Martha Washington
A material culture was being established in the eighteenth century through the selection of objects by Martha Washington. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Ivan Gaskell, Sara J. Schechner, and Sarah Anne Carter wrote Tangible Things: Making History through Objects. They recognized the challenge of establishing a past that had not been written. They discovered that when a desired focus is placed on an object, it can generate excitement and great curiosity.[1] A focus will be placed on the objects owned by George and Martha Washington. The intent is to establish the influence of Martha Washington on the field of interior design in furniture, garden design, and architecture.
Historians Robert F. Dalzell and Lee B. Dalzell wrote that Washington’s selection and placement of furniture and architectural design played an important role in the development of America’s Independence.[2] Mount Vernon, the home of George and Martha Washington, was an ongoing project which benefited from the consumer revolution that originated in England. The high design style in England was made available to a growing interest using a builder’s guide and printed pattern books.[3]
Historian Catherine Allgor noted that gender roles during the early American Republic placed women in charge of “material display” and political networking.[4] Martha proved herself capable in this role by her ability to conduct herself wisely. She also was fortunate to be able to read, write, and conduct arithmetic.[5]
Historian Amy Hudson Henderson wrote that the Washingtons weighed their decision to purchase an array of French objects as they knew a nascent republic was being formed.[6] In the Eighteenth century, a style of design was beginning to be established in Colonial America. Not only was furniture being acquired, but a culture that differed from Great Britain.[7] Henderson noted there was a cross-pollination of culture and exchange that transpired between Paris and Britain.[8] This was seen in the production of silk fabrics, furniture designs, and garden designs.[9] Henderson noted that at the close of the Revolution, there was a need to rebuild homes in America after seven years of war. This need fostered an interest in home design.[10] Friendships with the Washingtons were developed over time with the French military. The exposure to French design opened the Washingtons to elegant Parisian manufacturers.[11] Martha Washington received a gift of elegant china from Adam-Philip, a French officer, in appreciation of a dinner he attended at Mount Vernon.[12] Purchases were made by George and Martha. A list of desired items from France was filled through communication between Martha Washington and Lafayette’s wife Adrienne.[13]
Historian Joseph Manca wrote that the aesthetic design of Mount Vernon was established by George and Martha Washington through their acquisition of objects and gifts of fine decorative art. George had planned the future expansion and home and garden design of Mount Vernon.[14] The Washingtons chose to have their gardens void of sculptures but did contain a sundial.[15] The gardens show the influence of English landscape designer Lancelot Brown, and the trademark of his soft designs.[16] The use of willow trees, locust groves, and honeysuckle tendrils conveyed a look of harmony and one of natural formation.[17] Washington did not choose the conventional design of fences.[18] He desired to carry on Brown’s style in the use of trees and shrubs to outline his gardens in place of timber.[19]
Martha Washington was able to create the atmosphere of home by opening her home to many. This included family and many days of laughter shared with her grandchildren.[20] Martha always demonstrated Virginia hospitality to many guests and strangers.[21] Martha orchestrated the times meals were served. She made sure there was plenty of food and drink for all. She had a simple meal at 3:00 pm and a formal supper at 9:00 pm. This generosity was open to strangers, friends, and dignitaries.[22] October 1787, Elizabeth Willing Powel was a guest at Mount Vernon and noted the critical role of hospitality that was displayed by Martha.[23]
Exploring their homes, letters, diaries, and invoices of purchases made will demonstrate the influence of design established by America’s First Lady.
The Methodology provides views of historians and other documents that support the important contribution of Martha and George Washington to interior and garden designs of the eighteenth century. A visit to Mount Vernon will enhance the evidence found on this subject.
An appointment with the archivist will be important and helpful to find detailed records of Martha Washington’s involvement in the purchases made for their homes. An exploration of letters, diaries, documents, and correspondence will be important, as conversations and events happened many years ago. Appointments will be made to visit their homes and will confirm the influence of design established by America’s First Lady.
The historical significance of understanding Martha Washington’s influence on interior design in the eighteenth century was her contribution to the formation of a republic. Bernard Bailyn’s book, The Ideological Origins of the American Republic, explains the frail condition of early America and its infancy. George Washington was able to nurture people through a revolution and help establish a new government with a very competent woman by his side. A government that wanted to give power to the people and not serve a corrupt government. This was also supported by Gordon S. Wood, The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787. Wood wrote that the will of the people was to place political power into the hands of the people.
The creation of a home, Mount Vernon, needed to have the furnishings that represented a new nation. One that had the finer things, but not too ostentatious. The design conveyed the importance of this home as the people’s house.
Martha Washington was capable of orchestrating the management and care of Mount Vernon for her husband to feel at home and for others to leave an evening knowing they were with a competent, caring first lady. Martha’s choice of design set the stage for future presidents’ wives in America.
Bibliography
Bailyn, Bernard. The Ideological Origins of the American Republic. Cambridge, Massachusetts:
Harvard University Press, 1967.
Dalzell, Robert F. Jr. and Lee Baldwin Dalzell. George Washington’s Mount Vernon: At Home in
Revolutionary America. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Henderson, Amy Hudson. “French & Fashionable: The Search for George and Martha
Washington’s Presidential Furniture. In American Furniture. Edt. by Luke Beckerdite
Milwaukee: Oxbow Books, 2019.
Langley, Batty. The City and Country Builder’s and Workman’s Treasury of Designs: Or the Art
Of Drawing and Working the Ornamental Parts of Architecture. London: S. Harding, 1750.
Manca, Joseph. George Washington’s Eye: Landscape, Architecture, and Design at Mount
Vernon. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012.
Stertzer, Jennifer E., Kathryn Gehred, Mary K. Wigge, and Alicia K. Anderson, and
Kim Curtia, and Lynn A. Price, eds. The Martha Washington Papers. Charlottesville:
University of Virginia Press. 2022.
Thatcher, Laurel Ulrich, Ivan Gaskell, Sarah J. Schechner, and Sarah Anne Carter,
Tangible Things: Making History through Objects. New York: Oxford University Press,
2015.
Wood, Gordon S. The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1778. Chapel Hill, North
Carolina: University of North Carolina, 1969.
Footnotes
[1] Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Ivan Gaskell, Sarah J. Schechner and Sarah Anne Carter, Tangible Things: Making History through Objects (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015): 1.
[2] Robert F. Dalzell, Jr. and Lee Baldwin Dalzell. George Washington’s Mount Vernon: At Home in Revolutionary America (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998): xvii.
[3] Dalzell and Dalzell, George Washington’s Mount Vernon: At Home in Revolutionary America xvii.
[4] Jennifer E. Stertzer, Kathryn Gehred, Mary K. Wigge, Alicia K. Anderson, Kim Curtia, and Lynn A. Price, eds. The Martha Washington Papers (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2022): 150.
[5] Ibid., 2.
[6] Amy Hudson Henderson. “French & Fashionable: The Search for George and Martha Washington’s Presidential Furniture. In American Furniture. Ed. by Luke Beckerdite (Milwaukee: Oxbow Books, 2019): 80.
[7] Ibid., 84.
[8] Ibid., 89.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Ibid., 80.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Ibid. 83.
[14] Joseph Manca. George Washington’s Eye: Landscape, Architecture, and Design at Mount Vernon (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012): vi.
[15] Ibid., 130.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Ibid.
[19] Ibid.
[20] Dalzell and Dalzell, George Washington’s Mount Vernon: At Home in Revolutionary America. xvi.
[21] Stertzer, Gehred, Wigge, Anderson, Curtia, and Price, eds. The Martha Washington Papers.149.
[22] Ibid., 149.
[23] Ibid., 150.
The Life of Patrick Henry
Revival in Early America
Patrick Henry was dedicated to the cause of independence. He gave many years of his life to serving his fellow man. Patrick Henry was elected to the House of Burgesses, the founding member of the Virginia Committee of Correspondence which formed the First Continental Congress, a member of the Second Continental Congress, and the first Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in 1774. Henry was a man of great passion and became known for his ability as a great orator on behalf of the common man. Henry was an ardent supporter of the individual rights of the Colonists and later supported States’ rights.
As a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses,1765-1774, Henry opposed the British crown’s intention to place a tax on paper and leather, also known as the Stamp Act, upon the Colonists. Henry argued this tax was unjust as the colonists were descendants of Britain and possessed the same rights. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1915347?seq=8.
As the British oppression continued, Patrick Henry made his presence known during the Virginia Convention at St. John’s Church, in 1775. Henry spoke of the need for the Colonists to be prepared to defend themselves in war. This created great tension in the room, as reticence was apparent. Henry then raised his arms and proclaimed, “Give me liberty, or give me death.” It was noted, that this speech moved the hearts of those in attendance at the Church. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?pq-origsite=summon&docID=796100.
Henry's position within the society became well known. This success promoted a vote for Patrick Henry to become the first Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Henry was part of the process within the Virginia Convention, and Declaration of Rights. It was then apparent economic hardships needed to be reconciled. A tax on the people was being considered to be able to clear up war debts. Henry recognized The Articles of Confederation would not be adequate to handle the tax and war debt at hand. In discussion, Henry noted that there were delinquent states that were not being held accountable and honoring the Articles. This situation gave impetus to the Second Continental Congress to devise a new document that would grant authority to a governing body and make wise governmental decisions including checks and balances.
There were other issues of dispute that Patrick Henry was concerned with. As the West expanded, Henry witnessed a division between the Northern and Southern States, over the issue of the Spanish occupation of the Mississippi River. On this issue, Patrick Henry did not wish to see power placed in the hands of one regional territory. The solution was to create a new government that would unite the states. A meeting was held in Philadelphia’s State House, in 1781. State delegates from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia met behind closed doors and agreed upon a new constitution.
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=7261297.
In the latter years of Henry’s life, positions within in government were offered to him. Henry made a personal decision to stay close to home and care for his family. In an article by Richard R. Beeman, “The Democratic Faith of Patrick Henry,” Beeman said Henry was committed to civic virtue and was concerned with the falling away of some men and, their lose of interest in God. The concern of Henry was would become of their religious liberties. Henry saw God in every aspect of life. Beeman intimated Henry was concerned over the idea of separation of church and state. Henry believed it to be the job of the church and state to promote virtue by giving support to all Protestant faiths. Henry felt there was a decline in virtue and morality that followed the American Revolution.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/4248954?saml_data=eyJpbnN0aXR1dGlvbklkcyI6WyJjNGZjMjNmMC01MDQzLTRiOWMtYjgzNS0wZTBkZDBhMDA2MjMiXSwic2FtbFRva2VuIjoiNjE5MWNlYzQtZTRlZS00OTQyLWIzNGQtZTI0OTUwYWNlODEzIn0&seq=6
Revival in Early America
Revival in Early America
Revival in early America was a spiritual awakening to God. Men and women were drawn together to hear a message of salvation. This message was delivered by men who had a burden concerning the people’s souls. There were two awakenings in America that I will address in this blog. the Great Awaking in the 18th century, and the Second Great Awakening 19th century. As time passed, the religious zeal in America had waned. Hearts had grown cold to God and as men and women embraced the Age of Reason. This countered a Great Awakening. https://www.history.com/articles/great-awakening In 1735, a preacher by the name of Johnathan Edwards prayed and witnessed a spiritual awakening in North Hampton Massachusetts. Edwards was a philosophical theologian. He was effective as he shared the importance of the scriptures and the grace of God. His congregation experienced a move of God that opened the hearts of almost one-third of the town. Word spread of this outpouring and moved into the neighboring towns. Another minister from Britain, George Whitefield, was an itinerate preacher who traveled from town to town covering the Atlantic coast in America. He preached in the squares with a resounding voice that reached many and led to the conversion of thousands of people. https://www.history.com/articles/great-awakening 1781 to 1787 the spirit of prayer poured out in the daily meetings within the Presbyterian congregations of Pennsylvania. As a result, men and women opened their hearts to Christ. An atmosphere was developed that exuded the presence of God touching hearts which kept people in the church for hours. This expanded to neighboring congregations all in the posture of sincerity opening hearts to Christ. In a publication by Reverend William Speer, The Great Revival of 1800, the history of the Presbyterian church was preserved through the Presbyterian Board of Publication. https://go.gale.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=Monographs&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&retrievalId=8049ce81-68f2-44aa-9a18-7e7ecf061673&hitCount=38&searchType=BasicSearchForm¤tPosition=1&docId=GALE%7CCY0102612090&docType=Monograph&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=SBN-2013&prodId=SABN&pageNum=1&contentSet=GALE%7CCY0102612090&searchId=R2&userGroupName=vic_liberty&inPS=true Reverend Speer wrote The Second Great Awakening covered an area that stretched from the Allegheny Mountains to the Southern parts in early America. The churches in Western Pennsylvania were ripe for the rain of divine grace. The Presbyterian inhabitants were originally from the northern part of Ireland and Scotland. 1800 to 1840 yielded The Second Great Awakening. The Presbyterian minister, James McGready was born in Western Pennsylvania and ignited camp meetings from Logan Country Kentucky over to Ohio. People traveled in wagons from all around to hear the gospel preached. James McGready In 1824, Charles Finney was a lawyer who experienced a conversion in his heart and decided to become a preacher. Charles Grandison Finney: Father of American Revivalism | Christian History Magazine His theology differed from Calvinism that taught a person would only come to know Christ as God’s elect. Being a lawyer, he would build his case for salvation before the congregations. The meetings were less formal and met weekly. He presided over thousands of men and women giving their hearts to Christ in Rochester New York. The spirit of revival then spread to 1,500 towns. The Great Awakening and the Second Great Awakening, along with men called by God, spread his grace to plant a seed for a document that is the law of the land today. The Constitution of the United States preserves America as a place of religious freedom protected for all.