On Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016, historian and professor Edward Lengel will present a little-known side of George Washington: his skills as a businessman and manager, and how he used these talents to build the new nation. Lengel is Professor of History at the University of Virginia, editor of The Papers of George Washington, and the author of several previous books on our first President.
Using Washington’s extensive but often overlooked financial papers, Professor Lengel chronicles the fascinating and inspiring story of how this self-educated man built the Mount Vernon estate into a vast multi-layered enterprise, prudently managed meager resources to win the war of independence, and, as President, helped establish the national economy on a solid footing.
Lengel describes the evolution of George Washington’s thinking about economics and commerce, and how Washington looked at the challenge of building a national economy, using commerce to tie together what had been 13 separate colonies. This included encouraging domestic manufactures, and establishing a national bank, in collaboration with Alexander Hamilton.
Washington’s steadfast commitment to the core economic principles of probity, transparency, careful management, and calculated boldness, are timeless lessons that should inspire and instruct business leaders and investors even today.
The program will be held at St. James United Church of Christ, 10 East Broad Way, Lovettsville, at 2:00 p.m. The program is free, but donations are welcome to defer the cost of our programs.