circumstance, and think appropriate as a symbol of the united states because we still do look at the first ladies representing women in the united states, even when she's not functioning in duty hours, she represents the united states. each year "time" magazine select as person who had the most influence on events during the previous 12 months. if the same question were posed in 1862, who would "times" select as person of the year? american history tv will be oochz live next saturday from richmond, virginia, as historians including james mcpherson and david blake ponder that question and present their

candidates for person of the year 1862. the museum of the confederacy and the library of virginia hosts the all-day forum and during the day we'll open our phone lines and take your tweets so you can question the historians about their nominations and propose your own candidates. live coverage begins at 9:30 a.m. eastern to 4:30 p.m. eastern on american history tv on c-span3. join american history tv on monday for 24 hours of america's first ladies including an interview with eleanor roosevelt at 4:45 p.m. eastern. >> i think like everything else that we started out expecting that the united nations would united nations. tour the white house private quarters with laura bush at 5:00 and ladybird johnson at 8:00. nancy reagan reminisces about her husband at 8:30. and at 11:30, the only first

lady to run for president, now secretary of state, hillary clinton, at her final campaign rally in 2008. american history tv monday, presidents' day, on c-span3. next william fowler on his book "american crisis:george washington and the dangerous two years after yorktown." the author details general george washington's struggles as he dealt with an ineffective congress and a continental army on the verge of muteny. it was sponsored by the associate law library in boston.

>> may i ask you too take your seats police. welcome to the social law library. my name is robert brink and i'm the executive director. we're honored to have all of you anze also delighted to have back william fowler who will talk about his book george washington and the dangerous two years after yorktown 1781 to 1783. let me first ask you to silence your cell phones. let me ask you to stay for the signing and proffers's talk. and in that connection i want to thank one of the bookstore for coming over from cambridge whenever the authors appear at the social law library so thank you very much. i also want to thank the william m. wood foundation and its trustee the bank of america. william wood was a distinguished

and grateful lawyer who relied on the social law library throughout his career. charitable funds from his memorial foundation underwrite all of the library's conferences and authored series. tonight's speaker is william m. fowler, jr., diggs tin gived proffers of northeastern university and a long time president of the nengds quarterly. he is the author of a number of highly regarded books, contributions to scholarly public indications and articles in the popular media, many of which concentration on aspects of the american revolution, its milt tair and political history, and the people of that era, both the famous and the obscure. the list of publications in professor fowler's cv is long so i can't list them all but here are two popular books that everyday readers might well remember. samuel adams radical pure tan

and a biography of john hancock. the last time bill fowler was at the social law library was in 205. at the time he was the director of the massachusetts historical society and he joined gordon wood, pauline may area, ankiel redemar and me in a fascinating and fun discussion celebrating the 225th anniversary of the massachusetts constitution of 1780. the story line of his newest book starts just a year later in 1781. there's an interesting bridge between the adoption of our massachusetts constitution ol' 1780 and bill's book that describes the uncertain war years that followed. i dug out a very interesting letter dated november 12, 1780. it was from soldiers encamped with george washington in new jersey. the letter is about the

soldier's view of the new massachusetts's constitution and the war. in part the letter to the massachusetts legislature reads the undersigned officers of the troops of massachusetts in the names of our own names and the names of the brethren in the field declare that we highly respect and approve the new constitution of the commonwealth of massachusetts. it goes on with paragraphs of praise and then it predicts we form the most auspicious omens of its free operation and prosperity, and those omens came true. the massachusetts constitution served as probably the most important model to the federal constitution and today is the oldest constitution in the western world. and think to the entire world for that matter. but the letter from these soldiers turned from praise to plea. the soldiers reminded the leverage late your that they

were still at war and that the liberties promised in the new constitution of 1780s would be meaningless without support for the troops who were fighting for our freedoms. if only the legislators would carry into immediate effect the resolutions of congress, the enemy will be deprived of their only well grounded hope of conquest. it seems pretty clear that the soldiers in the field with washington knew that the fight for independence was far from over and that our new constitutional freedoms were still in jeopardy. they knew of the american crisis facing george washington and the war effort. let me now welcome back bill fowler who will pick up the story line and tell you the dangerous two years after yorktown, 1781 to 1783. bill? [ applause ] >> thank you, bob.

very kind 57b8d flattering remarks. a few moments ago bob asked what i would like him to say about me when he introduced me and i simply told him that he ought not to hesitate to exaggerate. but thank you. but at the same time i must also caution you that, you know, sometimes we're raised up to be let low? this is the season of course and student teacher evaluations and i was just reading mine this morning. it was pretty good. good, good, good. and then i came to one. the student decided to make a comment. the student described the comment. he said if i only had two hours left on earth, i'd want to spend them in professor fowler's class. and then i turned the page. and he continued. he said because professor fowler's class goes on for eternity.

one must always be cautious. on the morning of january 6, 1783, the doors of the continental congress in philadelphia opened to admit three senior officers of the continental army then encamped. the officers were three. these three officers arrived in the congress to announce to the members that the army at newburgh, the american army, was on the verge of mutiny. how could this have happened? after almost eight years of war with victories so close in sight, all was now in peril of being lost. we often think, of course, the american revolution ended

october, 1781, yorktown, with the sur rehndy of general john under the command of washington. that was not the case. but even with the sur rehndy of yorktown, the british army still occupied new york, valve na georgia georgia, north carolina and a good portion of maine. and the navy while it had been defeated at the battle of the capes during the yorktown campaign, the navy was still supreme. the navy was still mistress of the ocean. the british had hardly been beaten. no one understood this better with than the commander in chief himself, general washington. he was fearful that the news and victory of yorktown would, in fact, diminish the american effort. shortly after the battle he wrote to governor william nelson, the governor of virginia. he told governor nelson, quote,

instead of exciting our exertions, the victory at yorktown will produce such a relaxation, during the prosecution of the war as we prolong the calamities of it. he then wrote a few days later to general nathaniel green, the american commander in the south. he told general green, my greatest fear is that congress may think our work closed and will fall into a state of langur and relaxation. following that washington made a brief visit home to mt. vernon, only, by the way, the second time in eight years that he had been home. after a brief visit he and martha left mt. vernon and journeyed to philadelphia where they planned to spend the winter of 1781-82. in the meantime the american

army having taken care of the army began their march to their winter quarters, which they would take up on the hudson valley just north of new york city at a place 23r which they could watch the british army. washington arrived in philadelphia to great acclaim. parades and fireworks, endless toasts. he went fox hunting, his greatest pastime and indewas having a wonderful social time in philadelphia. but not political. he did not attend the sessions of congress. that would have been improper for the commander in chief to attend congress. but every monday night he, robert morris, the financier as he was called, the equivalent of our secretary of the treasury, governor morris, alexander hamilton, james madison, and

perhaps a few others met for dinner. it was at these dinners that these men discussed what had happened in the congress that day, usually very little, they discussed the fact that the nation was bankrupt, that congress was paralyzed, and the army had not been paid. what to do. what to do. these men formed the core of a kind of shifting political alliance in the congress of men who were nationalists. these were men who saw america as a great nation but only if it had a more powerful central government. that, of course, was not the general sentiment in the congress itself. the congress was very much mindful of states' rights, parochial in particular. and as the months wore on through the winter, washington and martha enjoyed themselves, but virtually nothing got accomplished, nothing politically.

in the meantime the army was there in the hudson valley, unpaid, waiting. everyone knew sort of that the war was coming to an end, wasn't certain, but there were rumors, even though hard information was not forthcoming from paris, when negotiations were under way. there were rumors that things were finally going to end. but no sure sign of it yet. washington finally in march 1782 presented himself to the congress and asked their permission to leave. he wished to rejoin his army. they summoned him to meet before them, and they told him, quote, we have nothing particular to give you and have appointed this audience only to assure you of our esteem and confidence and to wish you happiness and success. happiness and success was all that he carried north, back to the army. there at the encampment just

north of the city, the american army was busy watching the british. the british in new york were under the command of general carlton. carlton had recently arrived. he was his majesty's commander in chief and his instructions were to take no offensive action against the americans. indeed his instructions were to prepare for evacuation. at the same time while washington was watching now carlton, there arrived the french. the french army under the general had spent the winter in virginia near the yorktown battlefield. come the spring it was time for them to move, only the french army was coming north to come here to austin to depart for the west indies. the french were leaving america. there was a grand ceremony at the american encampment, troops

passed in review. they reviewed each other's armies but then bade farewell. the americans were very much now on their own. as was in the midst of this that general washington received a letter, an extraordinary letter from colonel louis nicola. he was the manager of the reg meant of invalids. these were men who through injury in come want were unable to serve in the line but were perfectly able to dugard duty, garrison dudy, support du duty,. he saw every single day in t cost of war in the face of disits of men. his men had not been paid either. he wrote to general washington, when this war is over, we who

bore the labor of the day will be forgotten and neglected. the army will not submit to this grave injustice. from several conversations i have had with officers, i believe it is generally intended not to separate after the peace until all grievances are addressed, engagements and promises fulfilled. this war must have shown to all but to military men in particular the weakness of republics. washington was stunned. -- at the letter. ordinarily when the commander in chief veeved communication from one of his subordinates be he would certainly reply but itwoman would come within a week or perhaps longer. washington replied to nicola's letter the very same day. he wrote to the colonel, i have

read your letter with a mixture of surprise and astonishment. no occurrence in the course of a war has given me more painful sensation than your information of there being such ideas existing in the army. he then said, we will solve our difficulties in a constitutional way. well, of course, colonel nicola quickly ran fur cover. there were several more letters from the colonel to the general apologizing but nonetheless his letter did in fact reflect the feelings of so many officers serving in the army. about two weeks later after colonel nicola's letter general washington received another communication, this one from major general james mitchell varnham. general varnham was from rhode island. he had been a major general,

retired, and served in the congress. he was a man of great influence and prominence. general varnham wrote to his commander in chief the congress is a baseless fabric. my fellow citizens are totally destitute of their love of equality that is absolutely requisite to support a republic. only an absolute monarchy or a military state alone can save us of the horrors of sub jugation. washington, interestingly enough, did not respond to general varnham. but all of this weighed heavily on his mind and so he wrote to the secretary at war, benjamin lincoln, a massachusetts man. he told secretary at secretary

lincoln, if these men who have spent the flower of their days in establishing the freedom and independence of their country are sent home without one farthing of money, great discontents will arise. the patience and long sufferance of this army are almost exhausted. he then went on to tell secretary at war lincoln that he was particularly concerned because the army was about to go into winter quarters once again. 1782, 1783. and he knew the despair of winter quarters. they had come through torch rouse times before in the revolution. but in each of those winter encampments, they had at least the promise of a campaign, a military campaign in the spring to secure american independence. there would be no campaign in the coming spring. how to keep these men together, how to prevent mutiny.

in the midst of this, the offices of the army gathered. the regimental leaders, the staff of the army gathered. and without washington's permission, they did not seek it, they presented a memorial to him. they asked his permission to take this memorial to the congress in philadelphia. washington was very uneasy about this. it was a violation of military protocol. it could be seen, of course, as a challenge to civilian authority. authority that he had always respected. but, nonetheless, the situation was so grave that he feared that if he refused permission for his officers to take this memorial to philadelphia, he would resent the consequences that would arise. the memorial began in asking the congress, quote, as the head and sovereign to hear our plea, we

have borne all that men can bear and further experiments on our patience may have fatal effects. this memorial was the one entrusted to colonels ogden, brooks, and general macdougal to deliver to the congress. the congress received the memorial, gave it to a committee, of course, and the committee then deliberated for weeks and weeks. in the meantime, those gentlemen i mentioned earlier, hamilton, madison, morris, morris and lincoln, began to concoct a plan. they saw an opportunity here with the disgruntled army to use the army as a lever, as a threat, against the states and the congress. to force the states to give greater power to the congress, to demand from the congress their pay. and the only way they would get

paid by the congress was if the states sent money and increased the power of the central government. and they began, then, to play this very dangerous game of using the army. what these men feared most was peace. peace. because they knew that if peace came, the army would dissolve. they had not heard anything from our commissioners in paris fr, m mr. adams, mr. jay, mr. franklin and later mr. laurens. they didn't communicate with philadelphia. but the rumors -- wrote to his friend, matthew ridley, quote, not much for the interest of america that peace should be

made at present. think about that. not much in our interests that peace should be made. it is in our interest that the war be prolonged. meanwhile, up at the camp in newburgh, the officers muttering and murmuring, there arrived a new general. his name was hoe ratio gates. horatio gates was not a man much troubled by principle or loyalty. early in the war he had distinguished him as the commander of the american army at the battle of saratoga. a great victor in saratoga where he ge de feeted general behr goin. we sometimes forget about that year, 1777. general washington retreated from brandywine, germantown, and

lost philadelphia. washington's reputation was sinking fast. and there were those in the congress, among them samuel adams and others, new englanders in particular, who thought that gates might make a better commander than general washington. and there were rumors, maybe not a plot, that's a little much, but certainly there were plans being made to replace gates, take him into washington's position. and washington knew this, of course. later general gates was given command of the army in the south. and there in the south general gates fought the battle of camden, one of the worst defeats the american army ever suffered. what made it even worse was when the smoke cleared from the battlefield at camden, general gates was not there. he had retreated about 50 miles to reorganize. he was replaced. general green took general gates's place in the south. gates was in disgrace. washington disliked him

intensely. but gates was a powerful politician. and he managed to get reinstated as the commander of the army at newburgh without washington's consent. the congress simply appointed him and sent him to newburgh telling general washington, you may use him as you please. so general gates arrived to be the actual commander of the army. washington, of course, commander in chief. but gates being the general in charge at the encampment. the men in the encampment, of course, bored, not much to do. about 7,000 soldiers. there they began to build their huts at a place called new windsor. the new windsor encampment. they built about 700 wooden huts, neatly laid out for the winter encampment. and there they took up their quarters. what do you do with an army, this kind of situation? you drill and drill and then you drill some more, you build more huts, you build roads, you have to keep them busy but it wasn't

working very well. so chaplain evans decided, let us build a temple of virtue. so in the middle of this encampment the soldiers went to work to build a temple of virtue, a gathering place where the men might come on sundays for religious services and where during the week the administrative operation of the army took place. but clearly all of this make-busy work was not doing much for morale. and washington remained deeply concerned about the murmurings that he heard in the army. in philadelphia, congress decided or certain members of the congress decided to take action. pressed now, fearing that peace was come ing, they decided to me their move. governor morris wrote to his good friend, general henry knox. the man from boston. book seller from boston. knox had been with washington

since the very first days of the war. he was washington's closest friend in the field. morris wrote to henry knox. he addressed his letter "my dear friend." he suggested that if knox would agree, that general knox might lead the army to press the states. he went on to say to his friend, knox, the army may now influence the legislatures and if you will permit me a metaphor from your own profession, after you have carried the post, the public creditors will garrison it for you. well, morris was given the assignment to write to general knox. knox at this time the commander at west point. alexander hamilton was given the task to write to general

washington. hamilton and washington had a tortured relationship. alexander hamilton arrived in america just before the revolution. timing is everything. went to college, became a lawyer, then the war broke out. he joined the army, became a captain in the artillery, distinguished him, a very fine soldier. came to the attention of general washington who invited the young man to be his secretary, which he accepted. and he served washington until one day at headquarters, washington was going up the stairs, colonel hamilton coming down the stairs. the commander in chief said to the colonel, colonel, i wish to see you immediately. the colonel responded, i'll be with you in a few minutes, sir. not the right answer to the commander in chief. washington turned on hamilton, berated him in front of his fellow officers. hamilton then resigned as secretary. returned to the army