The Death of Washington

Hero worship ran high during and after his lifetime.

Hello! I’m trying something new today.

The History Center has an active presence on social media where we post events, short stories, and histories a few times a week. History Buzz, on the other hand, has typically been for longer stories.

Noting the popularity of our shorter posts and emails with our History Center audience, I wondered if our History Buzz subscribers might like some shorter emails as well. What do you think?

As always, I appreciate your feedback. Let me know what you think about shorter stories in between our usual longer content.

Thank you!
~Elaine

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Curtain tie-back honoring President George Washington, ACHC #1976.066.1

The death of Washington

On this day, December 14, 1799, the first President of the United States, George Washington died in his home at Mt. Vernon in Virginia.

It is said that Washington has been the object of the most intense display of hero worship this nation has ever seen.

Washington had visited Andover in 1789, ten years before his death.

In 1789, seven months after his inauguration as the first president of the United States, George Washington began a tour of the northeastern United States. Washington believed that it was important for the citizens of this new nation to see their elected president.

The United States in its infancy was a fragile creation. The citizens of this young nation did not have much to hold onto that unified them as Americans.

Unity was necessary to win freedom from Great Britain, but it would be easy to fall back into regional loyalties following independence from England.

Washington entered Andover in 1789 as a hero and celebrity of the fledgling nation.

The death of Washington is a fascinating story. Thank you to MountVernon.org for the details of the email. You can read more of the story by clicking here.

My home growing up was Bicentennialized in the 1970s, although my parents leaned more to eagles than George Washington. There was at least one purple glass bottle that bore his likeness.

How about you? Did George Washington have a presence in your home? Leave me a comment. I love hearing from you!

Thanks for reading!
~Elaine

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