I think your project with the National Park service is great and really exciting. If theres any way, gas prices are down, i do a little bit of work involving disciplinary with students, you can even get interns to talk about your process of working with the people and places. We do have a lot of interns of the portrait gallery. One of the big misconceptions is that we are fully funded by the federal government. It was very interesting, when i got the job, to find out we were being sequestered and getting a 14 cut. The truth is, it is wonderful. You have this amazing building. The maintenance of this building and a large number of the sellers are covered by government support. But every exhibition, every program we do, every work of art that we conserve, we raise the money for that. So we do rely on our volunteers. We also take very seriously i do mentoring young people. Teenagers are very deliberate. Not just because i have two of my own. But i want my boys thinking about what kind of adults theyre going to be. I would like to think of the gallery as someplace you can look at people that have gone through life in some ways, that have had to make choices. Some good, some bad. Nobody has been a saint. We had Lance Armstrong next to hank aaron. It is an interesting conversation about organized sports and peer pressure to young men. So we very much want young people to get involved. One of the things we do not have is a lot of diversity in the museum field in terms of minorities. The are also hoping we can start a program where young people will get to work in various departments at the museum. Ideally, i would like some young africanamerican woman or something to take my job in a couple of years. That would be the hope for all of us. That we get that sort of diversity in our major institutions. [applause] you are watching American History tv. All weekend, every weekend, on cspan3. To join the conversation, like us on facebook. Up next, author Edward Larson talks about George Washingtons role in the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The Founding Fathers crafted a new document to replace the articles of confederation, which was an unsuccessful blueprint for the new government. Washington agreed to participate as the Virginia Governor virginia delegate, and presided over the convention, taking an active role in shaping the constitution we know today. George Washingtons Mount Vernon posted this hourlong event. For me, these lectures, beginning last weekend concluding a month from now conclude an amazing year that began a year ago last september with the opening of the library for the study of George Washington. During that year as a library fellow i finished my book on washington which just came out this week and i just was able to give a copy to gae. During that period while i was here i learned what a rich treasure we all have. Especially those who live near it here at mount vernon. Led by kurt and doug, the staff here is extraordinarily dedicated, loyal, and collegial. For 150 years, the Mount Vernon Ladies Association has kept this place special, and with the new library, which i got to enjoy, and the Orientation Center and the Education Center i would say that no crop of women have done so better, at least since martha did it alone. [laughter] and among those remarkable women, those we are able to hear speak, and gae, i want to mention them in particular for their wonderful generosity in welcoming me and how much they have welcomed me. With that, let me begin by saying that, you know, americans generally recognize George Washingtons indispensable role as the commander in chief of American Forces during the revolutionary war and as the first president of the United States under the constitution. Many know he preside over the convention that drafted the constitution but really few , today appreciate his key role in forging and framing that document. My last lecture, i was able to talk about the years from his retirement up to the philadelphia convention, when he had that wonderful, magnificent trip west when he saw the danger of losing the frontier, when he worked on the potomac navigation project, when he began to reengage in public leadership. But as i say, few people really appreciate his key role in forging and framing the document and thats what i wanted to focus on today. If James Madison was the constitutions chief architect, as many textbooks say, well, then id say that George Washington was its general contractor. In that he, more than anyone got the work done. And any of you who have built or expanded your house, you know the architect is important, but you know the general contractor is the one who is finally responsible. So allow me to elaborate on that comparison. Now, washington did intend to retire from Public Service following the war and leave the countrys political future to others. He envisioned an energetic republic, uniting the coastal states with the vast western territories ceded by britain in the treaty recognizing american independence. He said as much in his 1783 circular letter to the states issued at a time when he despaired over the confederacys inability to pay its troops and his creditors. His 1784 trip to the western lands which showed him the tenuous nature of the hold on the west reinforced his convincing that the articles of confederation then looping the , states into a Loose Alliance that it lacked the power to tax or to command individuals and must be revised to give the Central Government direct control over interstate commerce, foreign affairs, national defense, and its own revenue. To him, these were essential for promoting liberty, protecting property, and preserving our very independence. The subsequent breakdown of public order in some states, reckless omission of paper money by others and worsening economic concerns everywhere deepened his concern and those of many other americans. To illustrate this i could draw , on his correspondence with dozens of leading americans all over the country, trying to see what could be done, talking about other leading americans. But just somewhat at random but as a representative example, let me focus on his exchanges with the confederations brilliant but beleaguered foreign secretary, john jay. Early in 1786, jay sent a desperate appeal to washington here at mount vernon, begging him to reemerge from retirement long enough to lead an effort for constitutional reform. An opinion begins to prevail, he wrote, that a General Convention for revising the articles of con federation would be expedient. Whether the people are right for such a measure or the system proposed to be attained by it, is only to be expected from it by calamity and commotion it is , difficult to ascertain, he wrote. But if a confederation is called, i am fervent in my wishes that you favor your country, with your councils, on such an important and singular occasion. Well, washington knew that to make a difference, he could not come out of retirement for a single occasion. If he participated in a convention to reform the national constitution, he would have to see the matter through or watch it fail. Further, even jay conceded that the time might not yet be right for constitutional reform, that people might not yet be ready to expect those radical changes. Washington did not want to expend his Political Capital prematurely. Thus washington put them off. He wrote, i coincide perfectly in sentiments with you but my fear is that the people are not yet significantly misled to retract from error. Washington blamed the situation on ignorance among the people regarding the dangers to freedom and property from the excesses of democracy and wickedness by some who sought to take advantage of those excesses. He wrote, ignorance and design are difficult to combat. Out of these proceed illiberality, and a train of evils which oftentimes in republican governments must be sorely felt before they can be removed. Conceding that something must be done or the fabric will fail washington remained uncertain if the time had come to act. He wrote, i scarcely know what to entertain of a General Convention. That it is necessary i entertain no doubt, and he underlined the word no, but what may be the consequences of such an appeal. Doubtful. Washington preferred to wait until the calamitous consequences of the current course became clear to all people of goodwill. He concluded, virtue, i fear, has in a great degree taken its departure from our land and the the want of disposition to do justice is a source of national embarrassment. well, we can see from this that the anxiety over constitutional reform reflected in this and in a variety of other letters washington is writing at this time to dozens of other people betray a far more fundamental concern than fears of losing the west, hopes for a National Market economy and a plain desire to repay government creditors and former soldiers. Those issues certainly weighed heavily on both men, but their letters spoke in terms of calamity and commotion, loss of public virtue and disposition of due justice and breakdown of the social fabric under the excesses of majority faction. Liberty itself was at risk, both men declared, much as it had been in 1776, but this time the threat came from within, which made it much worse. By the end of 1786, with a debtors insurrection in massachusetts, wholesale printing of devalued paper money by rhode island, and open rebellion in vermont, washington began to doubt if americans were capable of selfgovernment. This is a picture of him from that time. Who besides a tory could have foreseen or a briton could have predicted such events, he wrote to henry knox, then the confederation secretary of war notwithstanding the boasted virtue of america, we are far gone in everything ignoble and bad. And so to James Madison, who was already thinking about a new National Political structure washington wrote in november 13 sovereignties pulling against each other and all tugging at the federal head will soon bring ruin to the whole whereas a liberal and energetic constitution, wellguarded and closely watched to prevent encroachments, might restore to us that degree of respectability and consequence to which we had a fair claim. in march, 1787, three months after the disturbances in massachusetts died down, washington wrote to his former aide and confidante, marquis de lafayette, about their Ongoing Campaign for constitutional reform. These disorders, he wrote of the shays rebellion, are defective are evident marks of a defense of government. Indeed most of the people are so well satisfied in that fact that most of the legislatures have appointed and the rest it is said will appoint delegates to meet in philadelphia on the second monday of may next. In General Convention of the states to revise and correct the defects of the federal system. By this point, virginia had picked washington to lead its delegation to the convention and he was debating with himself and others whether he should go. His main worries were whether the convention had been called merely to provide articles of to propose amendments to the articles of the constitution and not to create a new constitution. He did not want to waste his time and precious Political Capital on tinkering with a failed system. He now wrote to madison, a thorough reform of the present system is indispensable, and with hand to heart i hope the business will be as seayed in the upcoming convention. Hearing that some states might impose limits on their delegates, washington reiterated his hope that the convention , and im using his words here, would probe the defects of the constitution to the bottom and provide radical cures. Only on these terms would he go to philadelphia. Well, by this point, washington had written to jay, to knox, and to madison requesting their advice on a restructured government. Struck by the similarities of their responses, washington here at mount vernon prepared an abstract, a single paper comparing those three responses. All three, as his abstract shows, envisioned a National Government with separate legislative, judicial, and executive branches. All would divide congress into an elite upper house and a popular lower house. Madison elaborated more than the others on the judiciary. He viewed National Courts as essential to avoid local bias in expounding National Laws in deciding cases of citizens of different states. Like jay and knox, madison was obsessed with reining in the states. The National Government should be armed with positive and complete authority in all cases which require uniformity, he wrote to washington, and as the regulation, over the regulation of interstate trade. He recommended placing state militias under state control and suggested that, as in colonial days, the Central Government should appoint state governors. Recognizing the inexpediency of abolishing the states altogether, which is of course what hamilton wanted to do madison called for a federal system, some middle ground, he called it, which may at once support a new supremacy of National Authority and not exclude the local authorities whenever they can be subordinately useful. That was his description. [laughter] at least in areas under its domain he maintained that the , government must retain power to act directly on the people, not just through the states. All three men, jay, knox madison, agreed on this key point. In his responses to knox, jay, and madison, washington embraced their proposals and made them his own. Those enumerated in your letters are so obvious and sensibly felt that no logic can can controvert them. But is the public mind mature for such a change, he asked. Expressing similar sentiments to knox, washington stated his fears that the political machine will yet be much tumbled and tossed and possibly wrecked altogether before such a system as you have defined will be adopted. Jealous of power, state officials, quote, would give their weight of opposition to such a revolution, washington predicted. Nevertheless, he wrote to jay, he wished to try the Convention Route and try what could be affected. It represented, he said, the last peaceful means to save the union. Should it devise a vigorous new constitution under his leadership, knox assured washington that he, washington would have, im quoting knox here, would have doubly earned the glorious republican epitaph, the father of your country. All of them recognized washington at the center of constitutionmaking. Make no mistake about it. Washington did not want to leave mount vernon. He wanted to stay right here. But he now saw it as his civic duty, so he went to philadelphia. Americans everywhere understood this and discussed its significance. An article in the connecticut journal of may 2 wrote, it is with particular satisfaction we he form the public that our illustrious fellow citizen George Washington has consented to serve in the ensuing federal convention. What happy consequence may not all true friends of federal government promise themselves . Calling him the american fabius the legendary roman general and statesman a rhode island paper printed a poem may 5 about washingtons muchanticipated arrival in philadelphia. And im picking these two at random. I could pick out literally hundreds of similar comments. So here is from rhode island. The hero comes, each voice resounds his praise. No envious shafts can dare to chill his rays. All hail great man who for our countrys cause flew to her call to protect its laws. these and other widely circulated accounts show that even before it began, americans expected radical cures from the constitution. Upon the events of this Great Council depend everything in our national character. The philadelphia paper, when he arrived, wrote in a leading editorial that the the proposal to give congress complete power over all things which are a like concern of all states was the essential drive of what the convention was about. The more we abridge the states of their sovereignties and the more supreme power we congregate in the assembly of states, the more safety, liberty and prosperity will be enjoyed by each of the states and all of the people. Reflecting his commitment to serve, washington was one of the few delegates to arrive in philadelphia on time. He duly went to the state house on the appointed hour, may 14, to find only madison and the pennsylvanians present. They returned daily as the other delegates gradually trickled in, but it took 10 more days to obtain a quorum. In the meantime, meeting privately, the virginians present and apparently the pennsylvanians, cobbled together the outlines of a new government. It became known as the virginia plan because the Virginia Governor, edmund randolph, formally offered it at the convention. Little is known about those meetings, but letters from those present suggest that washington attended every meeting and supported the outcome. As one virginian depicted the stillforming plan, nothing less than a revolution in government was brewing. He wrote to his son, the most prevalent idea seems to be a total obliteration of the present federal system and substituting a Great National council with full legislative powers upon all objects of the union. this sentence effectively summarized the virginia plan. People were to replace the states as Building Blocks of the National