George Washington and His Legacy: Myths, Symbols and Reality

FAIN: ES-50254-08

Boston University (Boston, MA 02215-1300)
Peter Gibbon (Project Director: March 2008 to June 2010)

A three-week summer institute for twenty-six school teachers on George Washington's character, career, and legacy.

Who was George Washington? Most modern historians find him admirable but more complex than did early biographers. In the three-week Institute, we will seek a more complex Washington, examine myths, and speculate on his legacy. We will read Washington's own writings and historians' and biographers' assessments, and take field trips to Longfellow House, Adams National Historical Park, Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Bunker Hill, and Dorchester Heights. We will focus on connections between Washington's personal life and public career and contrast the heroic Washington with the revisionist appraisal. We will look at Washington as president, family man, farmer, architect, businessman, and slave owner. The Institute will also ask larger questions: Does a nation need a mythical founder? Was Washington indispensable to the creation of America? The director, consultant, and master teacher will work with participants to make the scholarship available and relevant to K-12 students.