Notes to Consider

I recently drove my family to Washington, D.C. for the first time. If you’ve only ever flown into our nation’s capital, I highly recommend you take the scenic path east on your next visit. The climb over the Alleghenies will illustrate how stark the Proclamation Line of 1763 was and demonstrate to your children why their ancestors truly were the first American “Westerners.”

The lush Shenandoah Valley in contrast to the Atlantic Seaboard will help explain the sharp differences in the two paths for the young nation as defined by Jefferson and Hamilton. Finally, I’ve had few senses of being in the presence of greatness like I did when we silently stood looking into General Washington’s tomb above the wide Potomac at his Mount Vernon Plantation. Our nation’s founding palpably envelopes you in the Old Dominion.

This first era in our America 250 Presidents Timeline borrows its title from Joseph Ellis’ book “Founding Brothers.” Ellis’ work takes us deep into the inner workings of President Washington’s Administrations; Treasury Secretary Hamilton’s maneuverings and untimely demise; Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson’s clandestine betrayals of President Washington; John Adams’ frustrations with the vice presidency; and Providence’s clear touch when Thomas Jefferson and John Adams crossed over the river within hours of each other on that Jubilee Independence Day, 1826.

You will have a much deeper sense of the character of each of these stars in our national history constellation after having read Ellis’ academic/popular history masterpiece, and giving attribution to his work with this era’s title is fitting.

Presidents Washington through John Quincy Adams navigated the waters of foreign policy shrewdly for the fledgling nation; and domestically, they cultivated a republican field in which liberty could thrive. Let us honor them by always remembering Dr. Franklin’s challenge: “...If you can keep it.”

Next Week: President George Washington’s Foreign Policy Big Idea

Happy Birthdays this month to the two best examples of a daddy and little brother one could ever have!