3/6/2011
Ah, Mount Vernon! The once and future homestead of Daniel’s best friend and hero – George Washington. The sprawling estate has been preserved to look as it did at the time of Washington’s death, complete with a working farm.
Although in terms of acreage Mount Vernon is clearly immense, what struck Laura and I was the humbleness of the actual mansion. All the talk of Washington’s virtue and incorruptibility in the face of wealth and power never seemed quite believable. His home was obviously an extension of the reality of this virtue. My favorite item in the house was Washington’s presidential chair – the charm was that it looked like any guy’s favorite chair. I’m surprised Martha never put it out on the curb for the garbage men when he wasn’t home. The seat of the chair bares an impression of Washington’s once-constant use. That’s not the kind of thing you read about in textbooks, but I cannot tell a lie.
Besides the estate itself, the somewhat pricey ticket price ($15!) provides admission to a fairly ample museum of all things Washington. All the famous paintings from those “A Kid’s Guide to the Presidents” books are there, personal effects, and even a set of his false teeth. Despite all the worshipfulness, the museum doesn’t shy away from the old paradox of Washington’s slave-holding.
Both Laura and I gave Mount Vernon full marks as a historical site – it truly piqued our interests beyond the moment. The emphasis in the mansion, the estate and the museum was on Washington’s character and how he chose to give up power to return to his home at Mount Vernon and his old life – when the likes of Julius Caesar, Oliver Cromwell and Napoleon made themselves dictators at the expense of their “democratic” revolutions. The whole experience made us both more interested in learning more about Washington the real man, whose exceptional qualities set a precedent for peaceful handing over of power in a republic. This is now taken for granted all over the world and we can forget how significant his contributions to liberty were. A trip to Mount Vernon can rectify that.
From Laura: If I had a bunch of money, this is where I would live. Well, not in George Washington's house per say, but in Mount Vernon. It was gorgeous!
No comments:
Post a Comment