THE LIFE AND TIMES OF
GEORGE
WASHINGTON
Teacher's Guide
All material in this program is the exclusive property of the copyright holder.
Copying, transmitting, or reproducing in
any form or by any means without prior
written permission from the copyright
holder is prohibited (Title 17, U.S. Code
Sections 501 and 506).
©1992 Delphi Productions
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF
GEORGE WASHINGTON
TIME: 14 minutes
INTRODUCTION
This program provides a look at the life of George Washington using historical images and "on location" video reproductions. The biography creates a dynamic sense of
plantation life and the history of the colonies between 1732,
the date of Washington's birth, and 1799, the year of his
death.
The Life and Times of George Washington was designed
for use with students in Grades 5 and above and contains a
great deal of historical information. It stands alone as a
brief biography of Washington, or it can be used to correlate
or supplement a study of this early American period.
SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURE
A. TEACHER PREPARATION
1. Preview the video and read over the information
in this guide and on the blackline masters.
2. Students should have access to a U.S. map
showing the original 13 states.
3. Duplicate the blackline masters you intend to use.
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B. TOPICS PRESENTED IN THIS PROGRAM
1. The creation of the colony of Virginia.
2. Washington's birth and early life at Wakefield
Plantation.
3. The role of tobacco on the plantation.
4. Washington's young adult life.
5. Mount Vernon: Life on an Eighteenth Century
Virginia Plantation.
6. The role of slaves at Mount Vernon.
7. The Revolutionary War: General George Washington
8. The First Presidency: President Washington
Forges a Union of States.
9. Washington's final years and death at Mount
Vernon.
C. STUDENT OBJECTIVES
After viewing The Life and Times of George
Washington and participating in lesson activities,
students should be able to describe the following:
• What life was like on a Virginia plantation in the
1700s.
• The role of slaves on a plantation.
• The major events in the life of George Washington.
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•
Washington's military role during the War of Independence.
•
Washington's role in creating a union of states
from the thirteen colonies.
D. INTRODUCING THE LESSON
1. Introduce the program with a brief description of
what will be presented: George Washington's life
as a child, public figure, and plantation owner in
the 1700's.
2.
Ask a few thought-provoking questions. For
example:
a. In what various ways do you imagine life on
George Washington's plantation of Mount
Vernon would be different from your life
today? How might it be similar?
b.
3.
What special qualities do you think were
needed to propel a person like Washington
to greatness as a military leader? As a
political leader?
It is recommended that Blackline Master 1, Key
Names, be handed out before viewing the program. It contains a list of important names which
should be given special attention. After viewing
the video, students can also be assigned the
homework task of writing one paragraph descriptions of the names on this list.
E. PRESENT THE VIDEO-Time: 14 minutes
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F. FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES
1. Blackline Masters 2, The Thirteen Colonies, and
3, Virginia, are map studies. The students are
required to identify the thirteen colonies and to
locate sites from the video on the map of Virginia.
They will need to refer to political maps in an
atlas or their textbooks. After completing, go
over the maps with them.
2.
Distribute Blackline Master 4, Crossword
Puzzle. Directions are self-explanatory.
G. FOLLOW-UP DISCUSSION
Stimulate discussion of the video by asking the
following questions. If the students are unable to
respond to some of the questions, ask for volunteers
to do research.
1. How do you feel about Washington's role as a
slave owner?
2. Given the times, was it possible to be both a good
person and a slave owner?
3.
As commander-in-chief, what did Washington
have to do to create a fighting army?
4.
What was Washington's role in creating a union
of states from the victorious 13 colonies?
5.
Are there any politicians today who possess
Washington's unique abilities? Who? Why do you
think so?
H. QUIZ
Blackline Master5, Quiz, is a brief check on what the 4-
students retained from the lesson. Collect the quiz so
you can read and comment on the essay question
When you return the papers, go over the answers
with the class.
I.
ANSWER KEY
Blackline Master 1, Key Names
Answers will vary but should contain some of the
following:
1. Queen Elizabeth the First - ruled from 1558-1603.
She was called the virgin queen and Virginia was
named after her.
2. Sir Walter Raleigh - sent by Elizabeth the First to
explore parts of America, and he and others
formed the first permanent English settlement in
North America.
3. Jamestown, Virginia - site of the first permanent
English settlement in North America.
4.
Chesapeake Bay - Indians lived along the Bay,
and it was from them that the colonists learned to
smoke tobacco.
5.
Wakefield Plantation - tobacco farm where
George Washington was born.
6.
Mount Vernon - George Washington's home for
the greater part of his life. The site had been
granted to Washington's great-grandfather in
1674, twenty years after his arrival in America
when his ship went aground.
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SCRIPT OF VIDEO NARRATION
George Washington is the well-beloved "Father of Our
Country": the man who led the American army during the
War of Independence and later became the first president of
the United States of America, shaping a union of states out
of 13 separate English colonies.
He was born at Wakef ield Plantation on Popes Creek in the
colony of Virginia on February 22, 1732.
At the time of Washington's birth, Virginia was a wellestablished colony of England and had been the home to
English settlers for 125 years.
The colony was named by Sir Walter Raleigh in honor of
Queen Elizabeth the First who ruled from 1558-1603.
It was Elizabeth who had sent Raleigh to explore parts of
America and, thanks to his efforts, adventurous men and
women formed the first permanent English settlement in
North America at Jamestown, Virginia.
The earliest colonists learned to smoke tobacco from the
Indians who lived along the Chesapeake Bay; and soon the
fad of smoking was being taken up by great numbers of
Europeans.
As more people developed the smoking habit, the demand
for Virginia tobacco grew; the young colony flourished; and it
became the world center of tobacco farming.
George Washington's first home at Wakefield Plantation
relied on the growing of tobacco for much of its income.
Although George only lived at Wakefield until he was three,
as a toddler he would have seen the men on the farm
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planting tobacco and smelled its pungent aroma as it dried in
the airing sheds.
Life on a big farm must have been fascinating to young
George as he watched the activities that surrounded him.
Like most small children, he probably loved the animals
best. He, no doubt, awoke each morning to the crowing of
roosters and the gobbling of turkeys.
He would have loved to watch the men yoke oxen together to
pull the plow and see water hauled to the fields to irrigate the
young tobacco plants and laughed as he watched the pigs
wallow in the mud.
Fences were constantly being built from split logs and the
splitting process would undoubtedly have been fascinating to
a small youngster of George's age.
The surrounding woods must have provided a sense of
mystery as he toddled along at his father's side keeping an
eye out for wild animals and birds.
Just before his third birthday, George's family moved to a
large undeveloped plantation which was to become his
home for the greater part of his life—Mount Vernon.
The site of Mount Vernon had been granted to George
Washington's great-grandfather in 1674, twenty years after
his arrival in America when his ship went aground.
At the age of seven, after only a four year stay, George had
to leave Mount Vernon to move 30 miles away to be nearer
his family's ironworks. Mount Vernon did not become his
true home until 1748 when he was 16 years old; and at that
time the plantation was still owned by his half brother,
Lawrence.
1748 was also the year George took his first paying job as
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a surveyor for a very wealthy landowner named Thomas
Fairfax.
In the years that followed, George joined the Virginia Militia
and was involved in fighting the French and their Indian
allies in the Ohio River Valley. And, at the age of 26 he was
appointed to serve as a representative to the colonial
government at Williamsburg, Virginia—a part-time job he
would hold for the next 16 years.
In 1759 he married a widow named Martha Custis who had
two small children. George was able to devote most of the
next 1 2 - 1 3 years to raising his step-children and to running
the five farms that made up the estate of Mount Vernon.
Let us look at Mount Vernon more closely so that we can
better understand plantation life.
A writer once described a typical plantation as follows: "A
large Virginia estate was a little empire. The mansion house
was the seat of government with its numerous
dependencies, such as kitchen, smokehouse, work- shops,
and stables."
Mount Vernon was exactly such a little empire. It produced
most of what it needed from food to cloth to tools. Little was
needed from the outside world.
The kitchen garden provided fresh vegetables, fruit, and
herbs of many different varieties, and the farm yielded huge
quantities of grain.
Meals were prepared here in the kitchen, which is attached to
the mansion house by a covered walkway. This separation
kept the noise and smoky odors out of the house and
reduced heat in the house during the hot, humid Virginia
summers.
The kitchen was always bustling with activity, since the
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Washingtons were rarely without guests. George said,
rather humorously, that his house was like a "well frequented tavern, as scarcely any strangers who are going
from north to south, or south to north, do not spend a day or
two at it."
Family meals were served here in the small dining room,
and guests were entertained in the parlour.
During warm weather they would relax on the porch,
enjoying the view of the great Potomac River and the woods
beyond.
Next to the kitchen, but in the same building, is the skullery.
Here dishwashing and additional food preparation took
place.
A third room in the kitchen building is the larder, used for
storing perishable foods. The larder is cooler than the rest
of the building because it is partially below ground.
Behind the kitchen is the well, the source of all the water
used in the house. Like all houses of that day, Mount
Vernon is without plumbing.
Animals on the plantation were raised for meat, wool, tallow,
leather, and milk. In the days before refrigeration, meat and
fish had to be salted to be preserved. The salt, plus barrels
and fishnets, were kept here in this storehouse.
The salted meats were converted into delicious ham and
bacon in this smokehouse.
Most of the work on Virginia plantations was performed by
slave labor. In 1799 Mount Vernon had 3 1 4 slaves.
However, in his will Washington ordered freedom for all his
slaves.
Slaves not only worked in the fields but also pursued skilled
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tasks, such as shoemaking and paint making, which was
done in this cellar.
The overseer of all the plantation's day-to-day activities was
a slave who lived here in this comfortable room, although
other slaves had less lavish surroundings.
Women spun wool and flax into thread to be woven into
cloth. They made clothing, sheets, and table linens out of
the cloth they produced on the looms. And others cleaned
the dirty clothes using homemade soap and scrub boards
here in the wash house.
Five square miles of the 8,000 acre estate were farmed,
and large amounts of grain were produced.
This grain was ground into flour at Washington's own mill,
and the resulting flour was used in baking all sorts of bread
and cakes. The excess grain and flour was sold for cash to
buy items that could not be produced on the plantation.
George wrote about Mount Vernon that "No estate in the
United States is more pleasantly situated than this.
"It lies in high, dry, and healthy country on one of the finest
rivers in the world."
The estate was large, and George spent quite a tot of time
on horseback every day inspecting the five farms and mill.
He loved to ride and was considered by many to be the
finest horseman of his time.
Because he was an expert horseman, the stables were a
favorite place, for he broke and trained all of his own horses.
Besides the horses, the family coach was also kept in the
stable building. Other colonial travelers chose to travel
neither on horseback nor by coach but in a riding chair like
this.
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Until the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, Virginia was
considered to be part of England—like a separate overseas
state—and it was ruled by King George III.
The War of Independence, which ended the king's rule in
America, began in the spring of 1775, and George Washington was called upon to lead the colonial forces into battle
against the English.
He forged an army, mostly from the farmers of the 13
colonies, and they were men who were unskilled in military
matters.
During seven years of war, Washington suffered extreme
personal danger and hardship, but, although he was long
absent from Mount Vernon, he still continued to direct
construction projects there by letter.
This room, called the large dining room, was built in 1776
during the most dangerous period of the war. Washington
directed that "...the chimney of the new room be exactly in
the middle of it, the doors and everything else to be exactly
answerable and uniform. In short, I would have the whole
executed in a masterful manner."
Eventually the English army was defeated at the great
battle of Yorktown, only about 100 miles from Mount
Vernon, and America gained its independence.
General Washington resigned from the army in 1783 and
returned home again to Mount Vernon.
Two years after the end of the war, he constructed this
greenhouse where one visitor said, "Plants from every part
of the world seem to flourish in the neatly furnished apartment."
Facing the greenhouse he planted lovely flower gardens
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and hedges.
Washington spent the years up until 1789 not only working
on his estate but also in hammering out the new Constitution
of the United States.
On April 14, 1789 Washington received word that he had
been chosen to be the first President of the United States of
America, and once again he had to leave Mount Vernon to
serve at the capital in New York.
During this eight year period he was able to create a strong
central govenment for the 13 states, which resulted in the
type of republic we have today.
He was an excellent president, but his heart always longed
for home. "I can truly say I had rather be at home in Mount
Vernon with a friend or two about me than to be attended by
the officers of state and the representatives of every power
in Europe.
In 1797 he returned to Mount Vernon and to the familiar
setting he loved best of all. Here he was able to enjoy two
very pleasant years with his wife and friends.
During this time, he had so many visitors that he wrote,
"Unless someone pops in unexpectedly, Mrs. Washington
and I will do what I believe has not been done for 20 years
by us—that is to set down to dinner by ourselves."
George Washington died unexpectedly from an infected
throat here in his bed at Mount Vernon on December 14,
1799, and all of America poured out its grief.
He was buried on the land he loved the best, and today his
tomb serves to remind us of the huge debt we as Americans
owe to the energy and dedication of this truly great man.
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Name_____________________
1
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF GEORGE WASHINGTON
KEY NAMES
Directions: Write a brief description of the following words as they apply to the video.
1. Queen Elizabeth the First
2. Sir Walter Raleigh
3. Jamestown, Virginia
4. The Chesapeake Bay
5. Wakefield Plantation
6. Mount Vernon
7. Thomas Fairfax
8. Williamsburg, Virginia
9. Martha Custis
10. The Battle of Yorktown
11. George theThird
The Life and Times of George Washington
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF GEORGE WASHTINGTON
THE THIRTEEN COLONIES
3
Name____________________
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF GEORGE WASHINGTON
COLONIAL VIRGINIA
Name_________________________
4
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF GEORGE WASHINGTON
CROSSWORD PUZZLE
Down
1. Lived 1732-1799
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
As a teenager Washington worked as a __________,
Washington's wife's first name
Large farm or estate
The 13 colonies were apart of what country?
Washington's home
Across
1. Washington served in the _____ as part of his early military career.
2. The British were defeated in the War of Independence at the battle of _________.
3. During Washington's lifetime, _____ provided the labor on large plantations.
4. Colony where Washington lived.
5. A popular crop in the southern colonies.
6. Washington helped frame the _______. of the United Slates.
The Life and Times of George Washington
©1992 Delphi Productions, Ltd
Name______________________
5
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF GEORGE WASHINGTON
I. True and False
QUIZ
___ 1. George Washington is the well-beloved "Father of our Country."
___ 2. The earliest colonists learned to smoke tobacco from the Europeans as they came to
settle in the new land.
___ 3. Mt. Vernon was granted to George Washington as a reward for his service to King
George III.
___ 4. Washington loved his home and said he would rather be there than anywhere
else.
___ 5. Washington died unexpectedly of an infected throat.
II. Match the words in the left column with the statements on the right.
___ 1. Washington
a. King of England during the Revolutionary War
___ 2. George III
b. First permanent English settlement in North
America
___ 3. New York
c. Elected Commander-in-Chief of the Continental
Army
___ 4. Jamestown, VA
d. Washington's birthplace
.___ 5. Wakefield Plantation
e. Capital of the United States in 1789
III. Using the back of this paper, write a short essay describing life on a
colonial plantation.