George Washington Wired

It’s always a wonder to work at Mount Vernon but particularly on days like yesterday. The Estate looked spectacular after the snow storm. We broke records in the DC area for snow fall this past weekend but Mount Vernon was open for business as usual on Monday. We take our mission of passing on Washington’s legacy very seriously! I had the lucky task of strolling the Estate, taking photos. Visitorship was light, but those who did venture out to visit Mount Vernon had a treat in store. In the nearly empty grounds one could envision what Mount Vernon looked like when Washington returned on Christmas Eve 1783 after the war. A great day to be at Mount Vernon!

It’s the Christmas season once again here at Mount Vernon, and things are lovely as always in December. The chocolate makers have the whole estate smelling like warm chocolate as they grind it by hand. The decorations are up in the Education and Orientation Centers (but not in the Mansion since Christmas trees and Santa figurines were definitely not a part of colonial Christmas). At night, Martha Washington and Dr. Craik lead visitors through the Mansion by candlelight. The Greenhouse is filled with music and dancing. Former White House pastry chef Roland Mesnier has transformed humble gingerbread and icing into an amazing Mount Vernon gingerbread house complete with furniture and animals. And best of all, Aladdin the camel is back to greet visitors, representing the camel that George Washington brought to Mount Vernon to surprise his family and guests on Christmas morning in 1787.

Image by L. Toshio Kishiyama.

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For the first time, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History will hold a Summer Institute for Teachers at Mount Vernon this year. Apply now for George Washington and the American Revolution, which will be held from June 27 – July 3, 2010. Andrew Robertson, Professor of History, Lehman College, The City University of New York is the director of this exploration of the American Revolution as two different historical events. One was the War for Independence, 1775-1783, that began with Lexington and Concord and concluded with the Treaty of Paris and the evacuation of the British from New York. The “other” American Revolution occurred in the hearts and minds of the American people.

This revolution began in the pamphlets and protests of the 1760s, continued in the Continental Congress, and helped inspire new institutions that emerged after the War for Independence: the abolition of slavery in the North, expanded public roles for women, and the separation of church and state. Both revolutions had global historical significance. George Washington was the pivotal figure in the War for Independence but he played an important role in the second revolution as well. Washington was a representative Virginia planter at the outset of the Revolutionary War. By the time the war concluded, Washington’s ideas about slavery, race, and republican government had been transformed. His leadership after the Revolution helped insure the conservation of both American Revolutions. Teachers accepted into the program will live on Washington’s estate and enjoy unprecedented access to Mount Vernon. More information and an application are available here.