monarchical

in any way, or kingly,
because people are terrified

that the nation's
gonna slip right back

into becoming a monarchy.

And many people had
a lot of misgivings

about how much power
this new centralized government

was going to have.

‐ He could've been king,
but that was not him.

He believed
in what he was doing.

It's those
who really don't believe

in what they are doing,

who are just interested
in power.

He wasn't interested
in power. He had power.

‐He's so conscious
of that responsibility,

the power of being
a president without precedent,

and that he's setting a model
that others will follow.

‐ He writes letters
to a number of people

and what he wants is, really,
basic advice, like,

"How accessible should I be
to the American people?

"Should I accept
dinner invitations?

"Does a president
shake hands with Americans?

What kind of clothing should
a national leader wear?"

He thinks again and again
as to what he can do

to prove to people that he's
not some superhuman king.

Every day, at a certain time
in the afternoon,

he takes a walk
around the block.

He looks at a steeple
with a clock on it,

sets his watch,
and goes back to his work.

He's not in a carriage.
He's in the muck of the street,

and that's not accidental.
He's making a statement‐‐

"I am just like you
walking in the street."

‐ To help him shape
the presidency,

Washington assembles

some of the brightest minds
in the country.

‐ James Madison is a scholarly
fellow Virginian

who has been very involved
in the process

of creating the Constitution.

‐ Madison is also
Washington's speechwriter,

and he has unbelievable sway
and trust of the president.

‐ Thomas Jefferson
is a Virginian

who wrote the Declaration
of Independence,

so he's someone who has a lot
of political experience.

‐ Henry Knox had been
with Washington since 1775.

He had seen the army suffer.

He had seen what happens when
Congress can't pay its bills.

Alexander Hamilton was
Washington's aide in the war,

and he was loyal
to Washington personally.

‐ They experienced the same
challenges during the war,

dealing with
Continental Congress,

and that really shaped
their politics.

‐ Washington did not have
a topflight education,

but he admired
people who did.

He wanted the best people
that he could get

on his team.

‐ They don't always agree,

but that's not necessarily
a concern to him

because he thinks that actually
makes for a stronger debate.

Right? "If there are
different views, fine,

"have different views,

"and then I will consider
the different views

and come to a decision."

‐ You can tell a lot
from leaders

who like to empower
other people,

who look for people who are
good at things they are not,

who know things they don't.

Washington was like that.

‐ In his first 150 days,

Washington, his advisers,

and the Congress
worked together

to invent the American
government as we know it.

‐ This is a enormously
productive time.

Look at what they accomplished
in that first year.

‐ They created
the executive branch,

the judiciary branch,
the first tax laws.

‐ The Bill of Rights

that talked about the way
the government

could not infringe
upon other people,

the citizens' rights.

‐ They set up
the Patent Office.

They strengthened a system
of our economy.

There's a proclamation
of Thanksgiving.

‐ All these things were signed
in one way or another

by George Washington.

‐ It is this audacious
experiment.

Washington
and the Founding Fathers

basically inspire a nation
to strengthen

its civic backbone,
and in the process,

it just creates the precedent

that people
can self‐govern themselves,

and I think
we've lost sight

of just how revolutionary
that idea is.

‐ In June of 1790,

Congress also chooses a site
for a new capital city

on the banks
of the Potomac River,

what will one day
become Washington, D. C.

The plan is to build it
by the end of the decade.

Until then, the government
and the president

take up temporary residence
in Philadelphia.

[bell ringing]

‐ Please clear the table.

Ensure that all the plates
and silverware

are put away before you leave.

‐ For the Washingtons,
whose household is run

by at least a half a dozen
enslaved women and men,

living in Pennsylvania
is problematic.

Governed by Quakers,

it's one of the first states
to commit

to ending slavery
within its borders.

‐ The Gradual Abolition Act
of 1780 stated

that if you were a non‐resident
and you came to Pennsylvania,

you could bring
your slaves with you,

but you could only stay
for a period of six months.

‐ If an enslaved person
was in Pennsylvania

for more than six months,

they could be granted
their freedom.

‐ Hello, dearest.

Christopher.

Bring the president some tea
and see that he is comfortable.

♪♪♪

‐Washington, like many other
slave‐holding presidents,

is not willing to go
without his slaves,

but he's also not willing
to follow the rules,

and so he finds
a kind of loophole.

‐ In case it shall be found

that any of my slaves
shall attempt their freedom

at the expiration
of six months,

it is my wish and desire
that you would send them home,

for although I do not think

they would be benefitted
by the change,

the idea of freedom might
be too great a temptation

for them to resist.

‐ Basically,
they were to create

a slave rotation plan.

Every six months,

the Washingtons
would rotate their slaves

out of Pennsylvania
back to Virginia.

And if that was too
problematic or cumbersome,

a quick trip across the river
to Trenton, New Jersey,

would basically stop the clock
on freedom.

‐ It behooves me to prevent
the emancipation of them.

Otherwise, I shall not only
lose the use of them,

but may have them to pay for.

I wish to have it
accomplished under pretext

that may deceive
both them and the public.

‐ You want him to take
a leadership position

on the slavery issue,
and you're gonna be disappointed

as you read
his correspondence.

He doesn't think
the way you want him to.

He sees the slaves
as his property

that he can't afford to lose.

‐ Washington fears
that abolishing slavery

would divide the union
into two.

The focus at that time was
establishing the new nation.

So Washington
was pushing the decision

about what to do with
the institution of slavery

to people
that came after him.

♪♪♪

‐ America's reckoning
over slavery

is still decades
in the future,

but Washington's
about to face

a more immediate threat
to the nation‐‐

[chanting]

A call to arms
against his own government.

‐ More than two years
into Washington's first term,

the people are rising up

over a new tax on whiskey,

one the president
signed into law.

‐ He's approaching.
‐ Come on.

[cheering]

‐ No more taxes!
No more taxes!

‐ And now the tax collector
is a target.

‐ No more taxes!

No more taxes!
‐ Grab him!

[mob clamoring]

No more taxes!
‐ Come on!

‐ No more taxes.
No more taxes.

No more taxes!
No more taxes!

No more taxes! No more taxes!

No more taxes!
No more taxes!

‐ Paying back the debt
is a price of revolution.

‐ You will not find me
in disagreement,

yet not everyone is drawing
the same conclusion.

‐ If they continue to doubt
that we are one country,

we will fail.

‐ The tax is the work

of Treasury Secretary
Alexander Hamilton,

who's also pushing
for a national bank,

another unpopular idea.

‐ So when the nation launches,
it's deeply in debt.

There's no national financial
superstructure of any kind.

Hamilton realizes
that there needs to be a way

to raise money to pay
for aspects of governance.

He also wants
to establish a standard

that he can create
this kind of tax

and that people will abide
by it and pay it.

‐ Washington believed a strong
and coherent federal government

was the best bulwark
against disunion and chaos.

‐ No more taxes!
No more taxes!

No more taxes! No more taxes!

No more taxes!
No more taxes!

‐ Take it off.
‐ No more taxes!

‐ Take it off!
‐ No more taxes!

‐ Come on!

‐ The whiskey tax ends up
being very controversial

because it hits very hard
in the West

where whiskey is almost
a form of currency.

‐ We're not talking
about big whiskey producers.

We're talking
about grain farmers.

They pay their rent in produce,
in grain, and whiskey.

‐ From the standpoint
of lot of people in America,

this is exactly what
the British government had done.

And, my gosh, we're gonna
have to fight against this

the way we fought
against the British

when they were levying taxes.

‐ [groaning]
‐ Come on!

‐ Ha ha ha ha!

‐ People started saying,

"We've traded George III
of Britain

"for George I of America,

and we don't like this."

‐ [screaming]

♪♪♪

‐ Tell Mr. Hamilton
he can keep his taxes.

‐ The powers of the Presidency
give you the right.

‐ Yes, but we must take care

not to lay claim
to more than we are due.

‐ A true leader must make
the right decisions,

not the ones
that will make everyone happy.

‐ Happiness is not my aim.

What we must achieve is unity.

‐ But dissent over Hamilton's
financial plans

is also causing a rift
in Washington's inner circle.

Two of his closest advisers,

Thomas Jefferson
and James Madison,

are quietly recruiting
allies

to oppose
Hamilton's influence.

‐ Washington had the best team
that he could get,

and they eventually began

to drift apart
and into a rivalry.

They were all
revolutionaries together

but they all didn't have
the same idea

about what the revolution
was supposed to be about.

Now,

we would never speak ill
of Washington.

He's a good man,
the only man for the Presidency.

‐ But that a pugnacious upstart
has corrupted his ear.

‐ I'm sure you have seen it
for yourself.

No one carries
more sway now than Hamilton.

‐ And, uh, we need not look far
for the consequences.

‐ The whiskey tax.

‐ It is a great disservice
to the people.

‐ But at the end of the day,

it is a merely a symptom

of the far more
troubling disease.

‐ Jefferson believes
that Washington

always sides with Hamilton.

And for the most part
he does because they share

a strong belief
in central government.

‐Jefferson is trying
to flesh out the idea

of creating
a separate political party.

They don't see it
as being anti‐Washington.

They feel
like they're fighting

to preserve the integrity
of the revolution.

‐ If we do not find
a permanent way

to check Hamilton's influence,
he will destroy

everything we have worked
so hard to build.

‐Jefferson and Madison

don't assume
that they're creating

an organized opposition
to the government.

What they assume
is that they're trying

to save the government
from people who are warping it.

‐ On the eve of the second
presidential election,

Washington remains wildly
popular with the public.

So Madison and Jefferson

mount a campaign
to change that.

‐ One of the things that drove
the emergency parties was

to write newspapers that aimed
at a particular audience.

People tended
to read newspapers

that supported
their own positions.

‐ There was a gazette
in the United States

that was seen as very

pro‐Washington's
administration,

a mouthpiece
for Hamilton's views.

‐ It's biased.

And so at an early point,
Jefferson and Madison think,

"We need another newspaper

"that has a different
point of view,"

and they create
the "National Gazette."

‐ The newspaper is a betrayal
in more ways than one.

Jefferson's put the publisher

on the State Department
payroll.

Washington's own government
is unwittingly funding

the attacks against
his policies.

‐ This is obviously, like,
80 different kinds of shady.

And his surrogate sons
are the people

spearheading these efforts
underneath his nose.

He felt betrayed.

He was a man in psychic pain.

And he didn't want
to run for reelection.

He knew another four years
could very well kill him.

‐ You see me again entering

upon the arduous duties
of an important office.

And perhaps
in no instance of my life

have I ever been more sensible

of the sacrifice
than in the present.

For at my age,
the love of retirement

grows every day
more and more powerful.

‐ Fetch me the box.

‐ Yes, sir.

‐ As Washington's
about to embark

on his second term
in office,

he's feeling the effects
of his 61 years.

In particular,

a problem that's plagued him
for decades.

‐George Washington suffered

from a horrible
dental disease.

By the time he becomes President
of the United States,

he has maybe one tooth left
in his mouth.

♪♪♪

‐ He now relies
on a contraption

made from wires, screws,
and hippopotamus ivory.

The replacement teeth
are not made of wood.

They're real teeth,

including some of his own

that had fallen out.

We know that he wanted them

to look
as natural as possible.

Farm animals, cows were used.

And we also know
that those dentures

were made from the teeth
of enslaved people.

‐ Washington
actually paid money

to have teeth removed,

healthy teeth removed
from enslaved people

to be then be placed
in his mouth.

‐ We know this because

it's written
in his account books.

He would often pay them

a couple of shillings
for a tooth.

‐ This wasn't
particular to him.

People of means
would advertise

for teeth in the newspaper.

And one of Washington's
dentists said this.

♪♪♪

‐ The dentures are terribly
painful to wear.

That sort of grimace
on his face on the dollar bill,

angry Washington,
I mean, a lot of that‐‐

has to do with his teeth.

‐ Well, that is done, then.

Now, let us hurry.
Time is wasting.

‐ Because of his dentures,
he avoids public speaking.

But on this day,
he'll have no choice.

Despite the rise
in partisan attacks

and dissension
in his own cabinet,

Washington's been
unanimously reelected

and is preparing
to take the oath of office

for a second time.

‐The presidency was taking
a lot out of him,

but Washington
can't leave just yet.

If he does,
everybody tells him

the nation could very well
descend into civil war.

‐ He didn't want
to be President.

He did it because
there was no one else.

He did it for the good
of his country.

‐ Fellow citizens,

I am again called upon

by the voice of my country.

‐ Washington's second
inaugural address

is the shortest ever
in American history‐‐

just 135 words.

‐ I shall endeavor to express

the high sense I entertain

of this distinguished honor

and of the confidence

which has been reposed
in me

by the people
of United America.

‐ In his first term,

Washington built a nation.

Now, in his second,
he must keep it together.

But his trusted advisers,

especially Hamilton
and Jefferson,

are increasingly at odds

over issues
at home and abroad.

Britain and France
are once again at war.

Washington wants nothing to do
with the conflict.

‐ He was concerned about

keeping a fragile
nation together

and worried
that outside influences

might come in
and stir things up

and make it more difficult
to remain unified.

‐ He understood

that if the United States
became a toy

in this fight
between Britain and France,

if the United States
took sides,

then it would give
the other side every incentive

to try to destroy
the United States.

‐ Newspapers
are debating both sides.

People are wearing
French flags,

and they're gathering outside
the President's house.

And within his Cabinet,

he has Hamilton
arguing for neutrality.

‐ But Jefferson
and Madison said,

"France bailed us out.
They're our friends.

"They are the reason
we won the war.

"We've got to back them
in this."

Washington says, "Actually,
our deal was with a king

who no longer has a head."

‐ Washington took upon himself

to declare neutrality
for the United States.

‐Washington and Hamilton,
they said,

"We need to be neutral."
Because of that,

they're castigated
as pro‐English.

And this is one of
the key things

in American history,

a fundamental dividing line

that helps sparks
partisan politics

as we know it.

‐ Have you seen the papers?
Hmm?

This is a baseless charge,

and it must be publicly
address as such.

‐ The government
cannot be expected

to respond every time

an essay is published
that offends you.

‐ The President
is not the head of a party.

He is the head of a nation.

‐ A nation that ideologically

only seems to run
in one direction.

‐ If you disagree
with President's policies,

perhaps you should find
more persuasive arguments!

‐ Or perhaps I‐‐
‐ Enough!

‐ If I may.

I fear this is an argument

that extends far beyond
this room.

They call it the funeral dirge
of George Washington.

‐ A king?

So I wish to be a king,
do I?

A tyrant?

Is that what I am now?

I did not want this.

I never asked for any of this.

My God!
I should rather be in my grave

than be made emperor
of this world,

and they charge me
with wanting to be a king?

Go on, then.

‐Woodrow Wilson once said
that,

for some people,

words were more powerful
than bullets

and caused more pain.

So Washington, frankly,

compared to most other people
who've been President,

escaped most of the words,

but the one he didn't escape
hurt him.

‐ You know, in the 18th century

when they worry about
their "fame",

they weren't worried
about celebrity.

They were worried
about their reputation.

‐American politics,
American media

during the 1790s

were as nasty as they've
ever been ever since.

‐ The really critical editors
would deliver three copies

of their paper every day
to the President's house,

even after he cancelled
their subscriptions,

just to piss him off.

‐ But from Washington's
perspective,

freedom of the press
came with

what the American victory
in the Revolutionary War

was all about.

He was not one

who was gonna abridge
freedom of the press.

He wasn't gonna be the one
who's gonna say,

"Okay, we're gonna
make this illegal."

♪♪♪

[crowd shouting]

‐ But with protests
against the government's taxes

growing more violent,

Washington's
revolutionary ideals

are about to face
the ultimate test.

‐ For three years,

the people of Pennsylvania
have refused to pay

Alexander Hamilton's
whiskey tax.

Now,
when federal marshals arrived

to enforce the law,

a mob of 7,000 armed rebels

respond by marching
on Pittsburgh

to run them out of town.

[cheering]

‐ A lot of the people
who resented and opposed this

have been soldiers
in the revolution.

They knew how to take up arms.

‐ It's not just a matter
that there are people

in Western Pennsylvania

who don't want to pay
a whiskey tax.

The power of the government

and the authority of
the government is being tested.

‐ There weren't very many laws,

federal laws,
that touched individual lives.

Most laws that people
encountered

were state laws.

But this was one
of those rare ones,

and so does
the federal government

have the authority
to enforce these laws?

Can it in effect
defend itself?

‐ So Hamilton encourages

that there should be armed
forces

sent to western
Pennsylvania

to quash this rebellion

and really show
that the government

can enforce its mandates.

‐ Many persons
have been hardy enough

to perpetrate acts
which amount to treason,

being overt acts of levying war
against the United States.

‐ Washington issues
a proclamation

ordering the rebels
to disperse

or face the consequences.

‐ It is in my judgment

necessary to call forth
the militia

to cause the laws
to be duly executed.

The essential interest
of the union demand it.

‐ By October 1794,

nearly 12,000 militia men
from four states

are assembled
on Washington's orders

to end the uprising.

Washington, now 62,

and Hamilton are back
in uniform

to personally command
the operation.

‐ Think about that.
He's President

and leading an army potentially
against other Americans.

That's a quirky moment, right?

We haven't, since then,
had a President

in uniform leading an army
in that way.

‐ Rules matter.
Law matters.

You're bound together
by a notion of law.

That was very important
to him.

‐ But Washington
wants to show

that the federal government
is willing to use force.

He doesn't want to use force.

He wants to provide a way
for the rebels

to sort of back out.

‐ Alarmed by
the number of troops

mustering against them,

the rebels send their spokesman

to meet face to face
with the President.

♪♪♪

‐ I believe the army
camped outside this door

cannot be misunderstood.

But in case there is
any confusion,

let me make this clear.

Rebellion...

will not be tolerated

by myself or this nation.

Now, I understand

and sympathize
with your position.

These people are your family,

your friends, neighbors.

Your concerns are valid.

I believe, together,

we can work towards a solution
that benefits us all...

after you offer your complete
and unequivocal submission.

You may go now.

‐ What now?

‐ I will return to Philadelphia.

You remain in command here.

March the militia west

and end this uprising for good.

‐ It would be my pleasure.

‐ I do not want anyone killed.

If necessary, make arrests.

‐ Arrests?
‐ This...

is a matter for the courts.

And we are not executioners.

‐ Of course, sir.

‐It doesn't come
to the kind of blows

that it might have come to.
And in large part,

this was precisely

because Washington
understood the moment.

He's not really treating them
as enemies.

He didn't‐‐
He doesn't chase them down.

He doesn't try to destroy them.

He simply disperses them.

‐ If Washington
wasn't Washington,

I'm almost certain
that some‐‐

that the republic
would have fallen apart

in the 1790s,
in its early years,

as almost all republics do.

‐ Washington's foresight

was to understand the power
of a national government.

You have an allegiance
to an idea

that's put forth under
the federal constitution

which makes the country.

‐ Washington's whole point
was that they had

a special responsibility
to validate the idea

of self‐government.

That it was our
responsibility collectively.

It's one of the reasons
Washington adopted the mantle

of presidency
against his personal wishes.

It's why he stayed on
for a second term

when he really wanted
to go back to the farm.

‐ After nearly eight years
in office,

and with the country's
partisan divide deepening,

George Washington declines
to stand for a third term.

‐ Many people who started
with him in the Cabinet

are now in opposition.

He's seen his friends disappear
and finds himself alone.

He wants to go home and get away
from the vipers in politics.

‐ When he eventually retires,
Thomas Paine writes,

"We're pleased
to see you go,"

and asked the question

"whether you have simply
lost all your integrity

or whether you ever had any."

This is George Washington.

Think about that.
That's what they're saying.

‐ But outside
the political elite,

among the public,

Washington is revered

as the father of his country,

the man who delivered
the nation its freedom.

‐ He could have served
for three terms, four terms,

five terms.
As long as he was alive,

he would have been
President of the United States

because of his reputation

as a man
who could be trusted,

as a man who put country
ahead of himself.

People at the time
understood

that the main threat
to a republic

was a demagogue who would
seek power for himself,

and Washington wasn't
that person.

‐ Washington himself believed
there cannot be a monarch.

There cannot be
a person who lives on

and just dies in office.

‐ It's hard to overstate
how that

and the peaceful transfer
of power is revolutionary,

almost as revolutionary
as the war itself.

‐ For nearly 150 years
after that,

every subsequent President,
even in the absence

of a constitutional amendment
to that effect,

had to step down,
because they all faced

the challenging question

"So you think you're better
than Washington?"

And no one was willing to answer
that in the affirmative.

‐ George Washington's presidency
ends on the afternoon

of March 4th, 1797,
when his successor

John Adams is sworn in.

♪♪♪

‐ In that retirement,
which is his voluntary choice,

that he long lived to enjoy
the delicious recollection

of his services.

‐ In his inaugural address,

John Adams, never
Washington's biggest fan,

sends him off
with a soaring tribute.

‐ His name
may be still a rampart

and the knowledge
that he leaves a bulwark

against all open
and secret enemies

of his country's peace.

‐ Stop here.

I thought it would be nice

to walk the rest of the way.

‐ That sounds lovely.

‐ Washington was so excited
to go home.

He was so excited
to be on his plantation.

He was going to complete
the renovations to his house.

Finally, he was gonna be
able to do the experiments

he wanted to do in the garden.

♪♪♪

‐ Lovely, isn't it?

‐ Beautiful.

♪♪♪

‐ Washington has held
many titles in his long life,

General, Commander,
and President.

Now, in one
history‐making moment,

he becomes simply citizen.

♪♪♪

‐ [breathes heavily]

‐ After two decades
of public service,

George Washington's
long‐awaited return

to private life
is being cut short.

‐He ends up getting two
and a half years of retirement

in Mount Vernon.

He deserves more than that,
and he wanted more than that.

‐ That is it.

I am sending for the doctor.

‐ [breathes heavily]

‐ Washington catches
what is a throat disease.

Now he would be cured
with antibiotics

in a matter of hours.

‐ [breathes heavily]
‐ Stay with me, old man.

‐ Martha.
[breathes heavily]

‐ Washington believes
in bloodletting.

It's considered modern medicine
at the time.

It's literally cutting someone
and bleeding them.

What we would consider
nowadays a release of toxins.

He's bled over and over again
at his own request.

‐ More. [wheezing]

‐ I mean,
it's prolonged torture,

and he's not improving.

‐ [breathes heavily]

My breath cannot last long.

‐ And eventually he says,

"Stop. I'm just going."

‐ [breathes heavily]

Wait...three days...

to put my body

in the vault.

[wheezing]

‐He says, "Wait three days
to bury me."

He wants them to be sure
that he's actually dead.

It's such an interesting
concern and worry.

‐ [breathes heavily]

‐ It maybe speaks
to his need for control.

‐ [wheezing]

♪♪♪

‐ George Washington's
epic life ends

sometime between 10:00
and 11:00

on the night
of December 14th, 1799.

He was 67 years old.

‐ When he died,
it was really clear

that an age of American history
had ended.

‐ Given Washington's symbolic
as well as political importance

in the founding of the nation,

his death
had an enormous impact.

There was a huge response.

Enormous funeral processions
and ceremonies

held throughout the nation.

People understood

that this was the passing
of a moment.

‐When Washington is buried,
it's at home.

He wants to be
at Mount Vernon,

as he always did.

There are many in attendance,

with one notable exception‐‐

Martha Washington.

She stays in the house.

Whatever existed
between the two of them,

their relationship,

her sadness over his death,

we don't know...

because she didn't want us to.

‐ At some point after
her husband's death,

Martha Washington destroys
nearly all of the letters

they'd written to each other

over their 40 years
of marriage.

‐There's not very many letters
that exist between them.

One of them in particular,

we know
is the "My Dearest" letter.

It was discovered
in a writing desk

that had been owned
by Martha Washington,

kind of behind
one of the drawers

by one of Martha's
descendants in the 1840s.

‐ My dearest,

as I am within a few minutes
of leaving this city,

I could not think
of departing from it

without dropping you a line.

I retain an unalterable
affection for you,

which neither time
or distance can change.

With the utmost truth
and sincerity,

your entire,
George Washington.

‐Martha lives out
the rest of her days

quite quietly.

She passes from old age

quite peacefully at home

and is interned
next to Washington.

♪♪♪

‐ In Washington's
last will and testament,

he stipulates
that the enslaved people

will be granted their freedom
when Martha dies,

except for William Lee,
who he gives‐‐

grants his freedom
right away.

‐ Lee, who served by
Washington's side in the war,

suffered injuries
in two separate accidents

before Washington's
presidency,

making him physically
unable to continue

serving
as Washington's valet.

He spends the rest
of his life at Mount Vernon.

‐ Lee was given the option
of immediate emancipation

and an annuity of $30 a year.

He was to be taken care of.

So it's a moment where we see
Washington's thoughts,

his changing feelings
and sentiments

about slavery revealed.

‐ Now, you can say
he doesn't free him

in his own life,
but he's the only member

of the Virginia dynasty
to do this.

Jefferson doesn't do it.

Madison doesn't do it.
Monroe doesn't do it.

Patrick Henry doesn't do it.

‐And we have to recognize it
as significant

as the first President
of the United States,

as a founder,

that his decision

to emancipate his slaves
meant something.

And it also signaled

that slavery eventually

would come to an end.

‐ He knew even at the time
that his mark on history

would be a large footprint.

And I think
he was thinking ahead

in ways that we don't
necessarily think about today.

‐ George Washington
had a remarkable sense

that he was performing

not only to lead people
in his own time

but for all time.

‐ 15 miles north of Washington's
final resting place

sits the capital city
that now bears his name.

It's the beating heart

of George Washington's
real legacy‐‐

the government
he fought to create

and then pass
to future generations

along with some advice
on how to keep it alive.

‐ Friends and fellow citizens,

the unity of government

which constitutes you
one people

is also a main pillar
of your real independence.

‐ Washington's
farewell address

is a political
last will and testament.

This is the sum total
of his hard‐won wisdom

explicitly written for you.

‐ Let me warn you against
the baneful effects

of the spirit of party.

‐ And if you keep
these principles in mind,

you'll be fine.
If you don't,

there can be
real trouble ahead.

‐ It opens the door

to foreign influence
and corruption.

‐ He laid out the warnings

about how we have to protect
this system we have created.

‐ Cunning, ambitious,
and unprincipled men

will be unable to subvert
the power of the people.

‐ He understood
that this was still

a very fragile experiment,

and he had no idea
this is gonna last 200 years.

‐ Citizens by birth or choice,

the name of American
which belongs to you

must always exalt
the just pride of patriotism.

‐ Ever since George Washington,
people looking at us

and have been betting
against America.

So far,
they've all lost money.

‐ I shall carry it
with me to my grave

that the free Constitution,

which is the work
of your hands,

may be sacredly maintained.

‐ There are very few
Washington‐like figures

in American history‐‐

people who‐‐
they weren't perfect,

but you had a sense that,
when the crisis came,

when the winds were howling,

when the wolf was at the door,

you would want them in charge.

‐Washington did a good job

in making our union
more perfect.

And I think
America has no idea

how indebted to him they are.

‐ Washington is the embodiment

of America's
self‐evident truth.

He is the foundingest
father of them all.

Adams is his best read.

Jefferson is the most
intellectually sophisticated.

Benjamin Franklin is,
in some ways, the wisest.

Washington's the greatest.

No question about it.

Primus inter pares‐‐

first among equals.

♪♪♪