America's Heroes: George Washington (1970)

a quarter there's an eagle on one side of it do you know whose face is on the other side that's right the face of George Washington one of America's Heroes all around us there are reminders of George Washington streets are named after him this is Washington Boulevard there are Washington boulevards and avenues and streets in many towns on some of them you can ride a Washington Street bus a Washington Street bus might take you past many places with Washington and their names there are businesses and stores named Washington there are parks named Washington and in some of them there are statues of George Washington there are schools named Washington and in most of them there are pictures of George Washington on maps of the United States and a school you'll see that there's a state named Washington there are also many cities called Washington the most famous of them is our nation's capital Washington D.C cities a state pictures schools statues Parks businesses streets all these show us that people everywhere in our country want to remember George Washington but why do they well let's follow this boy and see if we can find out he's going to a store look at its name the Liberty stamp shop Liberty is a word to remember when we think about George Washington and this boy is thinking about George Washington today because of the stamps he's buying this stamp shows Washington's home Mount Vernon every year millions of people come to see the house where George Washington lived more than 200 years ago Mount Vernon is in the state of Virginia Washington was born in Virginia Mount Vernon became his home when he was a young man today you can see the rooms where George Washington lived and studied people had to work and make a living then just as they do today George Washington was a farmer raising crops on the lands of Mount Vernon today in Virginia as in other parts of of our country Farmers still work as they did many years ago although Machinery makes the work much easier people who come to see Mount Vernon often travel on the Mount Vernon Memorial Highway there were no highways like this when George Washington lived here surveyors like this man helped to lay out this highway George Washington was a surveyor too surveyors measure the land the land this man is measuring will become another Highway the land George Washington surveyed was used for farms and cities in Virginia these houses are in the town of Alexandria Virginia that George Washington surveyed even though Washington was a good surveyor and farmer that's not why he is one of America's Heroes let's look at more stamps this stamp shows George Washington when he was 23 he was an officer in the Army then in those days soldiers dressed like this at certain times these modern Americans wear the old uniforms and pretend to be soldiers who lived during George Washington's day the soldiers often had to fight against enemies George Washington showed us he was a brave man and a good leader because of his courage and Leadership he became became the most famous American Soldier of those times after he'd been a soldier for many years he came to this town Williamsburg Virginia here he worked in the government he was elected by the people of Virginia to represent them remember there was no United States then there were only colonies in America Britain a country in Europe ruled the colonies part of Williams still looks the way it did when George Washington was here people today like to visit the old houses and shops George Washington and the other men who helped make laws for the colony of Virginia worked in the capital this Capital Building looks exactly like the early Williamsburg Capital inside working for the people he represented Washington learned much about government he was reelected many times and served many years when the Americans decided they might have to fight Britain if they wanted to win their independence they chose Washington to command all the American troops this stamp shows George Washington taking command for 5 years American troops fought for Liberty and freedom all these weapons you're seeing were actually used during the war that was called the American Revolution they're kept here at Valley Forge in Pennsylvania this house was Washington's headquarters during a terrible winter when his men didn't have enough warm clothes or food or medicine the soldiers at Valley Forge built log houses like these for themselves the war was long and hard but Washington's Men followed him and loved him for his bravery this stamp shows him at Valley Forge of course you know that the Americans won the war when the war was over our country needed new laws to help it grow so Washington was chosen to lead the men who wrote a constitution for our new nation here it is on display for everyone to see all the laws of our country are based on our constitution one part tells how the president of the United States should be chosen and you know who the first president was George Washington this stamp shows him taking the oath of office when he was elected he left M Vernon and went to New York City New York City was our nation's capital then today it's the biggest city in the United States and the busiest but you know it's not our Capital anymore our nation's capital is this city this is Washington named for George Washington the man who is president of the United States today lives and works here in this house the White House the men and women who make our country's laws work here this is the capital building people from all over the world come to see many things in the city named for George Washington especially this the Washington Monument the monument was built in honor of the man who was the first president of a new nation one flag for every state surrounds the monument it was important that the right man lead our nation at its beginning and George Washington was the right man the monument is made of stone and is as tall as a skyscraper 50 stories high it reminds everyone who sees it that George Washington LED our country in war and then was our president for 8 years he helped our new kind of government work so well that we still have that government 200 years later the monument helps everyone remember that George Washington was one of America's Heroes he helped us win our freedom through a a long hard War he led the men who wrote the Constitution of the United States he was our country's first president after he was President he went back to his home M Vernon he lived there for the rest of his life people say he was first in war first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen Washington's birthday is February 22nd sometimes in school children make a display about George Washington to celebrate his birthday in the display are many reminders about him about his life and the things he did [Music] [Applause] and there are many things not just in displays but all around us that help us remember George Washington and you'll especially remember George Washington every time you look at a quarter on one side is an eagle that reminds you of our country and on the other side is the face of George Washington one of America's Heroes oh