henry knox had been a major general of the artillery during the war. he had then serve as the commander of west point and then the secretary or underneath the confederation congress. he had indispensable military experience and indispensable experience the goshen with native american nations which was under the purview of the secretary of war at the time. hamilton had a brilliant financial mind, and while washington certainly understood the plans that hamilton came up with, he didn't necessarily have that same sort of creativity and ability to come up with complex solutions. so he needed someone who could really come up with those ideas. thomas jefferson had extensive dramatic experience and was fluent in french which was the light which of diplomacy, while washington had been to barbados when he was a teenager, that was the only time he ever left the country. he needed someone who was experienced in the art of diplomacy and what it was like to be in france and great britain. and lastly, edmund randolph who quickly goes overlooked was a brilliant equal

henry knox had been a major general of the ark to really during war and had then served as the commander of west point and secretary of war underneath the confederation congress so he had indispensable military experience and indispensable experience negotiating with native american nations which was under the purview of the secretary of war at the time. hamilton had a brilliant financial mind and while washington certainly understood the plans that hamilton came up with he did not necessarily have that creativity and ability to come up with complex solutions. he needed someone who could come up with those ideas. thomas jefferson had extensive diplomatic experience and was fluent in french which was the language of diplomacy while washington had been to barbados when he was a teenager and i was the only time he had ever left the country so he needed someone was experienced in the art of diplomacy and what it was like to be in france and great britain. lastly, randolph goes over was a brilliant legal mind but he had been the attorney general for the state of virginia and had been washingt

>> there's secretary of war henry knox, secretary of the treasury alexander ham it en, secretary of state thomas jefferson and attorney general randal and to certain extent they are all fairly similar, all white men, of course, in terms of the ideas that they represented and the experiences and expertise they brought into the cabinet, they were very, very different. henry knox had been the major general of west point and secretary of war underneath confederation congress. so he had indispensable military experience and indispensable experience negotiating with native american nations which was one the purview of the secretary of war at the time. while washington certainly understood the plans that hamilton came up with he wouldn't necessarily come up with the solutions and he needed someone to come up with the ideas. thomas jefferson had extensive diplomatic experience and fluent in french which was the language of diplomacy while washington had been to barbados as teenager. that was the only time he only left the country so he needed someone who was experienced in the art of diplomacy an

henry knox had part of one hand blown off in a hunting accident as a young man and on and on, people were missing teeth. they had a cast in there i or a way of holding their head on their shoulder because of something that happened to them. life was dangerous, difficult, and people were resilient, tough and strong to a degree that is something we too seldom forget. we in our time are softies by contrast. it aside for us to imagine what it would be like to have sweeping epidemic dysentery or smallpox or typhus or typhoid sweep through our town, community, city and take the lives of hundreds of people but it happened. when the war came on the suffering and tragedy and grief, the sorrow can't be measured with any statistics. abigail adams said future generations, have little idea, can little imagine what we have suffered in their behalf. the war was the longest in our history except for the vietnam war. 8 and a half years, it was everybody proportionate to the population. 25,000 americans killed. do we who have lived with the brutal statistics in the 21st century of war casualties. 25,0

nathaniel green, and henry knox. he picked them despite the fact that they were new englanders any dislikes new englanders. he thought they were the best he had in the works. those two men, during an ox, with washington, were the only officers who stayed the length of the war and did not leave. who would not quit. >> you're watching tv on "c-span2". our showing highlights from historian david mccullough. in 2017, he published the american spirit . collection of speeches he has given throughout his career. he spoke with the john f. kennedy presidential library in boston. about how history can inform us today. david: i am writing a book about hearing truman, i love the idea that he went out for a walk every morning. i thought maybe i should try that. as a way of sort of clearing of your head. you start thinking in a way, if you are not walking. and so last summer, when the comments being made by the republican candidates for the presidency to me, not only appalling but unimaginably out of place. i thought, what can i d

henry knox had part of one hand blown off in a hunting accident as a young man and on and on. people were missing teeth. they have a cast in their eye. life was dangerous. people were resilient and tough and strong to a degree that is something we too seldom forget. we and our time we are softies by contrast it's hard for us to imagine what it would be like to have the sweeping epidemic dysentery or typhoid. sweep through our town or our city and take the lives of hundreds of people all around us. but it happened. and of course when the war came on. the suffering in the tragedy and the grief and the sorrow cannot be measured with any statistics abigail adams said future generations who will reap the blessings well had little idea can little imagine what we have suffered on their behalf and she was right. the war was the longest in our history except for the vietnam war. eight and half years. it was also very bluntly proportionate to the population. 25,000 americans were killed. to us who have lived. with the 20th and 21st centuries. and suffering worldwide. 25,000 does not sou

and henry knox was one of his favorite officers. and they were close immediately, from 1775. so, he had these different considerations and asked for people's advice. and whoever fit that image or those different values, he was amenable to appointing. jeffrey: wonderful, thank you for all that. well, it's time for very brief closing thoughts in this absolutely wonderful discussion. i'll just tee it up with a question i asked lindsay when she appeared on the podcast. i'm interested in your thoughts, edward. this is the question. in his wonderful novel, "democracy," henry adams has a great scene where madeleine lee, who's the hero, takes a boat trip to mount vernon. and she is having a debate with a british nobleman about whether or not george washington was overrated. and some of the participants say he actually was a paragon of virtue, and others say he was a paper saint. and madeleine lee decides the meaning of america turns on whether washington was a saint or not, whether the american idea is real or is a lie. if you had to take sides, what would your answer be and what wou

henry knox had part of one hand blown off in a hunting accident as a young man and on and on. people were missing teeth. they have to cash in their eyes or they had a way of holding their hand on their shoulder because of something that had happened to them. life was dangerous, difficult people were resilient, tough and strong to a degree that is something we too seldom forget. we in our time, we are softies. by contrast area we, it's hard for us to imagine what it would be like to have sweeping epidemics dysentery or smallpox or typhus or typhoid through our town or city andtake the lives of hundreds of people all around us but it happened . and of course when the war came on the suffering and the tragedy and the grief, sorrow, it can't be measured with anyphysics . abigail adams said generations who will reap the blessings will have no idea, little and kendall imagine what we have suffered in their behalf and she was right. the war was the longest in our history except for the vietnam war. 8 and a half year was also everybody proportionate to the population. 25,000 americans