>> find out where c-span's local content vehicles are going next online at www.c-span.org/ localcontent. be part of c-span's 2 014 campaign coverage. follow us on twitter and like us on facebook to get coverage. c-span is bringing you over 107 governor debates and you can instantly share your reactions to what the candidates are saying. stay in touch and engage by following us on twitter at c-span and liking us on facebook at facebook.com slash c-span. >> after the american revolution and before he was elected, the first president of the united states george washington retired from public life. next, edward larson focuses

washington and how he contributed to western expansion and his efforts to link the east and west through the potomac river. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] >> thank you so much. i wish my parents could have heard that. it would have made my father very proud and my mother actually would have believed you. there you gofment [laughter] for me as you suggested, this lecture concludes an amazing year. as it began just a year ago when w. smith y airy, fred library for george washington and i was able to take a seat. during that year, i learned what a treasure all of you have in mount vernon.

-- led by the staff, the -- they are extraordinarily dedicated and extraordinarily loyal. for 150 years, the mount vernon laidies' association has kept this place special. and with a new library, the orientation and education center, no crop of those women have done a better job have done better john -- job. among those were remarkable women. well, let me begin tonight with a question. think of a today we

, bridge, ant as golf condo in florida with no grass o mow, but what it move to george washington? he used the word often in 1783 as as the revolutionary war was winding down and he was preparing to resign his position . mount vernon would be the "seat of my retirement from the bustle of the busy world", washington wrote in one typical letter. that at did he envision retirement to be? he was only 51 years old and the most celebrated man in america, if not the world. the master of one of virginia's largest plantations and both

deeply committed to and profoundly concerned about the future of his newly independent country. to retire means to rest. he knew that would not be the case. first, he had plenty to do on the plantation. "an almost entire suspension of everything which related to my own estate for nearly nine years has accumulated an abundance of work for me." washington observed in 1784. he was a hands on manager by nature. but conditions at mount vernon accented this trait. "i made no money from my estate during the nine years away from it," washington explained and he needed to write this unsustainable situation. fine e the circuit of his farms. he rode those around here and

they're now all subdivisions around here every morning, monday through saturday, observing his some 200 workers, most of them black slaves. after noons were spent planning .ays to improve his livestock he anti-e entertained a steady stream of visitors who arrived, often unannounced, to greet the celebrated general and inevitably stay for dinner and the night. unless someone pops up unexpectedly, washington noted in 1798, mrs. washington and myself will do what i believe has not been done within the last 20 years by us, that is to sit down to dinner by ourselves. this period, of course, covered his years at mount vernon following his retirement in

1783. second, no matter how much he hoped to unload it, he still dare carried the weight of a country on his shoulder. washington knew from experience that the articles of confederation did not confer enough power on the central government to preserve the union and protect the people. in some of his last major acts as commander in chief he sent a circular letter to the states, urging them to revise the articles and he offered a plan for a peace time army. after retiring, he never stopped championshipping those themes in public and private. a strong central government was needed to promote prosperity at broad and respect a expand westward. on going developments under the confederation as the states pulled apart and the economy deteriorated reconfirmed his fears. as early as 1782, he was

complaining about the "the deranged state of public affairs" and writing to another governor about expanding national powers. in such letters, he showed little signs of settle into a quiet retirement. washington's two retirement concerns establishing his own estate and the united states combined in his vision for the american west. intent on securing his fortune in land, prior to the war, washington obtained large undeveloped tracks on the frontier in western pennsylvania and virginia. with peace, he sought to capitalize on that investment. and like so many americans he viewed the west as key to the country's future as being both

an out -- outlet for individual opportunity and a source for economic expansion. thus, after spending the first nine months of his so-called retirement trying to restore order to his plantation, washington headed west to inspect his frontier holdings. this trip it turned out crystallized his hopes and his fears for the country and drew washington back into the pub lick. in a sense, his long journey back from retirement, to the constitutional convention and the presidency began with his trip west in 1784. now i'll talk about wearn's role -- washington's role during my next two lectures. tonight let me focus on his grand western adventure. the trip began well enough. washington set out by horsebacking. this is a map from the period.

of course, you can see mount vernon and the chesapeake and the potomac down here. he's going to go across up here towards pittsburgh and the west. washington set out on horseback on september 1 with three slaves or servants and his long time friend and physician james craig for a planned six week overland trek. craig's son and washington's nephew soon joined them. washington knew roughly what to expect. he had crossed the territory several times during the 1740's and as a clone cal militia ficer in the -- colonial militia officer. on those trips he sometimes traveled light and often slept under only a blanket. not this time. although the party planned to stay in private homes whenever possible for nights without

lodging, they carried a tent for gentlemenfor the four and a tent for the servants. hey brought supplies with them they s fishing gear, -- followed the potomac river in a westerly direction and then leaving the river took a more northerly track towards pittsburgh. the potomac which literally kept .hrough a parallel low ridges

on this trip washington favored the virginia side where he owned scattered tracks that he leased to farmers. trotting on his great horse at a gait of about five miles per day, washington reached cumberland on the 10th day. the potomac valley below cumberland had become an integral part of the eastern states by 1784. many of its set letters had cast settleors. tle -- his tenants paid what they could toward their long past due rent and cheered him on hi his way. to this point the trip went well. the troubles began after he left the settled land east of the gainies and began toward southwestern pennsylvania.

, a colonial militia officer washington had helped cut a pathway through the wilderness to supply and support a matsive -- massive british assaults and had rereat treated in terror acrossed it. 12 days after leaving mount him along. oad took the all um rain had begun by this time, turning brad ox road into muddy trough. n reality, it was as much as

when he surrenderered it to the french 30 years earlier. washington had posted it for lease but so far no takers. with the baggage bogged down in the rain and mud, washington rushed ahead to reach a much larger track at a place called washington's bottom. in time for the scheduled he owned. a mill that since 1772 simpson had been -- ington's agent in manage managing this mill. washington's advanced the capital. simpson provided the labor. and they would share the profits. but there were no profits or none at least that simpson ever

reported. rarely charitable when it came to business, by 1775 rnings washington dismissed simpson as a man of extreme stupidity. but he was soon to preoccupied by war to wind down the partnerships. by war's end washington suspected simpson of something much worse, fraud. more than anything resolving this long festering dispute with simpson prompted washington's trip west. in july, washington advertised the farm for sale, the stocks and slaves -- it's farm for lease, the stocks and slaves for sale and the mill, this mill for auction. he went to see those matters through. well, accustomed to having his way with subordinates, washington's frustration only mounted when he encountered his partner in simpson's home turf. on inspection, the water mill

built by simpson with washington's money lacked sufficient water power to operate. and the plots leased by simpson as washington's agent to while al settleors washington was at war offered little promise. the tenants struck washington as a people of a lower order. he collected what he could from them in rent and arranged some new leases. but when he tried to auction the mill, there were no bidders. it was worthless. simpson tried to get him to invest more and make it better, but washington said i will not throw bad money after good. washington wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible after the auction, but a settled rain forced him to say with simpson for three more nights. well, if this seems like washington's perg torrey then hell awaited at the next stop. a foretaste of the coming

torment arrived. t came in the form of cedars track atington's 2,813 nearby miller's run. here's a picture of some of their descendents. the american frontier always attracted more than the share of religious groups seeking their zion in the wilderness. mbers of one such ban, the cedars, had the misfortune of staking their claim to the frontier for up to a frontier haven on land already claimed by .he father of their country having known for a decade that washington claimed the land where they squatted, upon learning that he was on his way to assert his rights, they sent a delegation to deter and dissuade him.

the cedars and i'm quoting from washington's diey here. hey came to -- diary here. they came to inquire about my rights. he saw through their pre-text of reasonableness and would not concede anything without visiting the track themselves. when the two sides met again at miller's run, both asserting their rights, the trouble insued. such conflicts were common at the time. at the time claimants to undeveloped land could base their right on a government grant, survey or some improvement or on occupancy, whichever happened first. washington and most speculateors use the former method of course. the cedars and many front earsman use the latter. washington hired a surveyor in 1771 and built an unoccupied

cabin on it in 1772. the cedars moved in 1773 and claimed the land by occupancy. one of the cabins they built was built so close to the previous cabin that you couldn't open its door. -- at their -- they refused but offered to pay a modest price to avoid contention. washington favored renting over selling his frontier property. as the cedars explained their religious convictions against leasing it, a lease from anyone who wasn't of a similar religious view, washington softened somewhat. he offered to sell but then the side could not agree on a price.

rather than pay much, the seed s would fight the claim in court. washington would devote the next two years to substantiate his warrant and survey. both were shaky. in the end though, thanks to a good lawyer, washington won the case and the cedars moved on with the frontier. it did not hurt that the judge hearing that case was a signor of the declaration and an old friend of washington. of two states,or delaware and pennsylvania. from miller's run washington planned to proceed southwest to his largest frontier holdings, nearly 30,000 acres near the ohio river in what is now west virginia. word had spread of danger ahead, however.

washington wrote in his diary, the indians it is said were in too discontent a move for me to expose myself to their insults. they were provoked by incursions into their land northwest of the ohio river which they claimed as their territory and a failure of congress to negotiate a peace treaty with them following the revolutionary war. two years earlier while leading attack on a native village northwest of the ohio, washington's then local agent was captured, beaten, scalped and slowly roasted to death. washington obviously did not want to sufficient a similar fate or risk a possible kidnapping for ran son. ." thought it better to return his new local agent, the successor to the one when had been killed later informed to

washington that some of the natives had actually heard about his intended visit and were waiting to trap and capture him. think of how that might have changed american history. well, the trip as we recounted it, disorientity -- disorientated and disconcerted washington. it was as if the frontier and the people were conspiring to frustrate his plans. even before turning back, the cascading setbacks forced him to confront issues on his personal finance and in the country's future that he might have put off had he stayed home. on a personal level his plans for retirement roo lied on income from his large land holdings from several properties. with america supposedly at peace, washington had fwon west to make these three assets

profittable in the post-war economy. he found though no present potential for revenue in the first, settleors occupying the second and hostile tribes restricting access to the third. removing them, washington decided, would require government action. a lack of national power and resources lay at the heart of the matter. a year had past since britain signed a treaty recognizing american sovereignty yet british troops continued to occupy north of the ohio river. set aside by britain for those native tribes by the proclamation of 1763, which you can see the line there, this district later known as the northwest territory, remained under control of pro-british tribes. with virtually no funds or

forces, the united states government was powerless to deter this frontier. moreover, virginia had seated its claim, making its defense a national problem. if congress could settle those lands -- if not it risked losing them to a foreign power and with them america's future. this became washington's future. as he saw it, the danger was not limited to the territory northwest of the ohio river, but encompassed the intire -- entire frontier. wrote, the western settlors the as it were on a pivot touch of a feather would turn them anyway. spain controlled the mountains of the mississippi.

set lors -- britain controlled the great lakes and the saint lawrence river. native tribes still occupied most of the territory claimed by the out west of the appalachian mountains. he detected little loyalty to the united states in settlors he encountered on the frontier. he wrote the ties are weakening every day will soon be no bond. if then the trade of that country shall flow through the mississippi or the saint lawrence, if the inhabitants there of shall form commercial connections, then in a few years the unconnected with us all together. for got of the country in his n finances he confluid washington had one

such tie principally in mind, potomac riff navigation. washington had dreamed of a potomac river navigation long before independence made it a cause. there you see where the navigation would go. not only could such a water way improve access to his frontier holdings, it would channel western trade through the mouth of the potomac near here, near mount vernon. both would increase his welt -- wealth. little had actually changed in washington's thinking about the projects in since 1754 when he first suggested using the potomac river to carry supplies.

prive out funds were raised to improve navigation on the river below cumberland. construction began on a bypass nal by 1775, but the revolutionary war intervened to put the entire prodgeebt on hold. now he wanted to revive it and expand it. at the time, no one knew what navigation could be extended beyond cumberland along one of the potomac rivers up land trib terrys to reach a branch of the ohio river. accurate maps of the upper potomac and ohio river system simply did not exist. accordingly, on the outward bound leg of his western journey in september of 1784, washington asked people along the way about the head waters of the potomac and of the ohio and where the two systems came closest

together. although the answers often conflicted, he recorded all of them in the hopes of later determining the best transit route. to reach his frontier holdings, washington's party left to follow the overland route to the ohio valley, the standard method. his travels cut short before reaching his property. washington decided to salvage what he could of the trip by working his way back through the unchartered wilderness in search of water ways. a gray haired retired general, america's leading citizen set off on september 22 from his land at washington's bottom for a so-day cross-country trek across an unknown and unmarked route. he traveled light, sending back most of his supplies and attendants with james craig over the conventional route. he headed on horseback in the

wild with only his nephew, perhaps an attendant and at times a local guide. there are walnut and crab tree bottoms which are very rich, he wrote. at some point the travelers followed broad trails. others, they simply bush whacked. the rain continued off and on throughout the trip making the way miserable. over six feet tall, broad in the hips and riding high on his horse, washington continually pushed through wet branches that soaked him through the bone. the route went over ridges through glade and across rivers. rough live 35 miles per day in a southerly direction. traveling without a tent, the party ate and slept in private omes if possible, outside if

not. imagine the surprise of an isolated local settlor when the legendary general appeared unannounced at his door in the backwoods, they could never have expected nor would they ever forget the encounter. at one remote cabin, washington noted we could get nothing for our horses and only boiled corn for ourselves. still it was better than the previous night when he reported sleeping in a damp meadow with -- ther shelter to cover my and was unlucky enough to have a heavy shower of rain. on september 29, having reached the south branch of the potomac, which he had planned to follow north to revoin the rest of the party on the main road, washington again made a sudden

decision to go his own way, sending his nephew north to tell the others, washington continued south over the next ridge and then turned east across the blue ridge to the piedmont and home. for much of this final part of the trip, washington traveled along. par of the route there were no settlors at all. the time along gave him a chance to reflect. "i was disappointed in one of the objects which induced me to undertake this journey." washington wrote this in a very long and complicated entry at the end of his travel diary. i am well pleased with my journey as it has been the means of my obtaining a knowledge of the temper and disposition of the western inhabitants. despite their isolation, these

settlors could be brought that the sphere of american commerce by extending the inland navigation as far as it can be done with convenience in their direction. his explorations proved it possible. washington assured himself and suggested a plausible route up the potomac north branch to the headwaters of the ohio and the cheek river, this became his cause. within a week of his return from mount vernon, washington sent letters to shower -- showers of letters about the potomac navigation to influential virginians and marylanders. these letters represented such a turning point in washington's aveketities that the modern editors of his papers introduced it with a comment, it marked his eturn to settled life.

reports of his finding of a feasible feasibility of using the potomac river route. he hailed potomac river navigation as the cement of interest to bind all part of the nion together by indissolvable bonds, especially that part of it which lies immediately west of us. with a plan in mind, washington turned to get ago prolve from the virginia and maryland legislatures to charter a company to build and operate a private toll route on the potomac and to secure investors for the project. if he had any doubt about his political clout, the next few weeks should have put them to rest. despite resistance from

proponents of other route, he got his way. when it looked like the two state might pass different bills, washington urged that they appoint commissioners to agree on terms. no sooner asked than done. virginia -- maryland named a delegation that included three signors of the declaration of independence. each state legislature then passed the bill within days of receiving it. doesn't sound like our congress. [laughter] with washington drumming up interest, private funds flowed into the new company. "men who can afford to lay a ittle while out of their money are laying the foundation for the greatest returns of any

speculation i know of." within six months washington aimed "of the 5,000 pounds required for the potomac navigation, it is increasing fast. at their first meeting in that month, shareholders elected washington as the company's president. for washington, the presidency of the potomac company became a consuming occupation but one he pursued while also managing his plantation and investment properties. threw himself into deciding to dig bypasses around them, hiring supervisors and workers and overseeing the means of operation. on field trips he frequently canoed down the riff's wildest rapids in search for a best place for a channel or to inspect work in progress.

retirement from the walks of life has not been so productive as leisure and ease as might have been expected washington reeve marked to benjamin franklin. by the fall of 1785 when he sent these remarks to franklin, the company had separate team of bout 50 workers. congress was too slow for washington. in a boat he passed down the seneca rapid to a place where the workman were blowing up. to me it seemed as if we had advanced but little. still, washington remained optimistic. in fact, however, in his work on the potomac river navigation, washington had more success moving human ob tack -- obstacles than physical ones. the project was far from finished in 1789 when he designed as potomac company's president to take the helm of

the new american government. no one made a fortune on potomac company stook. -- stock. railroads soon replaced canals in linking the union. steeped impedements, slopes, doomed washington's grand vision for potomac navigation. yet if he could not move mountains, the project proved he could move men. before he stepped down, washington followed up on his success in getting the company founded and funded with a singular triumph of clearing obstacles and adoption of the landmark potomac river compact. the prospect of commercial navigation the potomac brought to the for long-standing disputes between virginia and maryland.

each state was a republic to itself. it could have the own rules and regulation. some -- unless the states cooperated, traveling along an interstate boundary like the potomac river could impose insol oohable problems for people and products. late in 1785, virginia and maryland appointed commissioners to address political barriers to potomac river commerce. they convened in alexandria for a week of meetings. ever watchful over matters impeding impacting the potomac company, washington soon invited them to continue their deliberations here in the warmth of mount vernon. a gracious and interested host who literally lubricated his guests with good wine, he made re they reached agreement on

several things. known as the mount vernon compact, the legislatures of 13 states ratified its congress. inspired by washington's vision, the two states realized that both benefited from interstate cooperation. and those benefits could multiply if more state participated. we are either a united people or we are not, washington wrote to madison at this time. nd if the former led us in all matters, act the general concern act like a nation. madison called for a second convention on interstate commerce. at the time trade disputes like those dividing maryland and virginia aatlanticed many state. pennsylvania, delaware and new jersey battled over their

respective rights to use the delaware river while new york, ew jersey, connecticut clashed ver a har -- harbor. in response, 12 delegates from five states assembled in 1789 is in september of and including madison from new york. even before they met, madison, hamilton and some some other a egates feared hi -- only thorough -- when the annapolis meeting failed to attract enough delegates and so could not achieve even its limited goals, hamilton proposed that they simply call a second convention

and go home. which is what they did. some already charged the namentsf annapolis meeting could have atracted more results. the challenge became getting him to the proposed second meeting which was called for the following summer in philadelphia. well, that's a story for another lecture, however. for now it is enough to say that washington's great western adventure and the potomac navigation issues that it spawned led toward a new federal constitution and a government with washington at the helm by looking west he helped chart the future for our nation, a future that realized his dream of western expansion. thank you. [applause]

now we have time for questions and there is a microphone somewhere that anybody who has a question is supposed to use. your nvite you to ask uestion. yes. here comes the microphone. >> [indiscernible] discussed their mute yure plan for expansion in the west. >> oh, yes very much so. even back then. when washington got back from his journey, of course they were known that he was interested in the canal from before. but one of the first people he wrote was thomas jefferson who had been over in france. he wrote to jefferson saying we've got to do this. and immediately a correspondence

went back and forth between washington and jefferson on the canal of the potomac river navigation. it's not called the canal, it's not really a canal, but the navigation project went back and forth constantly between washington and jefferson and if you read the back study, you can see the letters between madison and jefferson egging jefferson on, saying we've got washington on the hook. we've got to bring him back into public life. this can now do it. be sure to encourage him. madison is writing separately to jefferson. there's a rich triangle lar conversation going on between the three people and building the navigation system. but it wasn't just then. of course if you look at their presidencies, the future of both of their presidencies was expansion western.

washington focused during his years in building an army and sending it west. it didn't -- suffered a few defeats before it finally won the battle of fallen timbers. he called it progressive settlement where he would open a chunk of the west going part way through ohio and another chunchings and making the states moving westward and jefferson followed the same route. they had very much the same hope and dreams for western expansion. that's one thing they always shared. jefferson was an activist in western settlement. washington and jefferson saw eye to eye on that issue. they were very close at this ime.

>> how much did he invest in the potomac river project? >> what did they say about farmers, they're -- washington had vast holdings but he wasn't very liquid. indeed a few years later when he went -- when he had to leave virginia to become president, he was so cash poor that -- for the only time in his life he had to borrow money at interest because he didn't want to leave debts behind. so he didn't have all that much money but he did invest money in it, but both -- but virginia invested money into it and gave some of the stock to washington. so washington ended up having a significant holding in the company. but he also wrote to others. he wrote to everybody he knew.

everybody he knew with money he wrote to and they're wonderful letters to read. you can tell he really believed, and that's the key to a successful salesman but my favorite is when he would plead with robert morris, the richest person he knew as he called him to invest. robert morris was interested in philadelphia and he was trying to build a canal west. he wanted to go up and across pennsylvania. he was leading an effort to build a canal there. he would say this is so much better. or sometimes he would suggest balance -- to the extent he had money, he put his money where his mouth was, he just had somewhat limited liquid funds, but he did invest in it, bsolutely.

those letters as -- those letters from washington soliciting funds from everybody are amazing letters. they speak to two levels. hey speak to great wealth -- how much this needed to unite our nation. they appealed to both. >> [indiscernible] was there any attest to the call back -- were any of the investors unhappy enough to come back for some of their capal at the eaped end? where >> no because it didn't lose money. they did get some returns, but it wasn't the fortune that he was hoping for. so, no, it actually did work. there was a canal. goods were carried. it turned a profit and somebody can correct me, in two or three years. but washington was long dead by

then. it was after he had passed away. he gave the stocks to washington .ollege there was return. so there was nothing to fall back. it wasn't a failure, it just eerie the suck ees of the can canal. he would argue how much closer it is from detroit to the atlantic ocean by way of the potomac than by way of the eerie or by various different routes through the mississippi and not just detroit but lake erie and ohio and all these different places. the distance is closer, just the eerie canal turned out to be a much better route. yes, sir. >> how successful -- they had -- the spanish had two very good

governors in new orleans. at appeal e they together -- >> that was washington's concern. he was out there and there were efforts at different times. one of the reasons why spain best we can tell closed the commerce in the west was they were using that as leverage to ope to get it all. and washington -- that was the treaty they tried to neg yosheyate and it never got approved. washington supported that treaty because he was afraid if the good went -- goods went down that way, they would get connected with spain and if spain wants to close it, well, that's -- they're cutting off their nose to spite their face.

they were gambling even bigger that they could pull the whole area off. there were efforts later as well that become famous with the bur. aaron one of the problems we have with that is that spain closed the records so it's private archived so tightly back then and a lot of it isn't available. here were certain efforts. washington was convinced and so were some of the later u.s. governors that spain had a real chance of winning that part of the west. and of course at this time we're talking about, britain is making strong efforts to regain something as well. they were working with vermont to try to regain vermont and they were playing in the northwest territories. i think washington was right

when he said the frontiersman are on a pivot. that was a driving force, a driving argument for a stronger onstitution. >> i know that george washington had a lot to do with the canal that starts at grate falls, virginia. i you're talking about the success of the canal. i don't think there was any success of the canal in virginia . >> he was working all the way up and down the potomac. he canal project had several themes. he never called it a canal project. it was a navigation project. and in most places is was blasting.

they had shallow rapids and blasting away to make a deeper channel, a channel deep enough to carry the small boats, the low boats over. a stream as to make . at was navigable there were only a couple of places where he had to make bypass canals. he brought over books. he had experts come over from england and france. this was a time of massive canal building. some of you may have traveled in england and france on the canals over there. they were making cities like birmingham and manchester through what they would call canal projects. here it was called a navigation project. they had the river by the time we're talking -- by the time washington was still involved, they had the river navigable as

it were to cumberland. it didn't yet go around great falls. but he would bring it around great falls by a boat. they also had locks and sort of build up the water and they'd wait until you were real close and you'd sort of rush down on it and those would be the locks. they'd cut a deep area that was deep enough that carries the canal boat and then they had just two or three places where they built canals. that went all the way up. and, yes, it finally worked all the way across and they were carrying grills across from up the pennsylvania side, up the ohio, and then crossing over and then coming down. but that was after washington died by the time it was all working.

question over here. george washington [indiscernible] and the ohio company were also trying to put money in there before george mason died he realized the whole thing was collapsing. this was no way for the police to oversee. i'm wondering if there was any correspondence between george washington and jornl mason as he went through that same area and reported back to george mason with all of the difficulties with getting settlors to have the courage to go in there and try to establish farms. >> absolutely there was communication between washington and mason on those. now, mason i believe his lands were on the other side of the

ohio and washington's were always on this side of the ohio. it was directly across from washington's holdings in what's now west virginia. and so, yes, they talked often. they were very close friends at that stage. it was a shared concern to open this territory and it wasn't just mason. it was many virginians had staked their future. remember these areas across the river was part of virginia until 84 and even after 1784 -- ucky and west virginia those territories mason was involved with. and he was serving for part of that period he was the state legislateor from right here. he was in the state legislature.

so they would talk about that and they would be very much involved and they realized that their future was out on the frontier, but it wasn't just them. all americans, even americans like ben franklin realized that the future of the country was on the frontier. and that's where american future and greatness lie. it made franklin a self made man and he was able to go to philadelphia or a pittsburgh or cincinnati or somewhere working into the future. the very name cincinnati tells us how tight it was with washington because that obviously was named for washington washington. they were closely connected. that was part of the inspiration, one of those things that built up toward realizing that we needed a stronger union if we were going to have

prosperity at home, respect abroad. a future did lie in a stronger union. those were the three. ou could say future and they shared those concerns very much. any other questions? one more i'm told by the person who runs this whole place really, despite what other people and he does an amazing job. sounded encredibly busy up there on the map. what was he doing back at mount vernon? >> he was restoring his place to profitability. what do they say that needs to get done? give it to a busy person. that's certainly true with washington. think of the other founders like washington, madison, john adams, ben franklin, alexander hamilton .

hamilton was keeping a law ractice going while he was writing the constitution. i fear the general reputation of washington out there in the land is that he's like a wax figure, unlike a lincoln or unlike a franklin that people can feel, they feel like he's this wax figure up there that everybody eye dollizes and he doesn't do anything. it's very far from the truth. i think the reason he left -- sure, he wanted to find rivers and ways back. e wanted to go off on this grand adventure in the wild. he chose to go out and go to the wildest places. i think he loved it just like our children love today to go in the wild and i think it was his one last chance of being a kid

again to go across. he was a very able person. abled people can do a lot of things at the same time. he was ripping this place back into productivity. you can read his accounting. he was getting the workers to work, the people who ran the place when he wasn't there. he was later moved in to build distillry --hiskey distillery. after this trip he would go out and work on the canal and get them working and hire new people and pick where the route should go. i think we can use a lock and dam here. he could do all that, still come back here and make a circuit of his plantation. he was a person and still write letter after letter after letter after letter calling for a stronger national union that led up to a constitutional

convention. he could do all of those things. he was very much a living, breathing, abled vibrant human being with hopes and dreams and visions and a vision for this country that he -- he was not a great speaker but john adams said he was a gratest political actor he ever saw. he conveyed an image in power with his resolution, with his letters. he was a good writer. but his dignity and his sense of purpose, he was an amazing human being. he would talk with all the men and he would dance with all the ladies. he was a human being and he could balance all of these things. changing the crops that were grown, bringing in new livestock. he was very active here. these were exciting times. this -- i always regret that in the great biographies of

washington, including the six, then the me one and five volume one and then the wonderful one -- they leave this -- he and they talk about came back at 51 years old the most famous person in the world and used to be active all the time. i love the letter that i wrote. i love a letter he wrote about that he wrote about two months after he resigned his commission, wrote back. later -- it was henry knox. he said i wake up in the morning and realize i am retired. [laughter] he said i wake up in the morning with a list of things to do and realize i am retired.

he had been so active, and he continued that way. thank you all for coming. i hope to see some of you again for the rest of the story. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> every sunday at 8:00 and midnight, you can learn from leading stories about presidents and first ladies. to watch any of our programs or check our schedule, visit www.c-span.org/history. you are watching american history tv on c-span3. >> each week, american history america brings you archival films that help to

those story of the 20th century -- to tell the story of the 20th century. futureears ago, president ronald reagan delivered a 30-minute television campaign speech for republican presidential candidate barry goldwater. later titled, "a time for choosing," it helped launch reagan's political career despite the fact that goldwater lost to johnson in a political landslide. >> federal employees number 2.5 million, and federal, state, and local, one out of six of the nation's workforce employed by government. these proliferating bureaus with thousands of regulations, how many of us realize today federal agents can invade a man's property without a warrant? they can impose a fine without a formal hearing let alone a trial by jury, and they can seize and sell his property at auction from force the payment of the fine. in arkansas, he over planted. the government obtained a

$17,000 judgment. the u.s. marshals sold his farm at auction. the government said it was necessary as a warning to others to make the system work. [applause] last february 19, six-time candidate or president on the socialist ticket said if barry goldwater became president, he would stop the advance of socialism in the united states. i think that is exactly what he will do. [applause] as a former democrat, i can tell you norman thomas is not the only man who has drawn this with theof socialism present administration because back in 1936, mr. democrat

himself, al smith, the great american, came before the market people and charged with the leadership of his party was taking his party down the road under the banner of marx, lenin, stalin. he walked away from his party and never return to the day he died, because to this day, the leadership of that party has taken that honorable party down the road in the image of the labor-socialist party of england. it does not require expropriation or confiscation of private property or business to impose socialism on the people. what does it mean whether you hold the deed or title to your business or property if the government holds the power of life and death over that business or property? such machinery already exists. the government can find some charge to bring about -- against any concern it chooses to prosecute. every businessman has his own tale of harassment. somewhere, a perversion has taken place. our natural inalienable rights are considered to be a dispensation of government, and

freedom has never been so fragile, so close to slipping from our grasp as it is at this moment. 2014 part of c-span's campaign coverage. follow us on twitter and like us on facebook. over 100 bringing you senate, house, and governor debates. you can instantly share your reactions to what the candidates are saying. the battle for control of congress. stay in touch and engage by following us on twitter and liking us on facebook. 1944, u.s. andf australian forces faced the japanese navy in the philippine sea. before-they battle is considered one of the largest naval conflicts of world war ii --