Flashback: The Cabinet
I read Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky’s The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution a couple of years ago. It inspired my very first video — a ridiculously fast, literal 2-second zip through Washington’s cabinet.
In honor of Chervinsky’s recent appointment as Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library, here’s a do-over: a fresh post with some doodles inspired by her book. And a slightly slower video.
Washington could have been hung
i mean, I remember reading that Benjamin Harrison V joked with Elbridge Gerry about the advantage of his heft if the two of them were hung. Obviously, George Washington would also be executed. Somehow this still threw me for a loop.
William Henry Harrison, by Gail Collins
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More like glamping
If I pictured sleeping during the Revolutionary War, I pictured tiny triangular tents. Washington’s headquarters were more like glamping.
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The wives stayed during the winter...
Martha Washington and the wives of other generals joined them at camp during the winter. (And in this context “at camp” doesn’t mean glamping. They stayed in houses during the winter.)
…including the Countess of Sterling, Sarah Livingston Alexander
Another Sarah Livingston popped up in the book I just finished. Recently, I confessed that I get all tangled up in the various Roberts Livingston. Now I’m tangled up in the Sarahs Livingston. Let’s see if I can work through it:
Sarah Livingston Alexander
Daughter of Philip and Catharine Van Brugh Livingston.
(I’ve seen her mother listed as Catharine, Catherine, and Catharina; excuse my inconsistency here)Brother William was governor of New Jersey.
Married to William Alexander, Lord Stirling.
(Scroll to the bottom for the postscript)The Countess of Sterling / Lady Stirling.
Sarah Livingston Jay
One of America’s first socialites.
Married to John Jay.
Sister of Susan Livingston Symmes, the third wife of President William Henry Harrison’s father-in-law.
Parents were William Livingston (the first governor of New Jersey) and Susanna French.
Paternal grandparents were Philip Livingston and Catharine Van Brugh; Robert Livingston the Elder was their paternal great-grandfather.
I think I’ve got it:
Lady Stirling (Sarah Livingston Alexander) was Sarah Livingston Jay’s aunt.
Probably.
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Edmond Charles Genêt was très ballsy
French diplomat Genêt came over to get Americans to attack the British and French here. This was tricky because President George Washington already declared neutrality. Washington delegated it to Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson to figure out how to handle the delicate situation. Best buds, they worked respectively and diligently on a solution.
Just kidding!
They were “daily pitted in the cabinet like two cocks,” according to Jefferson. Things between Hamilton and Jefferson heated up and their combative relationship helped catapult us to the two party system.
OK, I don’t remember exactly what this doodle was about. I think that Genêt sailed around the coast, taunting the U.S. government with this message. Guess you’ll just have to read The Cabinet to find out!
John Jay’s treaty also helped jump-start party polarization. I just read about that in Gallop Toward the Sun: Tecumseh and William Henry Harrison's Struggle for the Destiny of a Nation by Peter Stark.
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He’s just old
Guess what?! The Founding Fathers were not all the same age. You probably knew that already. I still found it kind of funny that Jefferson basically called Washington an old man, saying his “memory was already sensibly impaired by age, the firm tone of mind for which he had been remarkable was beginning to relax, its energy was abated; a listlessness of labor, a desire for tranquility had crept on him, and a willingness to let others act and even think for him.”
Jefferson was eleven years younger than Washington, in case you’re curious like I was.
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4 ways to spread the word
If one wanted to get the word out, here were the options:
Newspaper
✓ Anonymous editorials
✓ Target audience: lower class
✓ Not as important
Broadside (poster)
✓ Anonymous
✓ Brief and cheap to print
✓ Could easily rile up a crowd
Pamphlet
✓ Signed by the author
✓ Target audience: “first and second” classes
✓ Published by rich men (or those with a connection to a printer)
✓ Well-thought-out and detailed
“Private” letters
✓ Powerful!
✓ Most credible and legit
✓ Shared in small groups
✓ Signed by the author
The anonymity in newspapers left the opportunity for some fun conversations with oneself. Alexander Hamilton and James Madison both did it. Madison wrote speeches, the reactions to the speeches, then the thank yous for the reactions. The editor of Madison’s papers marveled that “Madison was in a dialogue with himself.”
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We wouldn’t pay France back
Not gonna lie; I’m pretty proud of my rudimentary animation. (Look how it started.)
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Postscripts
I just learned that Lord Stirling presided over Major General Charles Lee’s court martial. In related news, I just learned that Major General Charles Lee was court-martialed. Nicknamed “Boiling Water”, Lee was quick to anger and swore a lot. More importantly, Pomeranians used to be bigger back then! His dog Spada was sometimes mistaken for a bear from afar.
Inspired by The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington by Josh Mensch and Brad Meltzer. Before you dismiss this doodle as obviously off-base, check out this illustration of Lee. It’s one of my favorites.
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Find more doodles from The Cabinet in these posts:
MAKING THE PRESIDENCY
Chervinsky’s new book, Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic, comes out September 2024. It’s available for pre-order.
More posts like this:
[ sigh ]