K12 Teacher Workshop: Washington and the Pennsylvania Frontier

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 Register for FREE 2-hour workshop for K-12 teachers co-hosted by Mount Vernon and National History Day in Pennsylvania.

During the workshop, teachers will learn about Washington's biography, explore his multiple legacies from the frontier, and discover where to find primary source materials to aid students throughout their research projects. 

REGISTER HERE

Add to Calendar 11/15/2022 17:00:00 11/15/2022 19:00:00 America/New_York K12 Teacher Workshop: Washington and the Pennsylvania Frontier

 Register for FREE 2-hour workshop for K-12 teachers co-hosted by Mount Vernon and National History Day in Pennsylvania.

During the workshop, teachers will learn about Washington's biography, explore his multiple legacies from the frontier, and discover where to find primary source materials to aid students throughout their research projects. 

REGISTER HERE

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Program Date and Time

Cost

Free

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Online

War and Peace: Washington and the Pennsylvania Frontier

Mount Vernon and National History Day in Pennsylvania are excited to offer K-12 educators across the country the opportunity to participate in an engaging workshop on the complexities of Washington's actions on the Pennsylvania frontier. 

Designed with this year's National History Day theme in mind, Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas, this workshop will investigate Washington's experiences before and after the American Revolution and reflect on how his decisions continue to impact our lives today. 

Education staff from Mount Vernon and the Army Heritage Center Foundation will be joined by Dr. Sarah Purcell of Grinnell University. 

The workshop will include: 

  • Gaining knowledge of Geroge Washington and the world he lived in
  • Making multiple connections between George Washington and this year's National History Day theme Frontiers in History- People, Places, Ideas
  • Engaging with diverse source materials, such as documents, images, and interactives, that teach about the 18th-century 
  • Creating strategies for the classroom that encourage inquiry 
  • Exploring how the 18th century is relevant to today's modern world
  • Discovering digitized museum resources designed to support teacher and student learning

Sarah Purcell graduated from Grinnell with a B.A. in history in 1992. She went on to earn an A.M. (1993) and a Ph.D. (1997) from Brown University. She joined the faculty of Grinnell in 2000 after teaching at Central Michigan University. Ms. Purcell's research interests include: the Early National, Antebellum, and Civil War periods; popular culture and political culture; gender history; and military history. She is author of Sealed with Blood: War, Sacrifice, and Memory in Revolutionary America, published by the University of Pennsylvania Press, and Eyewitness History: The Early American Republic. She is co-author of The Encyclopedia of Battles in North America, 1517-1915 (which won a 2000 Best of Reference award from the New York Public Library) and Critical Lives: The Life and Work of Eleanor Roosevelt. She is currently working on a new book, Spectacle of Grief: The Politics of Mourning and the U.S. Civil War. She is passionate about American Revolution education and is co-author of the U.S. history textbook American Horizons (Oxford University Press) which puts U.S. history in a global context.

George Washington and the French & Indian War

1745
1758
Ohio Land Company Established
French Fort Building in the Ohio
Dinwiddie orders Washington to deliver an ultimatum
Washington hires Christopher Gist as a guide
Washington reaches Fort LeBouef
Washington returns to Williamsburg, Virginia
Washington promoted to Lt. Colonel
Surprise attack at Jumonville Glen
Washington Surrenders at Fort Necessity
Braddock's March
The Battle of the Monongahela
Washington is promoted to colonel
Gen. Forbes' British forces capture Fort Duquesne
Washington resigns his commission

1745

Ohio Land Company Established

Ohio Land Company Established

The House of Burgesses grants one third of a million acres in the Ohio Valley to the Ohio Land Company. This land speculation company consisted of Northern Neck planters, including Lawrence Washington, George Washington’s older brother.

French Fort Building in the Ohio

French Fort Building in the Ohio

The Marquis de Duquesne oversees the development of a series of French forts built in the Ohio at key strategic locations.

Dinwiddie orders Washington to deliver an ultimatum

Dinwiddie orders Washington to deliver an ultimatum

Dinwiddie selects Washington as his emissary to the French forts. Washington leaves Williamsburg October 31, 1753

Washington hires Christopher Gist as a guide

Washington hired Christopher Gist, an experienced frontier surveyor, as a guide on his first expedition to the Ohio Country. 

Washington reaches Fort LeBouef

Washington reaches Fort LeBouef

Washington meets with Captain Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre at Fort LeBouef and presents Dinwiddie’s letter ordering the French to leave the region.

Washington returns to Williamsburg, Virginia

Washington returns to Williamsburg, Virginia

Washington’s party leaves Fort LeBouef with St. Pierre’s response on December 16, 1753.  St. Pierre says he will forward the letter to Duquesne.  Washington and Gist embark on a dramatic journey back to Williamsburg.

Washington promoted to Lt. Colonel

Washington promoted to Lt. Colonel

Washington is promoted from major to Lt. Colonel and placed second in command.  He is authorized to raise 200 men.  His mission is to drive the French out of the Ohio Valley. 

Surprise attack at Jumonville Glen

Surprise attack at Jumonville Glen

Washington and Tanacharison attack a party of French soldiers led by Joseph Coulon de Villiers, Sieur de Jumonville.  The Indians kill the wounded including Jumonville.  The surviving French claim to be on a diplomatic mission.

Washington Surrenders at Fort Necessity

Washington Surrenders at Fort Necessity

At 11 a.m. the French forces surrounding Washington's position attack Fort Necessity under Captain Louis Coulon de Villiers, Jumonville’s older brother. By 8 pm the French offer terms. Washington and the other officers decide to surrender.

Braddock's March

Braddock's March

Gen. Edward Braddock and a large force of British regulars set out from Alexandria, Virginia for the long march to Fort Duquesne.  Washington volunteers as Braddock’s aide d’camp.

The Battle of the Monongahela

The Battle of the Monongahela

Braddocks' British forces, nearing their target of Fort Duquesne, are surprised and routed by a force of French and allied Native Americans.  Braddock is mortally wounded.  Washington steps in to help rally the remaining forces that subsequently retreat.

Washington is promoted to colonel

The Virginia House of Burgesses appropriates £50,000 for frontier defense.  Washington is promoted to a full colonel and is authorized to recruit 1,500 men.

Gen. Forbes' British forces capture Fort Duquesne

Gen. Forbes' British forces capture Fort Duquesne

The French blow up and abandon Fort Duquesne.  British general John Forbes takes possession of the ground and begins building a new fort to be named Fort Pitt.  Washington and his Virginians take part in the successful campaign.

Washington resigns his commission

Washington resigns his commission

Washington resigns his commission in Williamsburg and returns to Mount Vernon.  On January 6, 1759 he marries Martha Dandridge Custis.

National History Day Support

From George and Martha Washington to the enslaved community, the history of Mount Vernon is full of people who used their voices and positions to create new frontiers. Dig deeper into the lives of these determined people by exploring both primary and secondary sources from Mount Vernon

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