Learning Through George Washington
A handbook for teaching Washington’s legacy, the American founding era, and responsible engagement in contemporary civic life
Crafted by a diverse group of expert historians, museum professionals, and K–12 teachers, Learning Through George Washington is an engaging, multifaceted exploration of how to teach and learn about the American Revolutionary era. For more than twenty-five years, these educators have gathered at Mount Vernon to participate in dynamic dialogues about Washington’s life, eighteenth-century America, and the challenges of teaching this complex history to everyone from the curious public to advanced college students. The essays, each shaped by personal expertise, tackle subjects ranging from interpreting primary sources to discussing controversial topics, such as American slavery and Native dispossession, with accuracy and respect. By emphasizing primary source–based inquiry, material culture, and effective pedagogical methods, this collection invites readers to explore Washington’s legacy and its continued relevance today. Perfect for history enthusiasts, educators, and students, Learning Through George Washington not only deepens our historical understanding of the founding era but also provides valuable resources for further study, ensuring that Washington’s call for the “general diffusion of knowledge” remains alive and well into the twenty-first century.
- Rosemarie Zagarri, George Mason University, author of Revolutionary Backlash: Women and Politics in the Early American RepublicThis book redresses a critical need in the field of early American history: to put professional historians, museum specialists, public historians, and teachers at all grade levels in conversation with one another. Centered around George Washington, the various essays show how the study of Washington provides a window into a wide range of knowledge: the history of the Founding Era, American government, civics, and the practice of history. Filled with practical advice for the classroom as well as deep scholarly insights, the book is timely intervention demonstrating the significance of Washington, in all his complexity, to a wide variety of audiences today.
- Mark Boonshoft, Virginia Military Institute, author of Aristocratic Education and the Making of the American RepublicA welcome volume, eminently useful for teachers. The essays in this collection make a case for considering simultaneously the importance of Washington’s leadership legacies and his entanglements with slavery and Indigenous genocide. Even more, they offer practical lessons—drawn from extensive experience—for how actually to do this work in classrooms at all levels across the United States.
Kate Elizabeth Brown is Associate Professor of History at Western Kentucky University. Lorri Glover is Professor of History and John Francis Bannon, S.J., Endowed Chair at Saint Louis University.
