The United States Constitution of 1787 gave many Americans pause about the powers the new federal government could exercise and how the government’s leadership would rest with one person, the President.
The fact that George Washington would likely serve as the new nation’s first president calmed many Americans’ fears that the new nation was creating an opportunity for a hereditary monarch.
Washington had proven his commitment to a democratic form of government when he gave up his army command peacefully and voluntarily. He had proven he was someone Americans could trust. Plus, George Washington had no biological heirs – no sons – to whom he might pass on the presidency.
But while George Washington had no biological heirs, he did have heirs.
In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, Cassandra A. Good, an Associate Professor of History at Marymount University and author of First Family: George Washington’s Heirs and the Making of America (Hanover Square Press, 2023), joins us to explore Washington’s heirs and the lives they lived.
Using details from her book First Family, Good reveals: Information about George Washington’s stepchildren, Patsy and Jacky Custis; How George and Martha Washington came to play large roles in the lives of Jacky’s children – Eliza, Patty, Nelly, and Wash Custis; And the work Eliza, Patty, Nelly, and Wash Custis put in throughout their lives to be seen and recognized as the heirs to George and Martha Washington.
You can listen to the podcast here.
Ben Franklin’s World is an award-winning podcast. It’s for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our world. Each episode features an interview with a historian who shares their unique insights into our early American past. It is a production of Colonial Williamsburg Innovation Studios.
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