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American Morning
Talking About America's First President
Aired July 03, 2003 - 06:51 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's talk about George Washington now. He never chopped down a cherry tree, he didn't wear wooden teeth and when it comes to George Washington, most Americans know the myth, but certainly not the man.
Since tomorrow is the Fourth of July, we thought we'd spend some time talking about America's first president.
Jim Rees is a historian with George Washington's Mount Vernon.
He joins us live by phone from Virginia.
Good morning, Jim.
JIM REES, GEORGE WASHINGTON'S MOUNT VERNON: Good morning.
COSTELLO: So, he didn't chop down a cherry tree, huh?
REES: Oh, no way. He was a good environmentalist.
COSTELLO: Where did that story come from, then?
REES: Oh, I think it was one of the many, many fables that was created by a gentleman named Parson Weems and he did that, I think, to teach children things like character and honesty and good judgment.
COSTELLO: And let's talk about his wooden teeth, because his teeth weren't wooden.
REES: No, I'm afraid they weren't. He did have pretty grotesque false teeth, because we own them in our collection. But they were actually made by a pretty good craftsman who took the whittled down teeth of cows and some teeth made from ivory tusks and put them on a metal frame to make those false teeth.
COSTELLO: Yes, but they didn't fit very well, because in these portraits, his lips are puffing out a little bit.
REES: Well, I think that's one of the problems. People look at that staid, kind of stiff George Washington on the dollar bill and from our focus groups and surveys, we know that people think he was great, but they also think he looks kind of boring. And nothing could be further from the truth.
COSTELLO: And I know you're trying to improve the image of George Washington. Tell us about your efforts so far. REES: Well, you know, every day we try to find more about Washington and put something new at Mount Vernon. Right now, for instance, we're busy starting the restoration of what we think was the largest whiskey distillery in the colonies, and it belonged to George Washington.
COSTELLO: Oh.
REES: So he was a much more interesting man. He was really the most athletic, the most adventurous of all the founding fathers. He was the man of action. Thomas Jefferson called him the best horseback rider in Virginia. So an invitation to come fox hunt in Mount Vernon was like being asked to play basketball with Michael Jordan.
COSTELLO: You know, I read the John Adams book and John Adams said whenever he looked at George Washington, he became extremely jealous because George Washington was quite an imposing, good looking man.
REES: No question about it. You know, he was almost 6'3," really knew how to wear a uniform. When he was president, the ladies thought he was such a good dancer that they would line up just for one spin around the dance floor with the president. He was a very attractive character.
COSTELLO: And quickly now, I know that you're working on perhaps a younger portrait of George Washington. How is that effort going?
REES: Well, pretty well. We hope to get a wonderful forensic scientist and a sculptor and an art expert to put all their talents together so we can take the one life mask created of Washington when he was in his early '50s and scientifically take years off of that life mask so we can really know how he looked -- what he looked like when he was just 23, when even then, he was our highest ranking soldier in the French-Indian War.
COSTELLO: Yes, he was our first Tommy Franks, wasn't he?
REES: No question about it.
COSTELLO: Yes, how much money have you raised so far? Then we've got to go.
REES: We've raised a little over $60 million and we probably have to raise close to $90 million. So we've still got a ways to go.
COSTELLO: Oh my goodness, you've done great so far.
Thanks so much for joining us early on DAYBREAK.
REES: It was great.
COSTELLO: We appreciate it.
REES: Have a good Fourth.
COSTELLO: You, too.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 3, 2003 - 06:51 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's talk about George Washington now. He never chopped down a cherry tree, he didn't wear wooden teeth and when it comes to George Washington, most Americans know the myth, but certainly not the man.
Since tomorrow is the Fourth of July, we thought we'd spend some time talking about America's first president.
Jim Rees is a historian with George Washington's Mount Vernon.
He joins us live by phone from Virginia.
Good morning, Jim.
JIM REES, GEORGE WASHINGTON'S MOUNT VERNON: Good morning.
COSTELLO: So, he didn't chop down a cherry tree, huh?
REES: Oh, no way. He was a good environmentalist.
COSTELLO: Where did that story come from, then?
REES: Oh, I think it was one of the many, many fables that was created by a gentleman named Parson Weems and he did that, I think, to teach children things like character and honesty and good judgment.
COSTELLO: And let's talk about his wooden teeth, because his teeth weren't wooden.
REES: No, I'm afraid they weren't. He did have pretty grotesque false teeth, because we own them in our collection. But they were actually made by a pretty good craftsman who took the whittled down teeth of cows and some teeth made from ivory tusks and put them on a metal frame to make those false teeth.
COSTELLO: Yes, but they didn't fit very well, because in these portraits, his lips are puffing out a little bit.
REES: Well, I think that's one of the problems. People look at that staid, kind of stiff George Washington on the dollar bill and from our focus groups and surveys, we know that people think he was great, but they also think he looks kind of boring. And nothing could be further from the truth.
COSTELLO: And I know you're trying to improve the image of George Washington. Tell us about your efforts so far. REES: Well, you know, every day we try to find more about Washington and put something new at Mount Vernon. Right now, for instance, we're busy starting the restoration of what we think was the largest whiskey distillery in the colonies, and it belonged to George Washington.
COSTELLO: Oh.
REES: So he was a much more interesting man. He was really the most athletic, the most adventurous of all the founding fathers. He was the man of action. Thomas Jefferson called him the best horseback rider in Virginia. So an invitation to come fox hunt in Mount Vernon was like being asked to play basketball with Michael Jordan.
COSTELLO: You know, I read the John Adams book and John Adams said whenever he looked at George Washington, he became extremely jealous because George Washington was quite an imposing, good looking man.
REES: No question about it. You know, he was almost 6'3," really knew how to wear a uniform. When he was president, the ladies thought he was such a good dancer that they would line up just for one spin around the dance floor with the president. He was a very attractive character.
COSTELLO: And quickly now, I know that you're working on perhaps a younger portrait of George Washington. How is that effort going?
REES: Well, pretty well. We hope to get a wonderful forensic scientist and a sculptor and an art expert to put all their talents together so we can take the one life mask created of Washington when he was in his early '50s and scientifically take years off of that life mask so we can really know how he looked -- what he looked like when he was just 23, when even then, he was our highest ranking soldier in the French-Indian War.
COSTELLO: Yes, he was our first Tommy Franks, wasn't he?
REES: No question about it.
COSTELLO: Yes, how much money have you raised so far? Then we've got to go.
REES: We've raised a little over $60 million and we probably have to raise close to $90 million. So we've still got a ways to go.
COSTELLO: Oh my goodness, you've done great so far.
Thanks so much for joining us early on DAYBREAK.
REES: It was great.
COSTELLO: We appreciate it.
REES: Have a good Fourth.
COSTELLO: You, too.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
