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George Washington

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When LBJ Ordered Pants From the White House

Johnson liked his Haggar slacks slack—and colorfully described a special custom-cut

The 5.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Washington, D.C. on August 23 caused damage to the Washington Monument.

Scaling the Washington Monument

Mountaineering park ranger Brandon Latham talks about how engineers investigated the monument from hundreds of feet above the ground

On February 4, 1789, the 69 members of the Electoral College made George Washington the only chief executive to be unanimously elected.

George Washington: The Reluctant President

It seemed as if everyone rejoiced at the election of our first chief executive except the man himself

Many of George Washington's decisions during his long career were made only after careful readings of the existing cartographical materials.

George Washington and His Maps

In his journey from surveyor to soldier to leader, our first president used cartography to get a feel for the young nation

Britain's leaders made a miscalculation when they assumed that resistance from the colonies, as the Earl of Dartmouth predicted, could not be "very formidable."

Myths of the American Revolution

A noted historian debunks the conventional wisdom about America’s War of Independence

Re-enactors dressed as George Washington and his volunteer Continental Army cross the Delaware River.

George Washington’s Christmas Crossing

An annual holiday tradition since 1952, re-enactors bring Washington crossing the Delaware to life

"We, The Delaware Boat Veterans, take as our solemn duty before our Creator to make known the truth concerning the Presidential candidate who calls himself George Washington."

Swiftboating George Washington

For politicians, it’s the same olde, same olde story

Aerial view of the Washington dig site with Fredericksburg visible on the horizon

Washington’s Boyhood Home

Archaeologists have finally pinpointed the Virginia house where our first president came of age

George Washington

Digging Up George Washington

Archaeologists continue to uncover more about the nation’s first president

French and Indian War: "The Night Council at Fort Necessity." Ilustration

The First “Teflon” Hero

What July 4th, 1754 reveals about George Washington’s survival skills

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War Correspondence

Letters between George Washington and Marquis de Lafayette

Against the British, both Washington and Lafayette (left and right, at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-78) had to learn how to lead citizen-soldiers rather than mercenaries, motivating their men through affection and idealism rather than through fear.

Washington & Lafayette

Almost inseparable in wartime, the two generals split over a vital question: Should revolutionary ideals be imposed on others?

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The Spirit of George Washington

After two centuries, Mount Vernon’s whiskey distillery returns

Mount Vernon Ladies' Association

Discovering George Washington

Little-known facts about the nation’s first president

Edward Savage painted this portrait of Mount Vernon in 1792.

Exploring Mount Vernon

George Washington’s historic Virginia plantation

After the Bristish occupying army left Boston, Washington issued general orders (above) to his troops to "live in the strictest Peace and Amity with the [city's] inhabitants." He also urged the town fathers to turn over remaining British supplies and identify spies.

Washington Takes Charge

Confronting the British in Boston in 1775, Gen. George Washington honed the qualities that would carry the day in war and sustain the new nation in peace

Britannia offers solace and a promise of compensation for her exiled American-born Loyalists

Divided Loyalties

Descended from American Colonists who fled north rather than join the revolution, Canada’s Tories still raise their tankards to King George

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Winter of Discontent

Even as he endured the hardships of Valley Forge, George Washington faced another challenge: critics who questioned his fitness to lead

George Washington, shown here in an 1853 lithograph, oversees his slaves at Mount Vernon.

Founding Fathers and Slaveholders

To what degree do the attitudes of Washington and Jefferson toward slavery diminish their achievements?

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Washington Slept Here

A look at the first president’s “best bed” leads to a recollection of the real man and his exemplary life

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