Ep. 1: The First American Action Hero (George Washington)

We all know that George Washington was our first president, that he “could not tell a lie,” and that he supposedly had wooden teeth (he didn’t). However, to us, he seems to be a distant...

General George Washington

We all know that George Washington was our first president, that he “could not tell a lie,” and that he supposedly had wooden teeth (he didn’t). However, to us, he seems to be a distant figure; more monument than man. He is as familiar as the one dollar bill, but even there he looks old and grumpy. Is this the real George Washington?
 
You might be surprised to find out that his contemporaries saw him very differently… They knew him as a warrior of the highest order. This episode takes a closer look at the real George Washington; you may be surprised to find that he consistently plunged himself headlong into battle, making him the first American action hero.

If you want to learn more about today’s episode, check out the books:

Washington, A Life by Ron Chernow, or1776 by David McCullough

The song played during the outro is “How Could Washington Be A Married Man and Never Tell a Lie?” by M.J. O’Connell.

The scene from Ben-Hur:

The comparable clip with George Washington, played at the end, is from the 1959 film John Paul Jones, scene begins at 54:18:

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