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Fifty-three years ago today, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. This act established what became known as The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly called the Interstate Highway System. The project remains the largest public works project in history. The entire system has a total length of nearly 47,000 miles, making it the largest highway system in the world.
Eisenhower's support of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 can be directly traced to 1919 and his experiences participating in the U.S. Army's first Transcontinental Motor Convoy across the United States. Following the historic Lincoln Highway, the first road built across the entire nation, the trip from Washington D.C. to San Francisco took two months to complete over the summer of 1919. Over the course of this journey, bridges cracked and had to be repaired, and vehicles were repeatedly stuck in mud.
Eisenhower’s observations and experiences on the Autobahn in Germany during World War II drove home the need for a national highway system in the United States. In his book 'At Ease: Stories I Tell to Friends', Eisenhower wrote, "The old convoy had started me thinking about good, two-lane highways, but Germany had made me see the wisdom of broader ribbons across the land."
Eisenhower’s support of the Highway Act was centrally based on his strong belief that the Interstate System was needed for the purpose of national defense. The military would need to have good roads for transporting equipment and troops in times of crisis. It was a valid point: the cross-country trip that took two months to complete in 1919 needed to be completed in a matter of days. Contrary to popular belief, no section of the Interstate Highway System was ever intended to be used as a runway by military aircraft, although many light planes have made emergency landings on interstates over the years.
Even though it is now difficult to imagine, Americans in the first five decades of the 20th century had to make due with a system of highways that barely deserved the name. At the turn of the century, the brand-new automobile quickly caught the fancy of the American public. In 1900, roughly 5,000 cars were produced. By 1917, approximately 3.5 million automobiles were registered in the United States. The new autos immediately pointed out the inadequacies of the current system of roads in America. First, roads had previously been designed for horses or iron-wheeled wagons. When the much heavier cars started whizzing along at twenty miles per hour on pneumatic tires, the old roads were quickly torn to shreds. Constant mud also took a toll on the cars' engines and undercarriages, which were not meant be used off of paved roads . Finally, there simply weren’t enough roads connecting enough places. People who needed to travel cross-country at this time still took the train; roads were mostly used for local travel.
And so, new roads needed to be built. The car, and therefore the necessary road construction, was a new business. In the beginning, there were no federal organizations to plan and dictate the structures needed for the new automobile. In fact, by 1913 few states had even formed highway departments. It was up to local authorities to figure out how and where to build roads. Concrete and asphalt were soon discovered to be the best materials for the new roads, and local construction escalated. By 1947 there existed a set of U.S. highways that served 209 of 237 cities with populations of 50,000 or more and had a total length of 37,600 miles. In 1956 portions of this system were incorporated and upgraded as part of Eisenhower’s Federal-Aid Highway Act.
Even though the Interstate Highway System continues to be expanded, the last section of the original 1956 plan was completed in 1992 at Glenwood Canyon, Colorado. As of 2004, a section of I-75 north of Atlanta, near the interchange with Interstate 285, has 15 lanes, making it the widest section of the Interstate System. The longest Interstate Highway is Interstate 90, which runs 3,099 miles between Boston, Massachusetts and Seattle, Washington. The heaviest traveled section is Interstate 405 in Los Angeles, California, with approximately 390,000 vehicles a day.
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Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Dancing Mania Breaks Out, June 24, 1374
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Today in 1374, much of the population of Aachen, Germany was struck by dancing mania, a type of social phenomenon. What exactly caused the mania is unknown, although several theories have been put forward as an explanation. What’s more, instances of dancing mania occurred throughout Europe from the late 1300’s through the middle of the 18th century. The Aachen outbreak was the first to be written about extensively by contemporary witnesses.
Medicine in medieval Europe was crude at best. Many ailments were treated with either foul-tasting mixtures or by bleeding the patient, a procedure that did more harm than good in almost all cases. Other illnesses could not be treated at all; dancing mania fell into this category. So even though outbreaks of the mania were well-documented and sometimes involved thousands of people, local doctors and civic leaders could do little as people danced until they collapsed from exhaustion or died from heart attacks. Some towns employed musicians when an outbreak occurred in the belief that music has a healing effect on the soul of the afflicted. As was common with many misunderstood phenomenon in those days, many local church leaders considered victims of the mania to be possessed, a belief that led to many exorcisms being performed. Family and friends of sufferers offered prayers to Saint Vitus, the patron saint of dancers and other types of entertainers.
Dancing mania broke out in small villages and large cities all over continental Europe. The only thing linking these locations is the fact that almost all of them were located on routes used by pilgrims to visit holy sites. Perhaps the best documented case of an outbreak of dancing mania occurred in Strasbourg, France and became known as the Dancing Plague of 1518, which took place in July of that year. The outbreak began with one woman, who was seen dancing in the street for between four and six days. Within a week, more than 30 people had joined her; over the course of the next month, 400 more people were afflicted. Most of that number died, either from exhaustion, stroke or heart attack. Local doctors came to believe the mania was caused by “hot blood”, although the records they kept do not define what they thought this condition actually was or what caused it.
Only one incidence of dancing mania has been recorded since 1800, that being in Madagascar in the 1840’s. A laughing epidemic with similar properties occurred in part of Tanzania in 1962, although the number of people affected varies according to source. Other than these two incidents, public manias such as dancing mania seem to have died out.
Modern historians and medical professionals have put forth a number of theories in an effort to explain dancing mania. One theory is that the sufferers had ergot poisoning, referred to as “St. Anthony’s Fire” during the Middle Ages. Ergot is a fungus that can infect rye, which when eaten is psychoactive. People suffering from ergot poisoning can suffer spasms and hallucinations. However, the spasms cannot reasonably be described as dancing and they do not last for days.
Another possibility is that the dancing mania was caused by the onset of the disease known as Saint Vitus’ Dance, or Sydenham’s chorea, which results in jerking motions of the limbs and face brought on by a streptococcus infection in childhood. While this would certainly explain the dancing motion observed by contemporaries of the mania, it is highly unlikely that hundreds of people would have been struck by the disease simultaneously. The same can be said of Apraxia, a neurological disorder in which victims lose the ability to carry out the movements they intended.
Although we will never know with certainty, it is also possible that dancing mania could have been caused by what is now termed mass psychogenic illness, or mass hysteria. Other events in history show us that it is possible for large numbers of people, numbering even into the thousands, to believe that they saw something or are suffering from the same illness. Some modern professionals have attributed religious miracles and demonstrations as examples of mass hysteria, although this is a hotly debated topic, especially with regard to apparitions involving the Virgin Mary.
Mass hysteria cases have been attributed to unusual levels of stress placed upon the groups involved. With this in mind, it is not unreasonable to think that mass hysteria was much more likely to occur in the towns and villages of medieval Europe. Starvation was only one bad harvest away for most people. Even when there was enough to eat, there was the constant stress of farming land that the farmer did not own for a local lord who claimed a large percentage of every crop for his own use or to sell. The vast majority of people lived in this state of near-permanent bondage for their entire lives. Most were illiterate and the only information they received from the outside world either came from travelers or from their local pastor. In such an environment, it is not hard imagine that one unusual occurrence could turn a town into a chaotic mess in which mass hysteria could become a real possibility.
Today in 1374, much of the population of Aachen, Germany was struck by dancing mania, a type of social phenomenon. What exactly caused the mania is unknown, although several theories have been put forward as an explanation. What’s more, instances of dancing mania occurred throughout Europe from the late 1300’s through the middle of the 18th century. The Aachen outbreak was the first to be written about extensively by contemporary witnesses.
Medicine in medieval Europe was crude at best. Many ailments were treated with either foul-tasting mixtures or by bleeding the patient, a procedure that did more harm than good in almost all cases. Other illnesses could not be treated at all; dancing mania fell into this category. So even though outbreaks of the mania were well-documented and sometimes involved thousands of people, local doctors and civic leaders could do little as people danced until they collapsed from exhaustion or died from heart attacks. Some towns employed musicians when an outbreak occurred in the belief that music has a healing effect on the soul of the afflicted. As was common with many misunderstood phenomenon in those days, many local church leaders considered victims of the mania to be possessed, a belief that led to many exorcisms being performed. Family and friends of sufferers offered prayers to Saint Vitus, the patron saint of dancers and other types of entertainers.
Dancing mania broke out in small villages and large cities all over continental Europe. The only thing linking these locations is the fact that almost all of them were located on routes used by pilgrims to visit holy sites. Perhaps the best documented case of an outbreak of dancing mania occurred in Strasbourg, France and became known as the Dancing Plague of 1518, which took place in July of that year. The outbreak began with one woman, who was seen dancing in the street for between four and six days. Within a week, more than 30 people had joined her; over the course of the next month, 400 more people were afflicted. Most of that number died, either from exhaustion, stroke or heart attack. Local doctors came to believe the mania was caused by “hot blood”, although the records they kept do not define what they thought this condition actually was or what caused it.
Only one incidence of dancing mania has been recorded since 1800, that being in Madagascar in the 1840’s. A laughing epidemic with similar properties occurred in part of Tanzania in 1962, although the number of people affected varies according to source. Other than these two incidents, public manias such as dancing mania seem to have died out.
Modern historians and medical professionals have put forth a number of theories in an effort to explain dancing mania. One theory is that the sufferers had ergot poisoning, referred to as “St. Anthony’s Fire” during the Middle Ages. Ergot is a fungus that can infect rye, which when eaten is psychoactive. People suffering from ergot poisoning can suffer spasms and hallucinations. However, the spasms cannot reasonably be described as dancing and they do not last for days.
Another possibility is that the dancing mania was caused by the onset of the disease known as Saint Vitus’ Dance, or Sydenham’s chorea, which results in jerking motions of the limbs and face brought on by a streptococcus infection in childhood. While this would certainly explain the dancing motion observed by contemporaries of the mania, it is highly unlikely that hundreds of people would have been struck by the disease simultaneously. The same can be said of Apraxia, a neurological disorder in which victims lose the ability to carry out the movements they intended.
Although we will never know with certainty, it is also possible that dancing mania could have been caused by what is now termed mass psychogenic illness, or mass hysteria. Other events in history show us that it is possible for large numbers of people, numbering even into the thousands, to believe that they saw something or are suffering from the same illness. Some modern professionals have attributed religious miracles and demonstrations as examples of mass hysteria, although this is a hotly debated topic, especially with regard to apparitions involving the Virgin Mary.
Mass hysteria cases have been attributed to unusual levels of stress placed upon the groups involved. With this in mind, it is not unreasonable to think that mass hysteria was much more likely to occur in the towns and villages of medieval Europe. Starvation was only one bad harvest away for most people. Even when there was enough to eat, there was the constant stress of farming land that the farmer did not own for a local lord who claimed a large percentage of every crop for his own use or to sell. The vast majority of people lived in this state of near-permanent bondage for their entire lives. Most were illiterate and the only information they received from the outside world either came from travelers or from their local pastor. In such an environment, it is not hard imagine that one unusual occurrence could turn a town into a chaotic mess in which mass hysteria could become a real possibility.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Bligh Arrives At Timor (Mutiny on the Bounty, Part One), June 14, 1789
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Today in 1789, Royal Navy Commanding Lieutenant William Bligh and 17 other crewmembers from the HMS Bounty reached the island of Timor after a 3,600 nautical mile journey in a 23 foot open boat. Their 47-day voyage marked the end of a long trial for those who had remained loyal to their captain during what would become one of the most famous mutinies in recorded history.
HMS Bounty was not a warship; she began life as a collier named Bethia. The Royal Navy purchased the ship in 1787, renamed her, and refitted her for one purpose: to travel to Tahiti in order to transfer breadfruit plants from there to the West Indies, where it was hoped the fruit could be used as food for the large slave population there. The man chosen to lead this expedition was Lieutenant William Bligh, a 33-year old career officer who had experience with navigation near the area of Tahiti and was familiar with the local customs, a familiarity that was crucial for the success of the mission.
Bounty’s complement was 46 in total, but Bligh was the only commissioned officer aboard. Space was tight since much of the space below decks was reserved for use by the breadfruit trees on the return trip. The trip to Tahiti was rough, with the ship attempting to round Cape Horn for a month because of bad weather. She eventually turned east and sailed round the Cape of Good Hope and across the entire width of the Indian Ocean. Bounty had been at sea for 10 straight months by the time she reached Tahiti in October, 1788.
Bounty’s crew spent five months on Tahiti, working to prepare more than one thousand breadfruit plants for transport. Captain Bligh allowed the men to live onshore during this time, and they came to know the native population of the island rather well. Some received tattoos in the native fashion, while others formed romantic relationships with native women. Master’s Mate and Acting Lieutenant Fletcher Christian went so far as to marry a Tahitian woman. Bligh was not surprised by his crew’s behavior nor was he apparently bothered by it because it helped to maintain good relations between the sailors and the native population.
HMS Bounty left paradise on April 4th, 1789 with her compliment of men and breadfruit aboard. 24 days later and 1,300 miles from Tahiti, a mutiny broke out aboard the ship. Fletcher Christian and several other men entered Bligh’s cabin, woke him up and pushed him to the deck. Except for an exchange of threats, the mutiny occurred without bloodshed. Eighteen men joined Christian in the mutiny, two were non-committal, and 22 remained loyal to Bligh. Four of the loyalists were forced to remain on the ship while the remaining 18 and Bligh were forced into the ship’s launch and set adrift with limited rations.
Much has been made in the past 220 years of Lieutenant William Bligh’s behavior as ship’s captain. It is important to remember that in the Royal Navy of the late 18th century, discipline was harsh. Even the smallest infraction could result in a sailor receiving a flogging; other penalties could result in death. By the standards of the day, Bligh was not a hard master. For example, while the Bounty was still anchored at Tahiti, three crewmen deserted from their work party, presumably to remain on the island when the ship left. All three were recaptured, whereupon Bligh ordered the men flogged instead of hanged, which was the usual punishment for such a transgression. It can be argued that the men were needed to help sail the Bounty to the West Indies, but other documents show Bligh to be no harsher than other commanders of this period.
Bligh and his 18 men found themselves in a 23-foot long open boat in the South Pacific. Their only navigation instruments were a sextant and a pocket watch. Initially, the boat was only 30 nautical miles from the island of Tofua, but landing there to acquire more rations only resulted in the death of one of the crewmen, who was stoned to death by a group of natives.
The 18 remaining men and their small launch encountered other difficulties on their journey, which by Bligh’s reckoning was 3,618 nautical miles. They arrived at Timor in the Dutch East Indies on June 14th, 1789. Shortly after landing, two of the men died. Three others would die in the following months, all due to their long open ocean journey.
The Bounty and the mutineers who now commanded her had their own difficulties, which we will discuss in part two of this podcast.
Today in 1789, Royal Navy Commanding Lieutenant William Bligh and 17 other crewmembers from the HMS Bounty reached the island of Timor after a 3,600 nautical mile journey in a 23 foot open boat. Their 47-day voyage marked the end of a long trial for those who had remained loyal to their captain during what would become one of the most famous mutinies in recorded history.
HMS Bounty was not a warship; she began life as a collier named Bethia. The Royal Navy purchased the ship in 1787, renamed her, and refitted her for one purpose: to travel to Tahiti in order to transfer breadfruit plants from there to the West Indies, where it was hoped the fruit could be used as food for the large slave population there. The man chosen to lead this expedition was Lieutenant William Bligh, a 33-year old career officer who had experience with navigation near the area of Tahiti and was familiar with the local customs, a familiarity that was crucial for the success of the mission.
Bounty’s complement was 46 in total, but Bligh was the only commissioned officer aboard. Space was tight since much of the space below decks was reserved for use by the breadfruit trees on the return trip. The trip to Tahiti was rough, with the ship attempting to round Cape Horn for a month because of bad weather. She eventually turned east and sailed round the Cape of Good Hope and across the entire width of the Indian Ocean. Bounty had been at sea for 10 straight months by the time she reached Tahiti in October, 1788.
Bounty’s crew spent five months on Tahiti, working to prepare more than one thousand breadfruit plants for transport. Captain Bligh allowed the men to live onshore during this time, and they came to know the native population of the island rather well. Some received tattoos in the native fashion, while others formed romantic relationships with native women. Master’s Mate and Acting Lieutenant Fletcher Christian went so far as to marry a Tahitian woman. Bligh was not surprised by his crew’s behavior nor was he apparently bothered by it because it helped to maintain good relations between the sailors and the native population.
HMS Bounty left paradise on April 4th, 1789 with her compliment of men and breadfruit aboard. 24 days later and 1,300 miles from Tahiti, a mutiny broke out aboard the ship. Fletcher Christian and several other men entered Bligh’s cabin, woke him up and pushed him to the deck. Except for an exchange of threats, the mutiny occurred without bloodshed. Eighteen men joined Christian in the mutiny, two were non-committal, and 22 remained loyal to Bligh. Four of the loyalists were forced to remain on the ship while the remaining 18 and Bligh were forced into the ship’s launch and set adrift with limited rations.
Much has been made in the past 220 years of Lieutenant William Bligh’s behavior as ship’s captain. It is important to remember that in the Royal Navy of the late 18th century, discipline was harsh. Even the smallest infraction could result in a sailor receiving a flogging; other penalties could result in death. By the standards of the day, Bligh was not a hard master. For example, while the Bounty was still anchored at Tahiti, three crewmen deserted from their work party, presumably to remain on the island when the ship left. All three were recaptured, whereupon Bligh ordered the men flogged instead of hanged, which was the usual punishment for such a transgression. It can be argued that the men were needed to help sail the Bounty to the West Indies, but other documents show Bligh to be no harsher than other commanders of this period.
Bligh and his 18 men found themselves in a 23-foot long open boat in the South Pacific. Their only navigation instruments were a sextant and a pocket watch. Initially, the boat was only 30 nautical miles from the island of Tofua, but landing there to acquire more rations only resulted in the death of one of the crewmen, who was stoned to death by a group of natives.
The 18 remaining men and their small launch encountered other difficulties on their journey, which by Bligh’s reckoning was 3,618 nautical miles. They arrived at Timor in the Dutch East Indies on June 14th, 1789. Shortly after landing, two of the men died. Three others would die in the following months, all due to their long open ocean journey.
The Bounty and the mutineers who now commanded her had their own difficulties, which we will discuss in part two of this podcast.
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Pyle At Normandy, June 6, 1944
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We have discussed the invasion of Normandy here before. D-Day, as it was called, was a monumental logistical effort put forth by the Allies in the hope they could grab a foothold in France and, thus, begin the liberation of Northwest Europe. The liberation of the Europe continent as a whole had begun with the invasion of Italy in September, 1943, but Operation Overlord, as the Normandy invasion was called, was to be the beginning of one of the stabs towards the heart of Germany, the other being the Soviet offensive coming from the east.
Instead of talking about raw numbers and the events of that longest of days, I have decided to let someone else tell the story of D-Day from his perspective. That someone is Ernie Pyle, an American journalist who told the story of the Second World War as he saw it, up close and personal. His style is in some ways very personal, as if he is telling his story to a friend. His roots as the son of Indiana tenant farmers show through in his writing, making it so popular that the editor-in-chief of the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain ended up publishing his columns in over 300 newspapers. By the time of the United States’ entry into the Second World War, Pyle was already well-known in many communities.
What I am about to read are two columns Pyle submitted in the days immediately after the Normandy invasion.
Ernie Pyle eventually left the European Theatre of war and traveled to the Pacific, where he covered the invasion of Okinawa. While riding in a jeep, a Japanese machine gun opened up on him and the driver. They jumped into a ditch, where Pyle asked the driver if he was OK. As he did so, a bullet entered the side of his helmet, killing him almost instantly. Originally buried on Okinawa, he is now buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii.
We have discussed the invasion of Normandy here before. D-Day, as it was called, was a monumental logistical effort put forth by the Allies in the hope they could grab a foothold in France and, thus, begin the liberation of Northwest Europe. The liberation of the Europe continent as a whole had begun with the invasion of Italy in September, 1943, but Operation Overlord, as the Normandy invasion was called, was to be the beginning of one of the stabs towards the heart of Germany, the other being the Soviet offensive coming from the east.
Instead of talking about raw numbers and the events of that longest of days, I have decided to let someone else tell the story of D-Day from his perspective. That someone is Ernie Pyle, an American journalist who told the story of the Second World War as he saw it, up close and personal. His style is in some ways very personal, as if he is telling his story to a friend. His roots as the son of Indiana tenant farmers show through in his writing, making it so popular that the editor-in-chief of the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain ended up publishing his columns in over 300 newspapers. By the time of the United States’ entry into the Second World War, Pyle was already well-known in many communities.
What I am about to read are two columns Pyle submitted in the days immediately after the Normandy invasion.
Ernie Pyle eventually left the European Theatre of war and traveled to the Pacific, where he covered the invasion of Okinawa. While riding in a jeep, a Japanese machine gun opened up on him and the driver. They jumped into a ditch, where Pyle asked the driver if he was OK. As he did so, a bullet entered the side of his helmet, killing him almost instantly. Originally buried on Okinawa, he is now buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Martha Washington Is Born, June 2, 1731
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Today in 1731, Martha Dandridge was born on Chestnut Grove plantation in the colony of Virginia. As Martha Dandridge Custis Washington, she would serve as the original First Lady of the United States.
Martha was married at the age of eighteen to Daniel Parke Custis, a wealthy plantation owner who was more than twenty years her senior. They lived at his White House Plantation, just a few miles from where Martha was born. The couple had four children, but Frances and Daniel, a daughter and son, each died before their fifth birthday. The two other children, John and Martha, each survived to become young adults.
Daniel Custis died in 1757, leaving Martha a 26-year old widow who was both landed and wealthy. It is believed that George Washington had known Daniel and Martha Custis for some years before Daniel’s death, so no formal introduction was neede before Washington visited Martha at the White House plantation twice in March, 1758. Martha was much sought after by various suitors, but it was the former Virginia militia officer, planter and politician who, in the end, won her approval. The two were married on January 6th, 1759; after several weeks at her plantation, the Washingtons, including Martha’s son and daughter, moved to Mount Vernon.
George and Martha Washington, by all accounts, had a solid, faithful marriage. They had no children together, possibly due to the smallpox George had suffered through in his youth. They raised Martha’s two surviving children together until the daughter, Martha, died during an epileptic seizure at the age of 17. Her son, John, died at the age of 27 while serving as General Washington’s aide during the siege of Yorktown in 1781; it is believed the cause of his death was typhus. George and Martha raised John’s two children, both of whom lived well into the 1850’s.
When the War for Independence began in 1775 and her husband was placed in command of the Continental Army, Martha Washington followed him to war. She was at Valley Forge during the terrible winter of 1777-1778. Letters from that period show that her very presence helped to lift morale during this low point of the war, even though most of the enlisted men and junior officers never saw the future First Lady.
When the war ended in 1783 and the United States gained status as an independent nation, it is possible to imagine that Martha Washington wanted nothing more than to return to her life at Mount Vernon. It was not to be. General Washington resigned his commission and returned to life as a private citizen that December, but his retirement was short-lived. He was persuaded by friends and associates to attend the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787; upon his arrival, he was immediately voted president of the Convention. As the new Constitution took shape, so did the office of the President. There was little doubt among most of the delegates as to who should be the first man to hold the office. To that end, George Washington, even though he did not initially want the job, was elected unanimously by the Electoral College in 1789.
Martha was less than pleased. She opposed her husband’s election to the new office and refused to attend his inauguration on April 30th, 1789 in New York City. But once in office, she assumed the duties required by her new social position. The new nation had no capital city (Washington, DC was not even surveyed until 1791), so the Washingtons lived in New York and later in Philadelphia. Both Martha and George knew that as the first people to hold their respective positions, almost everything they did within public view would become the standard for future First Families. As a result, neither of them accepted some of the more fancy titles some Americans thought fitting for the new national leader. George decided that the title “Mister President” was fitting and Martha was simply known as “Lady Washington”. The term “First Lady” did not come into common use until some years later.
George Washington’s two terms in office were not a happy time for Martha. She once wrote to one of her nieces that she felt imprisoned by the position. It made incredible demands on her time, since she was expected to keep an essentially open house that was constantly full of visiting dignitaries and federal-level office holders. As a result, the very private First Lady found that she had no privacy at all. But she also understood that the duties taken on by her husband brought with them responsibilities for her. Some of the traditions begun by Martha Washington as First Lady continue to this day.
Recently, historians have claimed that Martha actually owned a slave who was her half-sister, the product of an affair between Martha’s father and one of his slaves. While affairs of this type were certainly not unheard of at that time, Ann is not listed in the record of slaves at Mount Vernon. It is possible, of course, that she was intentionally left out to cover up the entire lineage. George Washington was quoted many times in letters expressing his growing concern over the immorality of slavery. In his will, he freed one slave who had served with him during the Revolution and ordered that the rest of them be freed upon his wife’s death. Martha did not want to wait and freed all of the Mount Vernon slaves on January 1, 1801.
After their terms as President and First Lady, the Washingtons returned to Mount Vernon. Except for his short time as the head of the early US Army, neither George nor Martha ever really traveled again. George died on December 14th, 1799. Martha outlived her husband by two years, dying at the age of 70 on May 22, 1802.
Although she had no children with George Washington, Martha’s descendants continued to play important roles in United States history. George Washington Parke Custis, one of the grandchildren raised by George and Martha, built a house in Arlington, Virginia in 1802. He and his wife had four children, although only one daughter, Mary Anna Randolph Custis, survived to adulthood. Mary Anna was herself married a young officer named Robert E. Lee in 1831 and they lived in the Arlington house. Early in the Civil War, part of the estate was seized by the US government and the family had to go all the way to the Supreme Court in order to receive proper payment for their property. Today, that land is known as Arlington National Cemetary.
As early as 1778, some Americans were referring to George Washington as the father of the country. If we accept this, then it is natural to assume Martha Washington was the mother of the country. As an example of duty, honor, loyalty and courage, Martha left an indelible impression on the nation she helped to create.
Today in 1731, Martha Dandridge was born on Chestnut Grove plantation in the colony of Virginia. As Martha Dandridge Custis Washington, she would serve as the original First Lady of the United States.
Martha was married at the age of eighteen to Daniel Parke Custis, a wealthy plantation owner who was more than twenty years her senior. They lived at his White House Plantation, just a few miles from where Martha was born. The couple had four children, but Frances and Daniel, a daughter and son, each died before their fifth birthday. The two other children, John and Martha, each survived to become young adults.
Daniel Custis died in 1757, leaving Martha a 26-year old widow who was both landed and wealthy. It is believed that George Washington had known Daniel and Martha Custis for some years before Daniel’s death, so no formal introduction was neede before Washington visited Martha at the White House plantation twice in March, 1758. Martha was much sought after by various suitors, but it was the former Virginia militia officer, planter and politician who, in the end, won her approval. The two were married on January 6th, 1759; after several weeks at her plantation, the Washingtons, including Martha’s son and daughter, moved to Mount Vernon.
George and Martha Washington, by all accounts, had a solid, faithful marriage. They had no children together, possibly due to the smallpox George had suffered through in his youth. They raised Martha’s two surviving children together until the daughter, Martha, died during an epileptic seizure at the age of 17. Her son, John, died at the age of 27 while serving as General Washington’s aide during the siege of Yorktown in 1781; it is believed the cause of his death was typhus. George and Martha raised John’s two children, both of whom lived well into the 1850’s.
When the War for Independence began in 1775 and her husband was placed in command of the Continental Army, Martha Washington followed him to war. She was at Valley Forge during the terrible winter of 1777-1778. Letters from that period show that her very presence helped to lift morale during this low point of the war, even though most of the enlisted men and junior officers never saw the future First Lady.
When the war ended in 1783 and the United States gained status as an independent nation, it is possible to imagine that Martha Washington wanted nothing more than to return to her life at Mount Vernon. It was not to be. General Washington resigned his commission and returned to life as a private citizen that December, but his retirement was short-lived. He was persuaded by friends and associates to attend the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787; upon his arrival, he was immediately voted president of the Convention. As the new Constitution took shape, so did the office of the President. There was little doubt among most of the delegates as to who should be the first man to hold the office. To that end, George Washington, even though he did not initially want the job, was elected unanimously by the Electoral College in 1789.
Martha was less than pleased. She opposed her husband’s election to the new office and refused to attend his inauguration on April 30th, 1789 in New York City. But once in office, she assumed the duties required by her new social position. The new nation had no capital city (Washington, DC was not even surveyed until 1791), so the Washingtons lived in New York and later in Philadelphia. Both Martha and George knew that as the first people to hold their respective positions, almost everything they did within public view would become the standard for future First Families. As a result, neither of them accepted some of the more fancy titles some Americans thought fitting for the new national leader. George decided that the title “Mister President” was fitting and Martha was simply known as “Lady Washington”. The term “First Lady” did not come into common use until some years later.
George Washington’s two terms in office were not a happy time for Martha. She once wrote to one of her nieces that she felt imprisoned by the position. It made incredible demands on her time, since she was expected to keep an essentially open house that was constantly full of visiting dignitaries and federal-level office holders. As a result, the very private First Lady found that she had no privacy at all. But she also understood that the duties taken on by her husband brought with them responsibilities for her. Some of the traditions begun by Martha Washington as First Lady continue to this day.
Recently, historians have claimed that Martha actually owned a slave who was her half-sister, the product of an affair between Martha’s father and one of his slaves. While affairs of this type were certainly not unheard of at that time, Ann is not listed in the record of slaves at Mount Vernon. It is possible, of course, that she was intentionally left out to cover up the entire lineage. George Washington was quoted many times in letters expressing his growing concern over the immorality of slavery. In his will, he freed one slave who had served with him during the Revolution and ordered that the rest of them be freed upon his wife’s death. Martha did not want to wait and freed all of the Mount Vernon slaves on January 1, 1801.
After their terms as President and First Lady, the Washingtons returned to Mount Vernon. Except for his short time as the head of the early US Army, neither George nor Martha ever really traveled again. George died on December 14th, 1799. Martha outlived her husband by two years, dying at the age of 70 on May 22, 1802.
Although she had no children with George Washington, Martha’s descendants continued to play important roles in United States history. George Washington Parke Custis, one of the grandchildren raised by George and Martha, built a house in Arlington, Virginia in 1802. He and his wife had four children, although only one daughter, Mary Anna Randolph Custis, survived to adulthood. Mary Anna was herself married a young officer named Robert E. Lee in 1831 and they lived in the Arlington house. Early in the Civil War, part of the estate was seized by the US government and the family had to go all the way to the Supreme Court in order to receive proper payment for their property. Today, that land is known as Arlington National Cemetary.
As early as 1778, some Americans were referring to George Washington as the father of the country. If we accept this, then it is natural to assume Martha Washington was the mother of the country. As an example of duty, honor, loyalty and courage, Martha left an indelible impression on the nation she helped to create.
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