let us declare our independence. when we think about america, post independence is very little chance that it's going to survive. washington was upset because we were calling ourselves the united states. he says, are we united or are we not? this ultimately leads to a call for a convention and talking about having 40 or 50 guys in this room and you're in the hot summer. you're arguing the framers have a new and radical idea, and that is popular sovereignty. as george washington said, never before in history have you seen this sort of people debating about their form of government without violence. he's not going to establish a monarchy. he's going to establish a democratic republic. and it wasn't about him as an individual. it was about the office. hello, i'm bret baier. welcome to mt. vernon on the banks of the potomac river. this was george washington's home. his business and his most beloved place on earth. but his dedication to his country is best measured by the time he spent away from here. eight years of the revolution, and then again to preside over the constitutional convention. and, of course, another eight years when he served as the infant nation's first president. in my latest tell all book, “to rescue the constitution, george washington and the fragile american experiment”, i tell the story of how washington was the human embodiment of the document that guarantees our liberty. it's a story that will end here at mt. vernon, but it begins on another virginia plantation. not far away. washington was born in 1732 when the british colonies were still just fledgling outposts. the new world held promise, and many colonists had become wealthy from tobacco farming, including george washington's father, augustine. their home stood on this 280 acre property overlooking the rappahannock river, across from fredericksburg, virginia, but their comfortable life wouldn't last. his father died when he was 11. he went from having a very stable family life, one in which he could expect greatest privileges of a society to soon being cast adrift. washington had no formal education. in those days, well-to-do families sent their children to england for classical education. but once his father died, he was unable to go to england. he had reading, writing, arithmetic, usually from private tutors. but he didn't receive the same education that his older siblings did. washington got from his childhood a strong sense of the need to be self-reliant. george washington's mother, mary washington, had a very important impact on him. she was quite strong. and i think george washington had that reputation as well. young and full of determination. he knew that if he was going to make anything of his life, it was up to him. he wasn't going inherit some massive estate or a lot of money. and so one thing he could do to earn money and also get opportunities was to become a surveyor. the job was in high demand in the developing colonies because of the unmapped frontier. and washington, it turned out, was really good at math. laurence washington was the older brother and he had become george washington's mentor. lawrence is the one who really helped establish washington as a surveyor. with his adventurous spirit, it was the perfect fit. so george washington, at the age of 17, was made a surveyor of culpeper county, virginia, and that put him out west in the shenandoah valley, which at the time was the west. while washington never traveled far beyond the colonies, he did go to barbados. lawrence had tuberculosis. and the idea was that if you traveled to places like barbados with its climate, would help with lung diseases. that's where george was infected with smallpox. the disease nearly killed him, but washington survived. and once you survived smallpox, you have an immunity for the rest of your life. his brother lawrence wasn't so lucky, and he left behind this sprawling virginia estate known as mount vernon. after lawrence dies, the estate actually goes to his wife, but she leases it to george washington. the land was a dream to washington who loved agriculture. but his bliss at mount vernon would be cut short as conflict arose between the british and the french over north american territories. when washington's elder step brothers died, his military commission was transferred over to washington. but he was never really trained. inexperienced yet in command, he led his men on an expedition to tell the french to vacate a british controlled fort. but during a run in with a scouting party, washington's men opened fire, which in turn helped spark the french and indian war. and that was a conflict over who was going to control north america. the french wanted to control the ohio river, which gave them access to the interior, and the british wanted to control it as well. washington served as commander of the virginia militia under the british military. he lost early battles, but nevertheless established himself as a war hero. that put him in the habit of leadership through military success. during a break in fighting, he met a beautiful 26 year old named martha custis. she was a widow and she was a very good catch for george washington because she was extremely wealthy. and george washington was a great catch, of course, because he was a dashing star. the french and indian war. ten months later, they married and lived at mount vernon, which washington had now inherited. he raised her children at mount vernon. he was their ward and took care of them. the french and indian war came to an end in 1763 after the french surrendered, leaving all of their north american territory in the hands of king george. the british had defeated the french, but now they had to make sense of this new empire in which they controlled all of north america. so they started passing all of these new policies and laws taxes on colonists for the first time. the steep new taxes like the stamp act and the sugar act, helped pay off the crown's war debt. but they enraged the colonists who had no say because they didn't have a vote in parliament. the colonists consider themselves to be british subjects who had the same rights as those in great britain, but those in great britain started treating colonists as if they were separate and unequal. the crown also raised money by chartering companies that would have a monopoly on all trade with the colonies. the law, sir has changed. tensions were rising and rising and rising. and then the british colonies in america had enough fire! everything culminated in the boston massacre. british soldiers fired at the protesters and killed five. but the colonists had hit a breaking point. george washington and other leaders put their own foot down and say, it's time for us to start governing ourselves. they decided to fight back so they could choose their own destiny. as the colonists clash with the british at lexington and concord and april 1775, colonial leaders met to prepare the country to move forward on its own. outside of british rule, george washington showed up at continental congress in his military uniform, even though independence hadn't been declared. it was clear that there needed to be a military. we must act now. let us declare our independence. everybody was looking around for a leader and there was george washington congress appoints him the head of the army. the fate and the future of this nation rested on his shoulders. the continental army struggled through the early years of the war, and without any major victories, they had lost spirit. general washington knew something bold needed to happen. we cannot hold this position. what he decides is that there needs to be quick action to assert american authority and get a victory that might sustain morale through the conflict. and so that's his decision to cross the delaware. the daring move changed the tide of the war. victories at trenton and princeton convinced the continental army that the british could be beat. americans realized we can still win victories. the cause is not lost, but the hard times would be far from over. as washington and his troops spent the cold, harsh winter of 1777 encamped at valley forge. despite a shortage of supplies and an outbreak of smallpox, valley forge also brought opportunity. valley forge is this transformational moment because they had the time to start training. meanwhile, an optimistic continental congress adopted the articles of confederation, laying out how the nation's new government would work. now, the only thing that stood in the way of freedom was british surrender. the decisive showdown came in yorktown, virginia, in 1781. he waited for the right chance to make the attack that ultimately would end the war. in a capitulation that would shock the world. the british surrendered to the continental army on september 28, 1781. george washington took a ragtag group of patriots, turned them into a formidable army, and then led them to victory against the greatest military in the world. then he did the unthinkable. he gave up power and returned home here to his beloved mount vernon. but his country would soon be calling him away again. that's next. only by sorting through two centuries of fact and fiction can we remember the man who helped shape the nation. we became the mindset of the british was we're going to roll right through these guys. we're going to show what we're really made of. americans don't retreat. they were determined to fight the odds. imagine somebody, your high school band, throwing weapons on them, just marching them down there to go get into a fight. you got to focus on the threat in front of you or you're going to be down there and blood and guts for your boys. their sacrifice was extraordinary. war is hell. kelsey grammer. historic battles for america, streaming now on fox nation. sign up at fox nation dot com. just between us, you know what's better than mopping? anything! ugh. well, i switched to swiffer wetjet, and it's awesome. it's an all-in-one, that absorbs dirt and grime deep inside. and it helps prevent streaks and haze. wetjet is so worth it. love it, or your money back. autoquote explorer from progressive shows you rates from other companies, even if they're lower than ours. because honesty is the best policy. i ate the apple pie you left cooling on the windowsill. that's my bad. who are you? dear moms and dads, what you have achieved here today is going to help us and our futures. it is why we're coming up on stage to collect your diplomas. mom, love you always. vo: when you graduate, they graduate. visit finishyourdiploma.org to find free and supportive (car engine revs) adult education centers near you. (engine accelerating) (texting clicks) (tires squeal) (glass shattering) (loose gravel clanking) welcome back. the british were defeated and the former colonies united under the articles of confederation. but it soon became clear the new nation would not take root. under that arrangement, amid the uncertainty, america needed a steady hand. and america once again turned to george washington. washington was ecstatic to be home in virginia and expected to stay there. so he gives his commission back to congress in december of 1783 in annapolis, maryland. usually, revolutionary generals don't give up power. usually they stay on. and usually they end up destroying the very liberty that they were trying to establish. washington believed this power was never his to keep. it was given to him by the people. and now that the war was over, he wanted to give it back. in some ways, i think this is the moment where washington is maybe the most happy in his life because the war is now ended and he believes he can return to mt. vernon, which is where his heart is. but at the same time, he's challenged because there's so much uncertainty in the nation. there's uncertainty about its future. its economy seems to be in shambles. when we think about america, post-independence, there's very little chance that it's going to survive. it is divided into 13 different sovereign states that are basically doing their own thing. most of them are completely broke. the states are out of control, passing all kinds of laws, inflating their currencies, really making it impossible to create a stable political order. a lot of debt has fallen on individuals. you had riots. you had insurrection. in massachusetts. a group of farmers caused an armed revolt known as shays rebellion. the big thing is they're trying to shut down the courts because they don't want to be foreclosed, which is really about massachusetts trying to tax to pay for its war. the u.s. government was basically in default. they weren't able to pay any of their debts from the war itself. so the country was a joke. and to make things worse, the states couldn't see eye to eye. gold and silver only, no paper money. but you have a lot of things going on between states arguing, you know, who owns what land or gets to use what river. washington was upset because we were calling ourselves the united states. he says. are we united or are we not? just as it was getting started. our nation was dangerously divided and on the brink of collapse. the articles of confederation is the government which unites these different colonies. it won the war. so it had some impact. but after the war is over, there's no common cause anymore. and the articles doesn't allow taxation. no one knew better than washington if the articles had failed because it was the articles fault that he couldn't pay his soldiers. the congress couldn't act except by unanimous decision of all the states meant that individual states could refuse to pay their share. washington is one of those people that feels that a lot of our problems can be solved as a nation. and he sort of develops that feeling in the revolution that that we need to keep these states together for our future. we know as early as 1780, he was writing to his friends privately to say we need a stronger national government. most people think of the states as their main government, not a union. so to embody republican union is something unique in human history, and washington embodies it because of his reputation that he only wants to go public with those opinions when he knows the nation may be ready to make that move. but statesmen like james madison from virginia and henry knox from massachusetts believed time was of the essence and that washington's leadership was essential. guys like madison, you know, that are working on him to say, hey, you know, we're going to need you to carry us through. we need your name, your prestige. this is the kind of role that george washington played. he was the guy. if you had something happening, you had to bring him there. otherwise people wouldn't take it seriously. he's not sure. but eventually he realizes, yes, it's now or never. washington sees this as if this country fails if the union falls apart. what would the war be for? eight years of war and suffering would be worthless. and so he became very much involved in an effort to reform the articles of confederation. this ultimately leads to a call for a convention. it wasn't obvious that he was going to attend because it was obvious that the convention was going to work and he didn't like to lend his name to stuff that failed. washington said he would not go if it was just going to be a reformation. it had to be kind of a root and branch new government. a hesitant washington began the 150 mile trek from here in mount vernon to philadelphia. despite his reservations, he knew our fragile union desperately needed a new government so it wouldn't fall apart. that's next. my name is john david carpten dr. kimberly stegmaier dr. edith perez i'm a medical oncologist and i focus on cancer prevention people are always asking me why why do i do this work? two words come to mind for me. one is responsibility, the other is purpose. there was a child that you know i took care of and adored and she said to me dr. kim, you know, will you remember me forever? 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[female narrator] fifteen million people have an undiagnosed brain aneurysm. if you have the worst headache of your life get help immediately. i'm one of the lucky ones. i'm extremely lucky. i'm a survivor. i survived. it didn't end my life don't let it end yours. [narrator] visit lisa foundation dot org to learn more. senators and the speaker of the house. tuesday's visit will mark zelensky's third trip to washington since russia's invasion of ukraine began. battles continue to break out across gaza as israel ramps up its attacks on hamas. that includes in the southern city of khan younis, where residents have been urged to evacuate. this as the us continues to mount pressure on israel to do more to protect gazans and to provide humanitarian aid. the un describing the conditions in gaza as apocalypse like. i'm marianne rafferty. now back to marianne rafferty. now back to rescue the constitution. a welcome back. retired general washington put his civic duty welcome back above his desire to be here at mt. washington put his vernon and headed to philadelphia. the war created independence for americans. his new task was creating a government that would secure their liberty. washington arrived here at what's now known as independence hall in may of 1787. back then, it was the pennsylvania state house in downtown philadelphia. george washington is one of the few people that is trusted across all the different states and simply showing up at philadelphia was the most important thing he did. i think he was confident that something was going to change. i don't think he knew what that was going to be, but he certainly knew that whatever it was going to be, it was going to be better than the articles that were governing the country at the time. the main goal of the constitutional convention is to achieve a government strong enough to have security and economic prosperity that allows for decisions based on reason rather than passion. and who better to preside over this convention than the great figure who embodies the triumph of reason over passion? george washington. the convention could now get under way. however, the delegates who like washington, wondered if the convention would even work were slow to arrive. the first day, the only people that showed up were virginia and pennsylvania. but the other states sort of slowly drift in, and so this is a problem because the articles of confederation rules in place are that anything change wise, big picture stuff you have to have all 13 states agree. they quickly changed that rule in order to get started. and it was a good thing since one state never even bothered to show up. rhode island didn't attend at all, so they were kind of the outlier, but everyone else eventually made it. the floor is open. washington set the stage for the convention and told the framers it would be an open debate where everyone had an equal voice. the small room they were crammed inside would soon simmer not just from heated discussions, but from the