Monthly Archives: April 2018

Folk painting of enslaved people dancing to banjo music

1.31 – Source Notes



Audio editing by Andrew Pfannkuche

  • Brady, Patricia. Martha Washington: An American Life. New York: Penguin Books, 2006 [2005].
  • Chernow, Ron. Washington: A Life. New York: Penguin Press, 2010.
  • Dunbar, Erica Armstrong. Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2017.
  • Finkelman, Paul. “Fugitive Slaves.” The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. Kermit L Hall, ed. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992. p. 319-320.
  • Historical Currency Converter (test version 1.0). http://www.historicalstatistics.org/Currencyconverter.html. [Last Accessed: 19 Mar 2018)
  • Mount Vernon Official Guidebook. Mount Vernon, VA: Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association of the Union, 2001 [1974].
  • Washington, George. “To Tobias Lear, 12 April 1791,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-08-02-0062. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 8, 22 March 1791 – 22 September 1791, ed. Mark A. Mastromarino. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1999, pp. 84–86.] [Last Accessed: 12 Mar 2018]
  • Washington, George. “To Anthony Whitting, 20 January 1793,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-12-02-0013. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 12, 16 January 1793 – 31 May 1793, ed. Christine Sternberg Patrick and John C. Pinheiro. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2005, pp. 31–36.] [Last Accessed: 14 Mar 2018]
  • Washington, George. “To William Pearce, 8 March 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-17-02-0424. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 17, 1 October 1794–31 March 1795, ed. David R. Hoth and Carol S. Ebel. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2013, pp. 632–634.] [Last Accessed: 18 Mar 2018]
  • Washington, George. “To Oliver Wolcott, Jr., 1 September 1796,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-00910. [Last Accessed: 19 Mar 2018]
  • Whitting, Anthony. “To George Washington, 16 January 1793,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-12-02-0005. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 12, 16 January 1793 – 31 May 1793, ed. Christine Sternberg Patrick and John C. Pinheiro. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2005, pp. 5–14.] [Last Accessed: 14 Mar 2018]
  • Wiencek, Henry. An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003.

Featured Image: “The Old Plantation” by unknown [c. late 1700s], courtesy of Wikipedia


Newspaper advertisement asking for return of Oney Judge

1.31 – Runaway



Year(s) Discussed: 1773-1848

On May 21st, 1796, Ona/Oney Judge slips out of the President’s House in Philadelphia, PA in a bid to obtain her freedom from enslavement. The story of her being born into slavery at Mount Vernon, her being brought to work in the Washingtons’ household, and the Washingtons’ attempts at bringing Ona back into captivity is a narrative that brings much insight into the institution of slavery in the United States in the mid-1790s as well as a more complete view of George Washington’s legacy. Source information can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: Newspaper advertisement of the escape of Oney Judge with a reward for her return, 24 May 1796, Philadelphia Gazette, courtesy of Wikipedia


1.30 – Source Notes



Special thanks to Lynn Perkins of The History of the Ottoman Empire for providing the intro quote!

Audio editing by Andrew Pfannkuche

  • “Attorney General: Charles Lee.” The United States Department of Justice. 7 July 2017. https://www.justice.gov/ag/bio/lee-charles. [Last Accessed: 9 Mar 2018]
  • “Carrington, Edward, (1748-1810),” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000183. [Last Accessed: 8 Mar 2018]
  • Chernow, Ron. Washington: A Life. New York: Penguin Press, 2010.
  • Cullen, Charles T, and Herbert A Johnson, eds. The Papers of John Marshall Volume II: Correspondence and Papers, July 1788-December 1795, Account Book, July 1788-December 1795. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1977.
  • Cushman, Clare, ed. The Supreme Court Justices: Illustrated Biographies, 1789-1995, Second Edition. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, 1995.
  • Flexner, James Thomas. George Washington: Anguish and Farewell (1793-1799). Boston and Toronto: Little, Brown and Co, 1972 [1969].
  • “A Guide to the Executive Papers of Governor Patrick Henry, 1784-1786.” Library of Virginia. http://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaxtf/view?docId=lva/vi00438.xml. [Last Accessed: 8 Mar 2018]
  • Hamilton, Alexander. “To Oliver Wolcott, Junior, 3 October 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-19-02-0046. [Original source: The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 19, July 1795 – December 1795, ed. Harold C. Syrett. New York: Columbia University Press, 1973, pp. 296–298.] [Last Accessed: 9 Mar 2018]
  • Hamilton, Alexander. “To George Washington, 5 November 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-19-02-0074. [Original source: The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 19, July 1795 – December 1795, ed. Harold C. Syrett. New York: Columbia University Press, 1973, pp. 395–398.] [Last Accessed: 9 Mar 2018]
  • Ireland, Robert M. “Rutledge, John.” The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. Kermit L Hall, ed. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992. p. 750-751.
  • Jefferson, Thomas. “To John Adams, 17 August 1785,” The Adams-Jefferson Letters: The Complete Correspondence between Thomas Jefferson & Abigail & John Adams. Lester J Cappon, ed. Chapel Hill, NC and London: University of North Carolina Press, 1987 [1959]. p. 53-54.
  • Lambert, Frank. The Barbary Wars: American Independence in the Atlantic World. New York: Hill and Wang, 2007 [2005].
  • Landry, Jerry. The Presidencies of the United States. 2018. http://presidencies.blubrry.com.
  • Marshall, John. “To George Washington, 31 August 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-18-02-0406. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 18, 1 April–30 September 1795, ed. William M. Ferraro, David R. Hoth and Jennifer E. Stertzer. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015, p. 617.] [Last Accessed: 7 Mar 2018]
  • Pasley, Jeffrey L. The First Presidential Contest: 1796 and the Founding of American Democracy. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2013.
  • Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth. Life of General Thomas Pinckney. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Co, 1895.
  • Reardon, John J. Edmund Randolph: A Biography. New York: MacMillan Publishing Co, 1974.
  • Robbins, Karen E. James McHenry: Forgotten Federalist. Athens, GA and London: University of Georgia Press, 2013.
  • Stahr, Walter. John Jay: Founding Father. New York: Hambledon & Continuum, 2006 [2005].
  • Thomas, Evan. John Paul Jones: Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003.
  • Washington, George. “Circular to Barbary Powers, 30 March 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-17-02-0470. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 17, 1 October 1794–31 March 1795, ed. David R. Hoth and Carol S. Ebel. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2013, pp. 702–703.] [Last Accessed: 27 Feb 2018]
  • Washington, George. “To John Marshall, 26 August 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-18-02-0391. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 18, 1 April–30 September 1795, ed. William M. Ferraro, David R. Hoth and Jennifer E. Stertzer. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015, pp. 597–598.] [Last Accessed: 7 Mar 2018]
  • Washington, George. “To Edward Carrington, 28 September 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-18-02-0484. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 18, 1 April–30 September 1795, ed. William M. Ferraro, David R. Hoth and Jennifer E. Stertzer. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015, p. 742.] [Last Accessed: 8 Mar 2018]
  • Washington, George. “To Alexander Hamilton, 29 October 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-19-02-0067. [Original source: The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 19, July 1795 – December 1795, ed. Harold C. Syrett. New York: Columbia University Press, 1973, pp. 355–363.] [Last Accessed: 8 Mar 2018]
  • Wermiel, Stephen. “SCOTUS for law students (sponsored by Bloomberg Law): Recess appointments and the Court.” SCOTUSblog. 15 February 2013. http://www.scotusblog.com/2013/02/scotus-for-law-students-sponsored-by-bloomberg-law-recess-appointments-and-the-court/ [Last Accessed: 9 Mar 2018]
  • Whichard, Willis P. Justice James Iredell. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2000.
  • White, Leonard D. The Federalists: A Study in Administrative History. New York: Macmillan Co, 1948.

Featured Image: “John Rutledge,” Robert Hinkley (based on a painting by John Trumbull), courtesy of Wikipedia


1.30 – Under Pressure, Near and Far



Year(s) Discussed: c. 16th century-1795

Diplomatic representatives of the Washington administration navigate new waters as they seek a peaceful resolution to conflicts with the Barbary States and Spain while the President continues his frustrating search to find candidates willing to fill his vacant Cabinet offices. Meanwhile, the Senate throws the President a curve ball by rejecting one of Washington’s appointments. Source information for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: “A Sea Fight with Barbary Corsairs,” Lorenzo A Castro [c. post-1681], courtesy of Wikipedia


1.29 – Source Notes



Audio editing for this episode by Andrew Pfannkuche

  • Cabot, George. “To George Washington, 16 September 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-18-02-0451. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 18, 1 April–30 September 1795, ed. William M. Ferraro, David R. Hoth and Jennifer E. Stertzer. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015, pp. 694–696.] [Last Accessed: 23 Feb 2018]
  • Chernow, Ron. Washington: A Life. New York: Penguin Press, 2010.
  • Cushman, Clare, ed. The Supreme Court Justices: Illustrated Biographies, 1789-1995, Second Edition. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, 1995.
  • Doyle, William. The Oxford History of the French Revolution. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989.
  • Flexner, James Thomas. George Washington: Anguish and Farewell (1793-1799). Boston and Toronto: Little, Brown and Co, 1972 [1969].
  • Frestel, Felix. “To George Washington, 31 August 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-18-02-0403. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 18, 1 April–30 September 1795, ed. William M. Ferraro, David R. Hoth and Jennifer E. Stertzer. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015, pp. 612–614.] [Last Accessed: 23 Feb 2018]
  • Hamilton, Alexander. “To George Washington, 16 October 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-19-02-0057. [Original source: The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 19, July 1795 – December 1795, ed. Harold C. Syrett. New York: Columbia University Press, 1973, pp. 324–328.] [Last Accessed: 23 Feb 2018]
  • Hamilton, Alexander. “To George Washington, 19 November 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-19-02-0089. [Original source: The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 19, July 1795 – December 1795, ed. Harold C. Syrett. New York: Columbia University Press, 1973, pp. 452–453.] [Last Accessed: 27 Feb 2018]
  • Johnson, Thomas. “To George Washington, 29 August 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-18-02-0398. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 18, 1 April–30 September 1795, ed. William M. Ferraro, David R. Hoth and Jennifer E. Stertzer. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015, pp. 606–607.] [Last Accessed: 19 Feb 2018]
  • Knox, Henry. “To George Washington, 2 September 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-18-02-0410. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 18, 1 April–30 September 1795, ed. William M. Ferraro, David R. Hoth and Jennifer E. Stertzer. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015, pp. 621–624.] [Last Accessed: 21 Feb 2018]
  • Lafayette, George Washington Motier. “To George Washington, 31 August 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-18-02-0405. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 18, 1 April–30 September 1795, ed. William M. Ferraro, David R. Hoth and Jennifer E. Stertzer. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015, pp. 616–617.] [Last Accessed: 23 Feb 2018]
  • Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth. “To George Washington, 16 September 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-18-02-0454. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 18, 1 April–30 September 1795, William M. Ferraro, David R. Hoth and Jennifer E. Stertzer. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015, pp. 699–700.] [Last Accessed: 19 Feb 2018]
  • Puls, Mark. Henry Knox: Visionary General of the American Revolution. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
  • Randolph, Edmund. “To George Washington, 21 September 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-18-02-0467. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 18, 1 April–30 September 1795, ed. William M. Ferraro, David R. Hoth and Jennifer E. Stertzer. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015, pp. 720–721.] [Last Accessed: 25 Feb 2018]
  • Reardon, John J. Edmund Randolph: A Biography. New York: MacMillan Publishing Co, 1974.
  • Washington, George. “To Frederick William II of Prussia, 15 January 1794,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-15-02-0058. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 15, 1 January–30 April 1794, ed. Christine Sternberg Patrick. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2009, pp. 75–77.] [Last Accessed: 21 Feb 2018]
  • Washington, George. “To Edmund Randolph, 22 July 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-18-02-0284. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 18, 1 April–30 September 1795, ed. William M. Ferraro, David R. Hoth and Jennifer E. Stertzer. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015, pp. 403–406.] [Last Accessed: 25 Feb 2018]
  • Washington, George. “To Edmund Randolph, 20 August 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-18-02-0373. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 18, 1 April–30 September 1795, ed. William M. Ferraro, David R. Hoth and Jennifer E. Stertzer. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015, pp. 571–572.] [Last Accessed: 25 Feb 2018]
  • Washington, George. “To Thomas Johnson, 24 August 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-18-02-0385. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 18, 1 April–30 September 1795, ed. William M. Ferraro, David R. Hoth and Jennifer E. Stertzer. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015, pp. 590–591.] [Last Accessed: 19 Feb 2018]
  • Washington, George. “To Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, 24 August 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-18-02-0386. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 18, 1 April–30 September 1795, ed. William M. Ferraro, David R. Hoth and Jennifer E. Stertzer. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015, pp. 591–592.] [Last Accessed: 19 Feb 2018]
  • Washington, George. “To George Cabot, 7 September 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-18-02-0425. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 18, 1 April–30 September 1795, ed. William M. Ferraro, David R. Hoth and Jennifer E. Stertzer. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015, pp. 642–643.] [Last Accessed: 23 Feb 2018]
  • Washington, George. “[Diary Entry: 8 September 1795].” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/01-06-02-0004-0010-0001. [Original source: The Diaries of George Washington, vol. 6, 1 January 1790 – 13 December 1799, ed. Donald Jackson and Dorothy Twohig. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1979, p. 211.] [Last Accessed: 21 Feb 2018]
  • Washington, George. “To Alexander Hamilton, 29 October 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-19-02-0067. [Original source: The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 19, July 1795 – December 1795, ed. Harold C. Syrett. New York: Columbia University Press, 1973, pp. 355–363.] [Last Accessed: 8 Mar 2018]
  • Washington, George. “To Alexander Hamilton, 29 October 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-19-02-0066. [Original source: The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 19, July 1795 – December 1795, ed. Harold C. Syrett. New York: Columbia University Press, 1973, pp. 354–355.] [Last Accessed: 26 Feb 2018]
  • Washington, George. “To Alexander Hamilton, 10 November 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-19-02-0076. [Original source: The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 19, July 1795 – December 1795, ed. Harold C. Syrett. New York: Columbia University Press, 1973, p. 400.] [Last Accessed: 27 Feb 2018]
  • Washington, George. “To Alexander Hamilton, 18 November 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-19-02-0088. [Original source: The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 19, July 1795 – December 1795, ed. Harold C. Syrett. New York: Columbia University Press, 1973, pp. 449–451.] [Last Accessed: 27 Feb 2018]
  • Washington, George. “To Alexander Hamilton, 23 November 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified February 1, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-19-02-0091. [Original source: The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 19, July 1795 – December 1795, ed. Harold C. Syrett. New York: Columbia University Press, 1973, pp. 455–457.] [Last Accessed: 27 Feb 2018]

Featured Image: Oliver Wolcott, Jr by Gilbert Stuart [c. 1820], courtesy of Wikipedia


1.29 – The Not So Dream Team



Year(s) Discussed: 1792-1796

With positions in his Cabinet to fill, Washington is finding it difficult to convince anyone to join his administration. Meanwhile, the son of his Revolutionary War comrade the Marquis de Lafayette shows up in the US and places the President in a difficult position as he’s forced to choose between personal loyalty and public duty. Around the same time, the disgraced Edmund Randolph makes his way up and down the east coast gathering evidence to clear his name. Source information for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: Timothy Pickering by Charles Willson Peale, courtesy of Wikipedia