Updated 2/27/12

In Podcast #51 the Trekkers take you to Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home along the Potomac River near Washington DC!  We actually filmed this on the same hot day that we filmed the Battle of Bull Run Reenactment so we’re sweating a lot in this video (sorry).  Anyway, come explore the first president’s estate, see the awesome view from his back porch, discover how he experimented with plants, learn how he helped his neighbors by building a gristmill, and find the place where he is buried, Come on, let’s go trekkin’!

George Washington suffered from constant toothaches most of his life.  He lost his first adult tooth when he was only 22 years old, and by the time he was president, he only had one tooth left.  Eventually he lost that one too.  However, contrary to popular belief, he did not have wooden teeth.  He had many different pairs of dentures over his lifetime, and none were made of wood.  Instead they were made of hippopotamus and elephant ivory... and some even had horse, donkey, and human teeth in them!  You might think all his dental problems happened because he didn’t take good care of his teeth, but he actually brushed his teeth every day.  Unfortunately, he had been sick many times in his life, and some of the medicines he was given may have damaged his teeth.  So if you suffer from pain, just remember, George Washington did too... and he still accomplished great things!

SOL Correlation:

2.3 The student will identify and compare changes in community life over time in terms of buildings, jobs, transportation, and population.

2.11 The student will identify George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, Helen Keller, Jackie Robinson, and Martin Luther King, Jr. as Americans whose contributions improved the lives of other Americans.

3.11b identifying the contributions of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Rosa Parks, Thurgood Marshall, and Martin Luther King, Jr., and César Chávez;

VS.2b The student will demonstrate knowledge of the physical geography and native peoples, past and present, of Virginia by locating and describing Virginia’s Coastal Plain (Tidewater), Piedmont, Blue Ridge Mountains, Valley and Ridge, and Appalachian Plateau.

VS.2c The student will demonstrate knowledge of the physical geography and native peoples, past and present, of Virginia by locating and identifying water features important to the early history of Virginia (Atlantic Ocean, Chesapeake Bay, James River, York River, Potomac River, Rappahannock River, Lake Drummond, and the Dismal Swamp).

VS.4a The student will demonstrate knowledge of life in the Virginia colony by explaining the importance of agriculture and its influence on the institution of slavery.

VS.4e The student will demonstrate knowledge of life in the Virginia colony by describing everyday life in colonial Virginia.

VS.5b The student will demonstrate knowledge of the role of Virginia in the American Revolution by identifying the various roles played by whites, enslaved African Americans, free African Americans, and American Indians in the Revolutionary War era, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and James Lafayette.

VS.6a The student will demonstrate knowledge of the role of Virginia in the establishment of the new American nation by explaining why George Washington is called the “Father of Our Country” and James Madison is called the “Father of the Constitution.”

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