This is an iHeart Podcast. There's nothing like sinking into luxury. At washablesofas.com, you'll find the Anibay sofa, which combines ultimate comfort and design at an affordable price. And get this, it's the only sofa that's fully machine washable from top to bottom, starting at only $699. The stain-resistant performance fabric slip covers and cloud-like frame duvet can go straight into your wash.
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This Saturday, 4 p.m. Eastern on CBS, with playoff elimination on the line. The most physical, fiercest, and competitive basketball in the world. Miami's Michael Beasley and Lance Stevenson must win to make the playoffs, and breakout star Dwight Howard of the LA Riot will battle Gary Payton's Boston squad in a du-a-dime match for both teams. Six teams are allowed for four spots, and all must win.
There's no crying in the big three, and the no-hold sparred action starts Saturday at 4 p.m. Eastern, 1 p.m. Pacific. Presented by iHeart. In a time where money often feels disconnected from meaning, It's rare to find a place where your savings can actually reflect your values.
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If you eat too many ultra-processed foods, you could be starving your gut microbes, and they'll get hangry. That's one of many things I learned after working on a new audio course about the gut microbiome. You can learn how to keep your gut happy by listening to Try This from the Washington Post. I'm Christina Quinn. I host Try This.
Dig in with me on practical advice for life's common challenges. Follow Try This right now wherever you're listening. Seriously, try it. This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories, the show where America is the star and the American people. And we love telling stories about history.
Here on this show, and all of our history stories are sponsored by the great folks at Hillsdale College, where you can go to learn all the things that are beautiful in life and all the things that are good in life. And if you can't get to Hillsdale, Hillsdale will come to you with their free and terrific online courses. Up next, best-selling historian and two-time Pulitzer winner, the late David McCullough. He's the author. of seventeen seventy six.
In this masterwork he tells the intensely human story of those who marched with General George Washington in the year of the Declaration of Independence. He starts the book in the beginning of 1775. Let's take a listen. Washington's own total count of letters just written in this 18-month period. totals nearly a thousand.
For a while this very self-controlled. the very model of a leader. acting as a leader, in his presence before the troops always. never revealing doubt, uncertainty, or what was going on in the inner side of him. In his privacy, and particularly late at night when he was sleepless, he would pour out his innermost feelings in a way that is immensely human and very revealing.
he was often full of despair, often full of doubt, very often full of self pity. and who was to blame him? I'll read you. One example. This was written the night of January 14th.
late at night. in his headquarters outside of Boston. The reflection upon my situation and that of this army produces many an uneasy hour when all around me are wrapped in sleep. I have often thought, How much happier I should have been. if instead of accepting of a command under such circumstances, I had taken my musket upon my shoulders and entered the ranks, or if I could have justified the measure to posterity and my own conscience, had retired to the back country and lived in a wigwam.
If I shall be able to rise superior to these, and many other difficulties which might be enumerated, I shall most religiously believe that the finger of Providence is in it. He's afraid he's going to fail. He wishes he didn't have the burden of this impossible command. And he had told the Congress that he was not up to the command. that he was not sufficient for the job.
And he meant it. But he also knew that he was more up to it than anybody else. And he also showed up in Congress in his uniform, indicating he was available. When he spoke to Congress, he said, if. Circumstances go against me.
And this doesn't work. Remember, I warned you.
Now, Congress picked George Washington not because he was a brilliant general. or he had a great war record. He didn't. He'd served gallantly, courageously, in the French and Indian War. But he had been out of military life for more than fifteen years.
And he had no great record as a tactician or strategist. They picked George Washington because they knew him as a man. They knew him as a fellow member of the Continental Congress. And they liked him, they trusted him, they knew his character, they knew his integrity. And they made one of the best decisions any Congress ever made in choosing him to be the commander.
When we start. Toting up, adding up. The Miracles. of the creation of our country. George Washington, is one of them.
He would serve through the entire war. And the only other general officers who had served through the entire war were Greene and Knox. These two young New Englanders. whom he spotted right at the start. despite the fact that he didn't like New Englanders.
He overcame that bias. He thought they were dirty, he thought they were rude. And he thought they had this intolerable notion that they could decide things for themselves. like only serving if they can elect their own officers. and often the officers got elected by requiring little or no discipline.
or insisting on any kind of punishment for those who broke the rules. But he overcame that bias. And as it turned out, those two men were the best he had, and they would serve the entire length of the war with him.
Now The 14th of January, The night that he wrote these despairing letters was probably as low a point as he'd ever known in his life. There was not enough gunpowder. There was not enough money. He had to replace virtually his entire army because, as of December 31st, An entire army had been free to go home. Their enlistments were up, and most of them went home.
So he'd had to replace that army with new, greener Enlistees In the face of the enemy, without the enemy knowing that he had no gunpowder, had an even greener and less experienced army. taking the place of the army that had moved out. And he had no money to pay them. and winter was setting in, they didn't have adequate clothes or adequate barracks and so forth. He really felt honestly that no commander had ever been put into a tougher position.
Four days later, on January 18th, the whole situation changed. It changed because young Henry Knox had come to him in November with an idea.
Now, this is an extremely interesting situation for two reasons. First of all, that a young minor officer in the army. Could go directly to the Commander-in-Chief with an idea. That wouldn't have happened in the British Army. And it wasn't just the young man could go from a low rank to the top to convey this idea, but that the idea could get to the top to the commander-in-chief.
So it's the opportunity of the individual and the opportunity for ideas. Two very powerful. American themes all along in our whole history. And you've been listening to David McCullough telling the story of 1776 and the months leading up to that important year. It's in a way one of my favorite books of his.
It's the biography of a year, but my goodness, Washington proves a central figure. And also that part about good ideas getting to the top and how that could not have happened with the British Army. And this has a lot to do with freedom and free enterprise and looking for the best ideas to come up. rather than filter from the top down. When we come back, more of the story of 1776 and its author, David McCullough, here on Our American Stories.
Lee Habib here, and I'd like to encourage you to subscribe to Our American Stories on Apple Podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, Spotify, or wherever you get our podcasts. Any story you missed or want to hear again can be found there daily. Again, please subscribe to the Our American Stories podcast on Apple Podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, or anywhere you get your podcasts. It helps us keep these great American stories coming. There's nothing like sinking into luxury.
At washablesofas.com, you'll find the Anibay sofa, which combines ultimate comfort and design at an affordable price. And get this, it's the only sofa that's fully machine washable from top to bottom, starting at only $699. The stain-resistant performance fabric slip covers and cloud-like frame duvet can go straight into your wash. Perfect for anyone with kids, pets, or anyone who loves an easy-to-clean, spotless sofa. With a modular design and changeable slip covers, you can customize your sofa to fit any space and style.
Whether you need a single chair, love seat, or a luxuriously large sectional, Anibay has you covered. Visit washablesofas.com to upgrade your home. Right now, you can shop up to 60% off store-wide with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Shop now at washablefas.com. Add a little.
to your life. Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply. The reviews and ratings are in, and Ice Cube's Big Three is the surprise hit of the summer. This Saturday, 4 p.m. Eastern on CBS, with playoff elimination on the line, the stars will be flogging to Los Angeles to witness the most physical, fiercest, and competitive basketball in the world.
Miami's Michael Beasley and Len Stevenson must win over Houston to make the playoffs, reeling from last week's savage beating at the hands of Chicago's possessed Montres Herald. Last time these teams met, Miami beat Houston, but they are a dangerous team having their manhood at stake. Then breakout star Dwight Howard of the LA Riot will battle Gary Payton's Boston squad in a do-a-die match for both teams. Will LA avenge their previous shocking loss to perennial basketball Boston rivals to survive? Six teams are alive for four spots and all must win.
Don't miss the big three, the three-on-three basketball league everyone is talking about. There's no crying in the big three, and the no-hold spot action starts Saturday at 4 p.m. Eastern, 1 p.m. Pacific. Followed by two games on Vice starting at 6:30 Eastern, presented by iHeart.
Yeah. This is Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang from Los Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. JBL Tor Pro 3 earbuds are for those who don't conform to the standard. Yeah, I mean, if you want to get into some touchscreen technology, how about the smart charging case, clear sound? These are not standard things.
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The idea was to go to Ticonderoga at the southernmost end of Lake Champlain.
Okay. and fetch the great guns that were there, cannon and mortar. and haul them nearly three hundred miles back to Boston. in the dead of winter. down the Hudson Valley.
Far as Albany, crossing the Hudson, and then taking them over the Berkshire Mountains. And it was all virtually wilderness, very few roads. Again, I repeat in the dead of winter. Washington liked the idea. immediately, and immediately said to Knox, You're in charge.
And he did it. Phenomenal. this bookseller from Boston. I've never been out of Boston. never attempted anything of the kind.
He was, excuse me, authorized to spend no more than $1,000. And he could take one man with him.
So he took his younger brother. It was 19. 25-year-old bookseller and a 19-year-old kid, and they set off to bring back the guns from Ticonderoga. It's like something in a myth. And it worked.
Now how they did it Well, you'll have to read my book. Yeah. And what happened?
Well, what happened on one night? with massive use of manpower, and oxen, nearly a thousand oxen. They put those guns on top of Dorchester Heights. And the British woke up the next morning, March 5th. looked up and saw what had happened and realized they had to get out.
Yeah. They were right. under those guns.
well within range, as were their ships in the harbour which Maybe even more important. If the ships were knocked out, they had no way to escape.
So a quiet, unofficial Um Secret deal was made. The Americans agreed they would not bombard British troops in Boston or the ships in the harbor. and that the British would be free to leave. Uh without uh any attack on the part of the Americans if the British agreed not to burn the city of Boston. which they were well ready to do.
So on March 17th, The British sailed away. Evacuation Day. Which in Boston is often celebrated for another reason. And that rather reason is a good one. But but it often eclipses what Evacuation Day is about.
It was an immensely important event. because we had bested them. With sheer manpower, ingenuity, and the capacity to do things. We couldn't march very well. We couldn't drill very well.
We couldn't fire muskets as rapidly as could the British. We weren't really very good soldiers at all. Unruly Bush leaguers, farmers in from the fields. But we'd bested them. We'd shamed them.
and it filled us with pride and, unfortunately, more confidence in ourselves than we should have. What followed was Washington then moved to New York to defend New York against the return of the British, which was expected to be. Come about almost any time. Didn't happen until the end of June, first part of June. July, and the British sailed in in such force as to dazzle anyone who saw it.
Over 400 ships, 32,000 troops. That was more troops than the entire population of Philadelphia, which was the largest city in the country at the time. determined to take New York. Washington decided on his own That he would defend New York, that he had to defend New York for political reasons. It was a political decision.
Washington was a political. General, very important. Important in the sense that he understood how the system worked, which was that he wasn't the boss, Congress was boss. And it was a mistake. We couldn't possibly.
Uh, defend New York. We had no ships. to stop the British from bringing their Their fleet, their biggest ships up into the Hudson, or smaller warships up into the East River. Two ships had more cannon power than all the cannon we had on all of New York. And he faced the British for the first time in the Battle of Brooklyn.
The Battle of Birkenham was an enormous battle. covered six miles. 40,000 people involved. And Washington proved quite inept. in his first attempt to command a battle.
The British outsmarted us, outflanked us, outfought us. Uh they killed over three. 300, nearly 400 American soldiers. They took a thousand of our men captive, prisoners, and three of our generals. and left Washington trapped there on Brooklyn Heights If they could possibly bring their ships up into the East River, which they were unable to do.
because of the direction of the wind. If the wind had been in a different direction the night of August 29, 1776, We'd all be. sipping tea and referring to our flat in New York and um singing God praise the queen. I think it would have been over. because 9,000 men, including their commander-in-chief, would have had no escape.
Because they couldn't bring those ships up. Washington attempted a night withdrawal from Brooklyn that was the Dunkirk of the Revolutionary War, a phenomenal accomplishment, given that he had dispirited, defeated troops who were soaking wet, had not had very little sleep, We're cold. and they'd never done anything like it before. The hardest military maneuver, almost as hard as any military maneuver of all, is to an organized orderly withdrawal in the face of overwhelming enemy force. They did it at night across the East River, no running lights.
And again, Providence The hand of God. entered in. At exactly the point when it looked like the river was too rough because of the northeast wind for our little makeshift flotilla to start taking the men across, suddenly the wind dropped like the parting of the Red Sea and the boat started over. When morning came and there were several thousand men who had still not gotten off and the whole thing was going to be revealed to the British that we were trying to escape under their very noses. A providential fog came in and covered the entire Brooklyn side of the East River.
Fog so dense that people couldn't see six yards ahead of them. and there was no fog whatsoever over on the Brooklyn side. They got 9,000 men. all their equipment, horses, and cannon Off of Brooklyn, across the East River, which isn't a river at all, but a tidal strait, and very treacherous currents, even in the best of conditions, without the loss of a single man. But it wasn't just providence or chance or the hand of God.
It was the skill of those mariners manning the boats. Under the command of a man named John Glover. They were mostly all from the north shore of Boston, Marblehead, Gloucester, and such places. And they performed in a way that few men have ever performed their profession What they knew better with larger consequences riding on their ability. There were times when most of those boats, because they were so loaded down, the water was only a matter of inches below the gunwales.
It was a phenomenal. a feat of navigation, seamanship. And you're listening to the late David McCullough, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, author of 1776. giving us a master class of storytelling. and dragging us through what Washington and the troops faced.
As they tried to withdraw from Brooklyn, nine thousand men, the Dunkirk. of the Revolutionary War And that is aptly stated. And that East River, if you've been to New York, you know that that's not a river. What that is, is a, it's like a roaring canyon of water that just rips and rips the tide. You can see that water moving.
It's fierce, and not a single life was lost. 9,000 men, their equipment, the horses, everything. Providence, no doubt, played a part. The way David McCullough described that fog setting in Just remarkable, and of course, the talent involved across the board. When we come back, more of this remarkable story, the story of the founding of our nation, the year 1776, a biography essentially of that year by the great and late David McCullough.
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It's time to upgrade to a stress-free, mess-proof sofa. Visit washablefas.com today and save. That's washablefas.com. Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply. The reviews and ratings are in, and Ice Cube's Big Three is the surprise hit of the summer.
This Saturday, 4 p.m. Eastern on CBS, with playoff elimination on the line, the stars will be flogging to Los Angeles to witness the most physical, fiercest, and competitive basketball in the world. Miami's Michael Beasley and Lance Stevenson must win over Houston to make the playoffs, reeling from last week's savage beating at the hands of Chicago's possessed Montres Herald. Last time these teams met, Miami beat Houston, but they are a dangerous team having their manhood at stake. Then breakout star Dwight Howard of the LA Riot will battle Gary Payton's Boston squad in a do-a-die match for both teams.
Will LA avenge their previous shocking loss to perennial basketball Boston rivals to survive? Six teams are alive for four spots and all must win. Don't miss the big three, the three-on-three basketball league everyone is talking about. There's no crying in the big three, and the no-hold spot action starts Saturday at 4 p.m. Eastern, 1 p.m.
Pacific. Followed by two games on Vice starting at 6.30 Eastern, presented by iHeart. This is Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang from Los Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. JBL Tor Pro 3 earbuds are for those who don't conform to the standard. Yeah, I mean, if you want to get into some touchscreen technology, how about the smart charging case, clear sound?
These are not standard things. You're only going to get them with the JBL Tor Pro 3 baby. And I love the sound of JBL when it goes. These earbuds are packed with innovation because you can't stand out by following others. Touchscreen smart charging case for one touch control, instant EQ customization, true adaptive noise canceling, and the one-of-a-kind audio transmitter, which can plug and play with everything from game consoles to in-flight entertainment.
The audio transmitter also allows for JBL Spatial 360 sound that takes any audio and turns it into a 360 immersive experience. What more could you want? First doesn't follow. Grab a pair at JBL.com. Right now, America's Christian Credit Union is offering the top 12-month certificate rate in the nation.
This limited time offer is just for new ACCU members. Earn 4.75% APY on deposits up to $1 million, and it only takes $1,000 to get started. It's called a term share certificate, similar to a CD, but with a mission and support to what matters: Christian schools, churches, adoptions, and more. Visit America's ChristianCU.com to get started. America's Christian Credit Union is federally insured by the NCUA.
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Download today. And we continue with our American stories and with two-time Pulitzer Prize winner David McCullough, the late David McCullough. And he's the author of 1776, the book. that he's describing at this remarkable talk he gave. at the National Archives.
Let's take you back there. and let's pick up where we last left off. One defeat then followed another. Kips Bay was turned into a rout when the British invaded Manhattan. Washington lost his self-control for one of the few times in his whole career.
He struck out with his riding crop, trying to stop those who were running like rabbits, throwing off their knapsacks and hats and dropping their muskets in order to run faster away from the oncoming enemy. Washington on a big horse kept charging forward, getting closer and closer to the enemy, and his anger was such, he was in such a rage that Nathaniel Greene called it almost suicidal.
so close did he get to the enemy, and it was only because two of his staff managed to get a hold of the bridle of the horse that they got him off the field. If Washington had been killed, Then, if Washington had been captured, At Brooklyn, It would have been over. He would be called the indispensable man later on. I don't think that's an overstatement. There was nobody really With the stature, with the capacity for leadership.
for all of his mistakes. uh to take his place. He then made another grievous performance, With the assault on Mount Washington, Fort Washington, which stood on the highest promontory at the north end of the island of Manhattan, right where the W George Washington Bridge comes in today. His problem there was indecision. He couldn't decide what to do, so he made no decision at all.
General Greene told him he thought the port could be held. Greene was wrong. Before it fell, they lost another 3,000 taken prisoner, more cannon, more materiel. And from that point on began the long march, the long retreat across New Jersey. At one point As the march got closer to Pennsylvania, the enlistments of 2,000 men came up.
And two thousand men said that's it for us and went home. Don't picture all these soldiers as heroes. They had been deserting by the hundreds all through the campaign. After every defeat, people gave up and left. Many defected went over to the enemy.
We forget that. But some didn't. leave.
Some stayed with him.
Some would follow him anywhere. Washington was a leader. He wasn't a brilliant intellectual. He wasn't a spectacular speaker. He wasn't a brilliant general.
But he was the leader. And people would follow him, and some would follow him through hell. three thousand of them. stayed with him. That's all there were, 3,000 men.
all that stood in the way of the end of the Revolution, And any Hope. that the great words, the great ideals of the Declaration of Independence would mean anything more than words on paper. And so when we celebrate, Our fourth of July We shouldn't just think of those people. Who were at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, the people portrayed by John Trumbull in the painting of July 4th. 1776.
and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Part of our problem is that we. tend to see those figures from the eighteenth century as not quite real. like figures in a costume pageant. In their silks and their powdered hair, and they're sort of posed statesmanlike positions.
This is another side of the story. This is another kind of American, another kind of patriot, another kind of hero. those three thousand men. When they finally succeeded in putting the Delaware between them and the oncoming British Army, in other words, they crossed the Delaware at night. To get over to the Pennsylvania side and destroyed all the remaining boats on the to Jersey's side, so the British couldn't follow immediately after.
Charles Wilson Peale, the great Philadelphia painter, was part of a militia unit that had turned out to. bring some support for Washington. And he walked among those troops the morning after their crossing. And he wrote in his diary that he had never seen such miserable human beings in all of his life. They were all in rags.
They were half-starved. They had no winter clothing. They were covered with dirt. and signs of disease. And he saw one man that he describes in the diary as the most wretched mortal he'd ever laid eyes on.
He said the man was so dirty You could hardly see his the colour of his skin. He had nothing, he was naked except for a what they called a a uh blanket coat. His hair was long and filthy, hanging down over his shoulders, and his face was covered with sores. And then a few minutes later he realized The man was his own brother.
So, those are some of the people we need to remember. They stayed there on the Pennsylvania side of the river. Uh sort of Taking stock. And the only conclusion that any rational person could have come to, and most did. as had the British, as had The great majority of American citizens is that the war was over and we had lost.
But fortunately, Washington chose not to see it that way. he admitted in one of these private letters in which he is so very honest and forthcoming, that the game is about up.
So, when all hope's gone, he did what you have to sometimes do. under those conditions. He attacked. He crossed the Delaware at McConkey's Ferry. Up to the to the north.
He crossed, as we all know, with Ice ice cakes in the river. And no, he probably wasn't standing up in the boat and no, the famous painting is filled with inaccuracies. But you know it doesn't matter because the painting conveys the drama, the magnitude, the importance of that event. Which would turn history. Would change the course of the war, change the course of American history, and consequently.
Change world history. And it's tough and it's demanding. As the crossing was, again managed by John Glover and his marblehead mariners. The worst part of the night was the march to the south, down the east side of the river. to strike a trend.
The wind was howling, it was another northeaster. There was a blinding snow, sleet, hail, heaven knows what the wind chill factor was, and they marched nine miles through the night. Men must know winter clothes. They're in rags. Many of them have no shoes.
Their feet are wrapped in rags. And yes, they did, some of them leave bloody footprints in the snow. They were so cold. On that nine-mile march, The two men froze to death on the march. Together.
A rough idea. Of how terribly difficult it was, the suffering they endured. And the next morning, no sleep. Marching all night. nine miles through the dark They struck at Trenton.
with a passion such as which they had never shown. And you're listening to David McCullough tell one of the greatest stories ever told. about the foundation and formation of our country. and it happened in that year and it happened in that moment. And it was real life men.
not guys walking around thinking about the future. and not people knowing what the future would bring. They were living in the present. And, my goodness, what Washington faced Deserters Bad weather. Retreating.
Pretty much filled now with self-doubt, knowing in the end that almost all was lost. And so what do you do at that moment? You attack. And my goodness, what an attack it was. Crossing the Delaware, we've seen the pictures.
But my goodness, this description, brutal, because as tough as the crossing was, The worst part of the night was that long march south, nine miles to be precise. When we come back. This remarkable story continues as only David McCulloch can. his talk at the National Archives, Late David McCullough's storytelling continues. Here on Our American Stories.
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Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply. The reviews and ratings are in, and Ice Cube's Big Three is the surprise hit of the summer. This Saturday, 4 p.m. Eastern on CBS, with playoff elimination on the line, the stars will be flogging to Los Angeles to witness the most physical, fiercest, and competitive basketball in the world. Miami's Michael Beasley and Lance Stevenson must win over Houston to make the playoffs, reeling from last week's savage beating at the hands of Chicago's possessed Montres Herald.
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And we continue with our American stories and with two-time Pulitzer winner, the late David McCullough. And he's talking about his book, 1776. Go to Amazon or wherever you pick up your books and buy 1776. It's essentially the biography of a year, 18 months technically, but to understand 1776, that year. You had to understand the eight months before.
Let's pick up now where we last left off. They tore out of the fields and woods Above Trenton. Out of this blinding blizzard, early in the morning, and it was all over in about 45 minutes. It wasn't a big battle. It wasn't a great sort of stagey 18th century battle as Brooklyn had been.
It was a fierce house-to-house combat. And we won. Decisively. And that meant worlds. because we'd never beat them at fighting.
And we'd beaten them. And we turned around. A few days later, again in the bold Night. March an early morning attack and struck at Princeton and won there too. But it was the victory at Trenton.
After crossing the Delaware Christmas night, that changed the war because of its psychological effect, its impact on the morale of the Army, and its impact On the morale of the country, the word spread like wildfire that we had won. We had won a fight. with the British Empire. And maybe even equally satisfying, we had beaten the Hessians who were the most despised of those we were fighting. I don't think we uh I don't think we sufficiently understand.
The history of our own country. And I don't think we sufficiently respect the history of our own country. I think we know we live in a very interesting country. As certainly we do. We also have a very interesting history.
And unlike most people, most countries, we know when we were born. And they called the Declaration of Independence our birth certificate. Nathaniel Greene later called George Washington the deliverer of his nation. which I think is very apt. I want to close.
with a scene that to me is as moving as anything in the whole story. And I'll try to sketch it. as quickly and I hope as effectively as possible. On december thirty first, seventeen seventy six, the last day of the year, again the entire army, was free to go home. All their enlistments were up.
And Washington was desperate to get men to re-enlist. He dreaded having to do what he'd done the previous December, of putting together a whole new, even greener army. And so on December 31st, he called the men out into formation. And without any authority to do so, standing in front of them on his horse, resplendent in his magnificent uniform. He said that they would sign on.
For another six months He would see to it that they received a bounty of ten dollars. He had no authority whatever from the Congress to do that. But as he wrote to Robert Morris, Quite bluntly. I thought it no time to stand on trifles. One of the soldiers would remember his regiment being called out.
and His Excellency, as Washington was called, astride on the big horse. addressing them in what the soldier called the most affectionate manner. The great majority of these men were New Englanders. They had been with him from the start, served much longer than anybody. And they had no illusions about what they were being expected.
to do. if they signed on again. Those willing to stay were asked to step forward. The drums rolled. And no one moved.
Minutes passed. No one moved. And then Washington turned on his horse and rode away from them, his back to them. And then he stopped, and turned and and came back again. and spoke to them.
a second time. And here's what he said. My brave fellows, You have done all I asked you to do and more than could be reasonably expected. But your country is at stake. your wives, your houses, and all you hold dear.
You have worn yourself out with fatigues and hardships. but we know not how to spare you. If you will consent to stay one month longer, you will render that service to the cause of liberty and to your country, which you can probably never do under any other circumstance. Again, the drums rolled, and this time The men began stepping forward. God Almighty, wrote Nathaniel Greene, inclined their hearts to listen to the proposal, and they engaged anew.
What's so interesting there is that it's a perfect example of what was so great about Washington. He would not give up. He speaks to them once, They don't react? He speaks to him a second time. And they do react.
The first time he's offering them some pay, which he knows they desperately need. to support their families. Sport themselves. It's realistic. It's not just...
Offering the money is realistic. He understands that patriotism only will go so far for people who have been through hell. But then the second time he does appeal. directly to what Lincoln might call. They're better angels.
And it works. And I wonder If any of you are struck by something that has struck me about that speech. The line If you will consent. To stay one mon one month longer, you will render that service to the cause of liberty and to your country, which you can probably never do under any other circumstance. You have a great chance, a great opportunity that others don't have.
Isn't that so like the famous speech in Henry V? We few, we happy few. And gentlemen in England now abed, shall think themselves accursed, that they were not here. Same idea. Same idea.
This story. Again from Shakespeare. The good man. will teach his son. This story is something We should teach our sons.
and daughters. and grandsons and granddaughters. Congress, meantime, had fled. Taken off from Philadelphia, terrified that the British were going to attack and take Philadelphia. And they had abdicated all their control over Washington.
and made him virtually a dictator. This is very little known by most people. They'd say, We're going, you're in charge. And in their letter, transmitting this new resolution, they said, happy it is for this country that the general of their forces can safely be entrusted with the most unlimited power, and neither personal security, liberty, nor property be in the least degree endangered thereby. But even more interesting is what he wrote to them.
Instead of thinking myself freed from all civil obligations by this mark of their confidence, The members of Congress. I shall constantly bear in mind that as the sword was the last resort, For the preservation of our liberties, so it ought to be the first thing laid aside when those liberties are firmly established. And he was, as I think we all know, as good as his word. He went before Congress when the war finally ended and gave back his command. No conquering general had ever done that.
This magnificent moment in our history is memorialized, commemorated in a fine painting that hangs in the rotunda of the Capitol, again by John Trumbull. When George III was told. After the war had ended, by the painter Benjamin West. who was the court painter too. The crown And who lived in London and who was an American, who'd been living there since well before the war, when George III was told by Benjamin West.
that Washington would probably do this. George III said, if he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world. I don't think that uh There's a much more powerful story than the story of our origins. And I hope that none of us ever will ever think of them again. as figures in a costume pageant.
And a terrific job on the production and editing by our own Greg Hengler. And a special thanks to the late David McCullough, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner. And he was giving this address at the National Archives. About his book 1776. Go to Amazon for the usual suspects and pick it up.
And as always, all of our history segments are brought to us by the great folks at Hillsdale College. By the way, take their Constitution 101 course. It's terrific. I learned more in that course than I did in three years at the University of Virginia Law School. We know when we were born as a country.
And we were born and birthed in 1776. The story of this great country. David McCullough, 1776, here on Our American Stories. There's nothing like sinking into luxury. At washablesofas.com, you'll find the Anibay sofa, which combines ultimate comfort and design at an affordable price.
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Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply. Ice Cube's Big Three is the surprise hit of the summer. This Saturday, 4 p.m. Eastern on CBS with playoff elimination on the line. The most physical, fiercest, and competitive basketball in the world.
Miami's Michael Beasley and Lance Stevenson must win to make the playoffs, and breakout star Dwight Howard of the LA Riot will battle Gary Payton's Boston squad in a du-a-dime match for both teams. Six teams are alive for four spots, and all must win. There's no crying in the big three, and the no-hold sparred action starts Saturday at 4 p.m. Eastern, 1 p.m. Pacific.
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