Yesterday we drove into Washington DC (stay tuned for Christmas pictures) and got to travel down the lovely George Washington Parkway which hugs the Potomac River. One end of the parkway begins at historic Mount Vernon. While driving along the parkway the kids were supposed to be finishing their copies of Machiavelli's
The Prince, for their government studies.
Education in the 18th century was quite a bit different than that of today. The elite were most properly classically trained. George Washington fell into this niche, with hopes of a proper education culminating in Great Britain, as his brother had received. However Washington's father died so the finances were no longer available for the priviledged education. Therefore Washington is not quite known for his rhetoric during the early years of formation of our country. Yet he was still well read because he
chose to continue reading books. The beginning of any educated person comes through reading books which is evidenced by his ability to communicate with his peers. Washington served as burgess, eloquently inspired his men to persevere in a seemingly dauntless war, led the Constitutional Convention and was unanimously elected president of the United States.
What types of books would a man like this read? As the
New York Society Library restored their ledgers from 1789-1792 for digital publication, they stumbled upon record of a missing book. Now made available to the public, we can see what types of books were borrowed and read by such memorable people as John Adams and Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton is from New York, so that makes sense. Why would a Bostonian, like Adams, borrow a book from a library in New York City, in the days before interlibrary loans? Our nation's first capital was located in New York City, during which time our first president,
George Washington, checked out Emmerich de Vattel's The Law of Nations on October 5, 1789. According to the ledger, the book had never been returned now had fines ever been paid for the overdue book. (oops!) There has got to be a story there! Did the library simply overlook this matter since a book of important subject matter was in the hands of the highly revered President Washington?
After discovering the missing book during the restoration, the New York Society Library continued to keep this information a secret. Somehow the New York Daily News found out and exposed the information. As a result,
Mount Vernon found out and they contacted the library with special arrangements which in turn led to a special ceremony...read all about it here.
Since I am having the kids read some of the books the Founding Fathers would have read which influenced their ideas in forming our government, the very first attempt at self-government, I found this information espeically interesting. The
Law of Nations is subtitled "Principles of the Law of Nature Applied to the Conduct and Affairs of Nations and Sovereigns." Written in 1758, it talks about the very same topics other Englightenment thinkers discussed like Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau and Montesquieu.
As I pondered the significance of the book's check-out date, I googled "October 5, 1789." What happened on that day? My suspicions were confirmed by the dates of the French Revolution. Although Washington would not have been aware of the daily events as they happened (no CNN, no cell phones, no e-mail, no text messaging) he was well aware that a revolution in France was erupting. As a statesman, Washington was well aware of world events. As a friend, he was concerned about his adopted son, Lafayette, who was in the midst of the eruption.
Lafayette, the Frenchman initially inpsired by the ideas of liberty, came to America to help us achieve our independence. In France he tried to be the bridge between the monarch and the people. Lafayette drafted Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen which was adopted in August 1789. Lafayette became commander-in-chief of the National Guard.
Interestingly, 0n the day Washington checked out
The Law of Nations, October 5, 1789, a mob stormed Versailles, the home of the monarch. Lafayette helped the monarch safely escape to the Tulleries. Meanwhile Lafayette tried to bridge the gap of ideas for a peaceful change from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy, but the mobs eventually saw him as a traitor.
Timing is everything to making connections in history. Washington took the oath of office as first president of the United States of America in April 1789 in New York City. The weight of setting presidential presidence, leading a fledgling nation, diplomacy in eruptive events abroad must certain have occupied his mind, as he checked-out a
Law of Nations six months later. Many questions come to mind as a result of this uncovered microscopic detail that magnifies the significance of his leading the first country in the world that was inspired by the very type of information found in
Law of Nations.
George Washington was a man of a bit of self-education, highly attainable with the wise
choice of reading classical history, government and literature.
Mount Vernon is currentlycollecting the books that Washingon read in order to provide education outreach programs and more that focus on Washington's leadership.
The next step to self-education is thinking, discussing and writing about the material learned in the great books of classical history.
The University of Virginia is making available the writings of George Washington. Surely scattered in his letters are the thoughts of influence of books read and experienced events.
Much of who Washington was and did was because of what he read. Shouldn't we seek to understand the foundations of our government more by reading the books that our first commander-in-chief, the President of the Constitutional Conventional Convention, the first president of the United States read himself? Shouldn't we pass on this heritage to our students, even at the high school level, to deepen their understanding of citizenship?
My kids will not read every book that Washington or the other Founding Fathers read, but we are getting a great start. My hope is to lay a contextual foundation for them to draw from in learning high school civics, in preparation for college and becoming informed American citizens fulfilling civic responsibilities. Hopefully they will continue a lifetime of reading great books that will prick their thoughts and deepen their understanding of their history, to help them make intelligent decisions as American citizens.
Our country takes many things for granted, including water downed history and government texts full of bias. Who learns from that? I had an awakening when I read Fahrenheit 451. We need to put fewer textbooks and more classics into the hands of our students. Great books are fun to read! I have inspired many a student to read books that they and others thought were too difficult for them. Instead of lowering the bar, we should raise it. Whether public school, private school, home school or self-educated, the key is reading, thinking, discussing and writing based from the Classics. It's timeless. It can be fun.
Tonight at dinner I shared this information at the dinner table and we were all laughing. I asked what happened on Oct 5, 1789 and my kids knew the French Revolution was at hand! We pondered the possibilities for future questioning for George Washington with a few giggles. I submit that learning can be deep and it can be fun!
Ah, the stories that an overdue book and a ledger can tell that make the study of government that much more fascinating...
