If the men of the country won't save Mount Vernon...

...the women will.

Dec 15, 2024

I had family visiting this week and I took them to Mount Vernon—to see the estate, to meet Aladdin the Christmas camel, and to see my office. At one point, my brother-in-law asked about funding and I told the story of the founding of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association.

The Mount Vernon estate had passed down through several generations of family members, but by the late 1840s, the estate was in poor condition and desperately in need of saving. Ann Pamela Cunningham petitioned both the Commonwealth of Virginia and the federal government to raise funds for the preservation of the estate. They were largely distracted by the looming sectional crisis and demurred.

Cunningham then wrote, “If the men of America are allowing the home of its most respected hero to go to ruin, then why can’t the women of America band together to save it.”

In the spring of 1858, the Mount Vernon Ladies Association and John Augustine Washington, III, signed a sales contract. The estate was open to visitors throughout the duration of the Civil War, and troops from both sides were welcome, as long as they laid down their weapons before visiting.

Sarah Tracy, Cunningham’s secretary, wrote during the war that the soldiers,

“behaved very well about it. Many of them come from a great distance and have never been here, and have no clothes but their uniforms. They borrow shawls and cover up their buttons and leave their arms outside the enclosures, and never come but two or three at a time. That is as much as can be asked of them.”

I think this message is worth considering as we head into the new year. Most people have little faith in our state and federal governments at this moment, and I don’t blame them. The session of Congress that ends in early January is one of the least productive in history. It is hard to believe that they can get much done going forward.

But the Mount Vernon Ladies Association is one example of how a small group of motivated citizens can make real change if they won’t take no for an answer. A good motivation for 2025.

Thank you for all of your support in 2024. It has been one heck of ride. I’m looking forward to some rest and then returning with a vengeance in January. I hope your holidays are exactly what you need.

Holiday Book Guide:

Books are always the best present in my humble opinion. Of course, I would be honored if you considered my book, Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic. I visited Politics & Prose, where I had my book launch, and signed a bunch of Adams-themed book plates. If you are interested in buying a signed copy for friends, family, or colleagues, you can buy one here: SIGNED COPIES.

But I also wanted to make a few other suggestions for the readers in your life, including fiction fans! Let me know what is on your wish list this year.

True Crime: Crooked: The Roaring '20s Tale of a Corrupt Attorney General, a Crusading Senator, and the Birth of the American Political Scandal

For Context: Strongmen by Ruth Ben Ghiat

Under-appreciated Period in History: Age of Acrimony by Jon Grinspan

James Bond Aficionado: The Spymasters by Chris Whipple

More About First Ladies: The Mysterious Mrs. Nixon: The Life and Times of Washington’s Most Private First Lady by Heath Hardage Lee

Full disclosure, I have not read this book! I listened to an interview and really enjoyed it and I’m listening to the Audible, but I just started. That being said, Mrs. Nixon certainly deserves more historic attention, so it feels like a good choice!

Fiction: Weyward by Emilia Hart

Silly Fiction: Veronica Speedwell Series by Deanna Raybourn

If you are new to my newsletter, thank you! If you’d like to read more, please consider The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution and Mourning the Presidents. You can also buy my new book, Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic.

Available for purchase on Amazon, Bookshop, or wherever you like to buy books.

Op-eds:

“The Echoes of 1800 in the 2024 Election,” The Bulwark, November 4, 2024.

Podcasts/Radio:

All Sides with Anna Staver, December 5, 2024: The history of presidential pardons

You Might Be Right, November 21, 2024: 2024 Election – What Did We Learn?

Press:

“Trump taps team geared toward retribution and remaking of government,” Reuters, December 4, 2024.

“Why Democrats Are Frustrated That President Biden Pardoned His Son,” Katie Couric Media, December 2, 2024.

“Examining the history of presidential pardons,” CBS News, December 2, 2024.

Events:

January 30, 2025: Georgia Center for Civic Engagement (virtual)