VOA慢速英语:游览乔治华盛顿的维农山
From VOA Learning English, welcome to This isAmerica. I’m Steve Ember. Americans areremembering George Washington this month. February 22nd marks the birthday anniversary of the country’s first president. Come celebrate the event withus on a visit to Mount Vernon, Washington’s home inVirginia.
George Washington lived at Mount Vernon for morethan 40 years. The big wooden house is 24 kilometerssouth of Washington, DC -- the city named in hishonor. But the distance from the city does not stoppeople from all over the world from visiting the home. The property can be reached by bicycle, car, bus –even by boat on the Potomac River.
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| Chimneys, cupola, and weather vane, MountVernon (Steve Ember) |
George Washington was born on February 11th, 1731. His birth date movedup a year and 11 days when the Gregorian calendar was accepted. BeforeWashington was elected president, he commanded the troops that won therevolutionary war against Britain. He helped to set up the country now calledthe United States of America. Some historians say the nation would not existif George Washington had never lived.
Washington helped choose where to build the capital city and an official homefor the president. Yet he is the only president who never lived in the WhiteHouse. It was completed after he left office. Washington lived in New Yorkand later in Philadelphia while he served as president. But Mount Vernon wasalways important to him. And the house he shared with his wife Martharemains an important place in American history.
George Washington’s father, Augustine, started buildingthe house in 1735. Later the home and farm werenamed “Mount Vernon.” At that time, GeorgeWashington’s half-brother, Lawrence, had the property. Lawrence Washington died in 1752.
George Washington took possession of Mount Vernonin 1754. During the next 45 years, he continually addedto it. The main building grew to its present size of 21rooms. He watched over the additions, even while he was away at war.
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| Washington Crossing the Delaware by EmanuelLeutze, 1851 |
Today the house and property still look like a Virginiaplantation, a working farm where crops are grown. Butpresent-day Mount Vernon has been made moremeaningful to visitors through many creative displays. A Hands-On-History Center offers special activities forchildren aged three to eight.
Visitors can begin their trip to Mount Vernon with a stopat the Ford Orientation Center. A film called “We Fightto Be Free” tells about Washington both as a man and as a military leader. The movie shows the futurepresident commanding British forces during the French and Indian War, whichended in 1763.
Washington also led a small army across the icyDelaware River on December 25th, 1776. By that time, the American colonies were fighting for independencefrom Britain. Washington’s colonial forces were ontheir way to fight the Battle of Trenton, in New Jersey.
The colonial forces faced and defeated Hessian troopsat Trenton. The Hessians were fighting on the Britishside. Many were captured, and the colonial losseswere few. Winning the battle marked a turning point of the American Revolution.
The film also tells about Washington’s life in more peaceful times, like his firstmeeting with his future wife, Martha Custis. Her first husband had died andleft her with four children. George and Martha Washington took the twoyoungest and raised them at Mount Vernon as their children.
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| George Washington's funeral |
The public loved George Washington for his service to the country. Somepeople wanted him to be president for life. But Washington said Americanshad fought for freedom from such rulers.
He was elected president two times without opposition. He was offered a thirdterm, but he refused. Washington said he wanted to return to the life he hadled at Mount Vernon before the war.
And that is what he did. The former president returned to Mount Vernon. During those last years, he led the life of a rich farmer. He directed the workof five farms.
George and Martha Washington often invited friends to eat in the dining roomat Mount Vernon. They also provided food and a place to sleep for travelers. Very few hotels existed then. So the Washingtons offered a place to stay toabout 600 people a year. Many were strangers.
George Washington was able to enjoy retirement atMount Vernon for less than three years. In Decemberof 1799, the former president became sick and died. He was 67 years old. Modern doctors believe thecause of death was a severe infection.
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Architectural detail of George Washington'shome, Mount Vernon, shows the cupola atop theresidence, from which hot air could escape.Photo by Steve Ember |
Many people mourned. They felt a terrible loss at thedeath of their revolutionary war hero and first president. More than 700 speakers throughout the countryhonored him. Towns and villages held funeralmarches. Businesses closed for days. Bells rang andrang.
Now that we know more about George Washington’slife, we will continue with our visit to his Mount Vernonhome. The property contains the family’s main houseand smaller buildings. Visitors also see farming areas, nature paths and –when in season – beautiful flower gardens. A green hillside leads down to thePotomac River.
A guide suggests going into the main house. It is three floors high. Washington was responsible for much of its design.
Today, the mansion has been restored to recapture the past. Step into theCentral Passage, and you find yourself in the world of 1799. The CentralPassage provides an entrance to the house. But it is more. It was a place forwelcoming and entertaining visitors. A guide tells us that during summermonths, the family gathered near the open doors in the hope of catching somecool air.
George Washington’s office is on the ground level. It contains many of hisbooks. This is the room where Washington planned the farm activities on hisland. It is also where he wrote to other leaders. One writer called this room, “the center of political intelligence for the new world.”
Another guide leads visitors up some steps. MountVernon has eight bedrooms. George and MarthaWashington needed all these bedrooms for their manyvisitors. High above is a cupola -- a small structurewith windows on all sides. Washington designed thisso that hot summer air would escape from inside thehouse.
African slaves were responsible for a great amount ofwork at Mount Vernon. More than 300 slaves lived andworked on the property. Slaves and some paid workersoperated George Washington's five farms. Togetherthe farms covered more than one-thousand hectares.
Other slaves built houses and furniture. Still otherscooked and performed housekeeping duties. Visitorscan see the burial places of slaves at Mount Vernon. The cemetery holds the remains of slaves and free black people who workedon the property during the 1700s and the first half of the 1800s. Their finalresting places are not marked.
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Documents written by George Washington, hisfamily, white employees and other plantationowners provided information about the slavesand their quarters at Mount Vernon. |
Many years after the birth of the new country, America’s 16th presidentAbraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. The measureended slavery in southern states, including Virginia. Lincoln’s action in 1863 was widely criticized as well as praised. Even in Washington's time, therewas great debate about slavery.
Washington came to disapprove of slavery as he grewolder. He was the only one of the men known as theFounding Fathers of the country to free his slaves. Heordered that his slaves be freed after he and his wifedied. Older slaves received payments for years afterthat.
Much is said about George Washington the hero. Butthere is also the argument today that not enough is saidabout Washington the slave owner.
After George and Martha Washington died, MountVernon was given to other family members. By the 1850s, the individual who owned Mount Vernon did nothave enough money to keep it in good condition. He offered to sell it to Virginiaor to the federal government. Both said no.
That is when a private group rescued the home. The Mount Vernon Ladies’Association bought the property with money it collected.
If you cannot visit Mount Vernon in person, you can explore it online. Go to thewebsite, www.mountvernon.org . It lets you visit the world of a man whohelped to build a new nation. And for pictures of Mount Vernon, go to ourwebsite: learningenglish.voanews.com.
Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson, and I’m Steve Ember, inviting youto join us again next week for another This Is America program from VOALearning English.
For pictures of Mount Vernon, go to our website:learningenglish.voanews.com. Join us again next week for another This isAmerica from VOA Learning English.
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