0:00:02 > 0:00:08I have crossed the Atlantic to ride the railroads of America
0:00:08 > 0:00:10with a new travelling companion.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14Published in 1879,
0:00:14 > 0:00:19my Appleton's General Guide will steer me to everything that is
0:00:19 > 0:00:22novel, beautiful,
0:00:22 > 0:00:26memorable or curious in the United States.
0:00:26 > 0:00:27Amen!
0:00:29 > 0:00:33As I cross the continent, I will discover America's gilded age,
0:00:33 > 0:00:38when powerful tycoons launched a railway boom that tied
0:00:38 > 0:00:43the nation together and carved out its future as a superpower.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17My journey continues through Washington DC, a city known
0:01:17 > 0:01:22for its White House and the pale marble of its Capitol Building.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25But a black president has been elected to the Oval Office
0:01:25 > 0:01:28and half of DC's population is black.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31It is time to consider that community's history
0:01:31 > 0:01:34and its contribution to American culture,
0:01:34 > 0:01:37as well as to encounter the general and president
0:01:37 > 0:01:39who gave his name to the city.
0:01:46 > 0:01:52I began my journey in the cradle of American independence, Philadelphia.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56I continued through the American Civil War battlefield of Gettysburg,
0:01:56 > 0:02:00then turned south to Maryland and the city of Baltimore.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03Taking in the nation's capital, Washington DC,
0:02:03 > 0:02:07I will make my way to Richmond, Virginia, and end in Jamestown,
0:02:07 > 0:02:11the first permanent English settlement in North America.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17On this leg, I will explore the neighbourhood of U Street
0:02:17 > 0:02:21and the district of Georgetown before leaving the capital
0:02:21 > 0:02:23to head south into the state of Virginia,
0:02:23 > 0:02:28calling at the former slave trading port of Alexandria and finishing
0:02:28 > 0:02:32my journey at the home of the first President of the United States.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40Along the way, I will discover the tragic reality of the slave trade.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44While you're selling produce and other goods, you are selling humans.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47I will get to grips with American archaeology...
0:02:47 > 0:02:48CRASH
0:02:48 > 0:02:50- I'm so sorry.- It's OK. - It's the wretched handle.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55..and get into the swing of Washington.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57THEY PLAY JAZZ MUSIC
0:03:03 > 0:03:05In the years before my guidebook, in the aftermath of
0:03:05 > 0:03:07the American Civil War,
0:03:07 > 0:03:10the population of Washington DC exploded.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15Even before that war, a very large number of free black Americans
0:03:15 > 0:03:19inhabited the city and in the second half of the 20th century,
0:03:19 > 0:03:22black people were a pronounced majority.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27At the end of the 19th century, U Street was the largest urban
0:03:27 > 0:03:30African-American community in the United States.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36Today, visitors are drawn to this vibrant area's bars,
0:03:36 > 0:03:39clubs and restaurants, such as Ben's Chili Bowl,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42which has been serving the community since the 1950s.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47That was a period of racial segregation in the United States.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54I found a seat next to Virginia, the widow of the founder, Ben Ali.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59- Hello, Virginia.- Hi. - I'm Michael, very good to see you.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02- A great honour to meet you, actually.- Thank you very much.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05- So, what shall I do here? - Well, why don't you try our chilli?
0:04:05 > 0:04:07- Chilli.- We've got this great chilli con carne.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09Could I get a bowl of chilli, please?
0:04:12 > 0:04:15I've got it. Oh, that looks great. Thank you.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18And we top it off with a little bit of cheddar cheese and onion.
0:04:21 > 0:04:22That is good.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27- Spicy.- Spicy. - Cheesy, but it's great.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30We have served it for now 57 years.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34So, when you opened, was your clientele all African-American?
0:04:34 > 0:04:37Not all, because white people could go anywhere they wanted, right?
0:04:37 > 0:04:39- Sure.- It was just that we couldn't go downtown.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41And in those days,
0:04:41 > 0:04:45your clients literally couldn't go into the centre of Washington DC.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48We could go in there, but we didn't go to the theatre,
0:04:48 > 0:04:50we didn't go to the restaurants, no.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52You were kept out.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54Yes, they were not serving black people.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59That's how it was back then, early '50s.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02Why did President Obama choose to come to Ben's
0:05:02 > 0:05:04before his inauguration?
0:05:04 > 0:05:06We are a part of the history of Washington.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09We are, I guess, quite significant, but traditionally U Street
0:05:09 > 0:05:11and I think the chilli is wonderful.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17After my pit stop in this famous eatery,
0:05:17 > 0:05:19I have arranged to meet Dr Maurice Jackson
0:05:19 > 0:05:23from the history department at Georgetown University
0:05:23 > 0:05:25for a stroll around the neighbourhood.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28Maurice, what was the U Street neighbourhood like
0:05:28 > 0:05:30at the beginning of the 20th century?
0:05:30 > 0:05:31A vibrant neighbourhood.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34It was African-Americans who moved here, but it was also
0:05:34 > 0:05:36many of the black men who worked in the railroad
0:05:36 > 0:05:38who were sleeping car porters.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40It was one of the best jobs you can have -
0:05:40 > 0:05:42you got paid more than a college professor -
0:05:42 > 0:05:44and they lived in this area.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48Tens of thousands of African-American men were
0:05:48 > 0:05:51employed as sleeping car porters for the Pullman Company.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55The industrialist George Pullman had devised these hotels on wheels
0:05:55 > 0:05:58with beds, curtains and chandeliers
0:05:58 > 0:06:02and so transformed long-distance train travel.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05Each car was staffed by a uniformed porter,
0:06:05 > 0:06:09but while African-Americans could work on the luxurious cars,
0:06:09 > 0:06:13as passengers, they travelled in very different circumstances.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15The old saying goes, "To the front of the train,
0:06:15 > 0:06:18"to the back of the bus," In a train you always sit in the front.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20Why? Because that is where the coal was,
0:06:20 > 0:06:23that is where the locomotive was and that is where the soot was,
0:06:23 > 0:06:25so you are sitting there because it was hot.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27Tell me about how segregation worked in the United States,
0:06:27 > 0:06:31- how it worked here in Washington. - It was very much like apartheid.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33It meant that you would have separate facilities by law.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36In Washington DC, we don't believe there were ever signs
0:06:36 > 0:06:38that said "coloured only" and "white only" -
0:06:38 > 0:06:40you just knew where you could go and where you shouldn't go.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44I've noticed that there are theatres along here, quite a number of them.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46Well, understand that often African-Americans
0:06:46 > 0:06:49could play somewhere, but they couldn't sit there.
0:06:49 > 0:06:50These theatres, the Lincoln Theatre
0:06:50 > 0:06:53and the Republic Theatre down the street, became black theatres.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56What was happening in these theatres in those days?
0:06:56 > 0:06:58At night they became jazz clubs.
0:06:58 > 0:07:00Fletcher Henderson, Louis Armstrong,
0:07:00 > 0:07:02the great big bands would have played there.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05At night, it's just jumping.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08One of the originators of big band jazz
0:07:08 > 0:07:09was brought up on these streets.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16Duke Ellington is from Washington. He had a group -
0:07:16 > 0:07:18Duke Ellington and The Washingtonians.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20They played Bar Mitzvahs, they played weddings,
0:07:20 > 0:07:23they played anything necessary to make a living.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26Ellington became one of the most influential jazz musicians
0:07:26 > 0:07:30of the age and pleasingly, his signature tune is
0:07:30 > 0:07:32Take The A Train.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34MUSIC: Take The A Train
0:07:43 > 0:07:47Today, U Street is a gentrified neighbourhood.
0:07:47 > 0:07:52But you can still find live jazz and disciples of Duke Ellington
0:07:52 > 0:07:54and his fellow greats.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56THEY PLAY JAZZ MUSIC
0:08:07 > 0:08:09APPLAUSE
0:08:09 > 0:08:11The street has changed.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13The audience, too.
0:08:13 > 0:08:14But the beat goes on.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27My journey continues.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31I am making tracks north-west to a settlement which dates back
0:08:31 > 0:08:33to before the creation of Washington DC.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42Appleton's tells me that Georgetown "is an old
0:08:42 > 0:08:45"and picturesque town two miles from the capital,
0:08:45 > 0:08:50"with which it is connected by two bridges and two lines of horse cars.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53"The town is beautifully situated with views
0:08:53 > 0:08:56"unsurpassed in the Potomac Valley."
0:08:56 > 0:08:59It is so old that it wasn't named after George Washington,
0:08:59 > 0:09:01but maybe after George II.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04So, king and president coexist.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14Over the decades,
0:09:14 > 0:09:17the city of Washington expanded to meet Georgetown.
0:09:17 > 0:09:22It is home to the main campus of the prestigious Georgetown University.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25Some of its students have gone on to be prominent public figures,
0:09:25 > 0:09:29like former president Bill Clinton.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33I am here to visit one of the oldest scientific agencies in the country.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40"The US Naval Observatory," says Appleton's,
0:09:40 > 0:09:44"occupies a commanding site on the banks of the Potomac.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48"Founded in 1842, it is now one of the foremost institutions
0:09:48 > 0:09:52"of its kind in the world, possesses many fine instruments
0:09:52 > 0:09:54"and a good library."
0:09:54 > 0:09:59Well, its new position is in an area known as Georgetown Heights.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02I think a visit there could be timely.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09My guidebook says visitors are admitted at all hours.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11But security is a little tighter these days,
0:10:11 > 0:10:15because since 1974, the site has been the official home
0:10:15 > 0:10:18of the Vice President of the United States.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23I am meeting astronomer Geoff Chester.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26Hello, Geoff.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28Michael, welcome to the US Naval Observatory.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31Appleton's led me to believe that the US Naval Observatory
0:10:31 > 0:10:34was on the banks of the Potomac, which clearly it isn't any more.
0:10:34 > 0:10:35That's correct.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39We were located in Foggy Bottom on the banks of the Potomac
0:10:39 > 0:10:42from 1844 until 1893,
0:10:42 > 0:10:45when we moved up to occupy this site.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48Part of the reason that we were located at Foggy Bottom was that
0:10:48 > 0:10:50we had to be in an area that was visible from all
0:10:50 > 0:10:52the inhabited parts of the city,
0:10:52 > 0:10:55because we had to give a signal every day
0:10:55 > 0:10:59so that mariners could adjust the corrections for their chronometers.
0:10:59 > 0:11:04So we erected a time ball on top of our old main building and that
0:11:04 > 0:11:05was the one location in the city
0:11:05 > 0:11:08where all those sightlines could be met.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12Every day, precisely at noon, the ball would drop
0:11:12 > 0:11:16and everyone knew exactly what time it was supposed to be.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20In Britain I came across this issue, which was crystallised
0:11:20 > 0:11:23by the railways, of time being different as you
0:11:23 > 0:11:28move from east to west, and that was resolved by standard railway time.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31You must have had this problem in spades in the United States
0:11:31 > 0:11:33- because of the breadth of the country.- Absolutely.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36In the United States, railway time was determined
0:11:36 > 0:11:39by individual railway companies,
0:11:39 > 0:11:43and typically what they would do is they would choose whatever
0:11:43 > 0:11:47the local mean solar time was at one of their terminal stations,
0:11:47 > 0:11:50or at a station somewhere in between.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52So, if you were a traveller in those days,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55you needed to have a way of figuring out exactly what time
0:11:55 > 0:11:58it was where you were going to make your connection for your next train.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02So, you would spend 50 cents and buy one of these books over here.
0:12:05 > 0:12:10So this is called Orton's Adjustable Scale for Longitude and Time
0:12:10 > 0:12:12and if you wanted to, say,
0:12:12 > 0:12:14take a train from New York to Chicago,
0:12:14 > 0:12:19you would be able to place this little tape in the proper place
0:12:19 > 0:12:23and adjust for the hour and the minute offset
0:12:23 > 0:12:25between each of those individual cities.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29So, if you were a traveller in those days and you didn't have
0:12:29 > 0:12:32one of these, you stood a very good chance of missing your train.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36- Such a very complex system simply could not survive.- No.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40The railroads in the United States and Canada
0:12:40 > 0:12:43adopted the concept of standard time.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47Essentially what they did was they carved the country up
0:12:47 > 0:12:52into four standard time zones that differed by one integral hour,
0:12:52 > 0:12:56and by 1883, this was such a universal concept that it was
0:12:56 > 0:13:00adopted by everyone in the United States,
0:13:00 > 0:13:03except the American Congress.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06They did not codify standard time
0:13:06 > 0:13:11into United States law until 1918.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14Which is extraordinary, isn't it?
0:13:14 > 0:13:17Um, not necessarily,
0:13:17 > 0:13:19if you know our Congress!
0:13:21 > 0:13:24It is testament to the power of the railroads that
0:13:24 > 0:13:28in 19th-century America they created the four standard time zones
0:13:28 > 0:13:31still used today.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34The United States Naval Observatory has long been
0:13:34 > 0:13:36a timepiece for the nation.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39And today its role is global.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41It provides travellers all over the world with
0:13:41 > 0:13:44vital information about their location.
0:13:44 > 0:13:49So, here we find ourselves surrounded by electronic boxes
0:13:49 > 0:13:52and cylinders and things that look nothing like a clock to me.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56Time is involved intricately with positioning.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59Most of us today, whether we know it or not,
0:13:59 > 0:14:02have a global positioning device, either a little hand-held unit
0:14:02 > 0:14:05or something that is built into your smartphone.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08The way that your GPS figures out where you are on the surface
0:14:08 > 0:14:13of the Earth is to take a very precise timescale
0:14:13 > 0:14:15and measure the difference in time signals
0:14:15 > 0:14:20that are transmitted from satellites 12,000 miles overhead -
0:14:20 > 0:14:21triangulating, essentially,
0:14:21 > 0:14:24the different time ticks from different satellites
0:14:24 > 0:14:28and then comparing that with our master clock timescale.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32So any time you look at the display on your smartphone,
0:14:32 > 0:14:36you are basically looking at time that points back here,
0:14:36 > 0:14:37to the US Naval Observatory.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39It has been quite a long journey, hasn't it,
0:14:39 > 0:14:42since the days when men peered with telescopes to see a ball drop
0:14:42 > 0:14:44to set their chronometers?
0:14:44 > 0:14:46It is a big job, but somebody has got to do it.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51From the antique to the cutting edge,
0:14:51 > 0:14:54this magnificent repository of scientific instruments,
0:14:54 > 0:14:59charts and knowledge rounds off my exploration of the nation's capital.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22This morning I'm leaving Washington, heading south,
0:15:22 > 0:15:24crossing into the state of Virginia.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38Alexandria is my next stop and Appleton's tells me that it
0:15:38 > 0:15:41is situated on the south side of the Potomac,
0:15:41 > 0:15:43seven miles below Washington.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46Although Appleton's was written after the American Civil War,
0:15:46 > 0:15:49whose principal cause was slavery,
0:15:49 > 0:15:55the African-American community is almost not mentioned in the book -
0:15:55 > 0:15:58an omission which I think I'll find particularly striking
0:15:58 > 0:16:02in Alexandria, which played an important part in the sale
0:16:02 > 0:16:05and traffic of human chattels.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29My guidebook says that Alexandria is a quaint old town
0:16:29 > 0:16:31dating from 1748.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34Back then, the cash crop here was tobacco
0:16:34 > 0:16:38and it was extremely labour-intensive to produce.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40The crop was worked by slaves.
0:16:43 > 0:16:491315 Duke Street was, during the 1830s, the headquarters of one
0:16:49 > 0:16:54of the largest slave trading companies in the United States.
0:16:54 > 0:16:59It had extensive pens for the slaves and access to wharves
0:16:59 > 0:17:04and docks, and it traded up to 1,000 slaves a year.
0:17:04 > 0:17:10This modest property has been the scene of untold human misery.
0:17:14 > 0:17:19In 1808, the act prohibiting the importation of slaves
0:17:19 > 0:17:21came into effect.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24However, a robust internal slave trade
0:17:24 > 0:17:26continued at places like this,
0:17:26 > 0:17:29Alexandria's Market Square,
0:17:29 > 0:17:31where I am meeting the director
0:17:31 > 0:17:34of the city's Black History Museum, Audrey Davis.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37- Audrey, hello.- Hi, how are you?
0:17:37 > 0:17:40- Good to see you. - Good to see you, yes.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42So, here we are in the market at Alexandria
0:17:42 > 0:17:45and this was the scene of slave sales.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47The dealers would come in from Duke Street,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50bringing in their slaves, and they would sell them
0:17:50 > 0:17:53here at the market, men and women and children, and while you
0:17:53 > 0:17:56are also selling produce and other goods, you are selling humans.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58They don't know where they are going,
0:17:58 > 0:18:01they don't know if they are going to be kept with their families,
0:18:01 > 0:18:04they hope that they might see their children again.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07It is, to me, just a horrible, horrible experience.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11When the American Civil War broke out in 1861,
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Northern forces occupied parts of Virginia.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18A judgment made by a general in Union-held territory
0:18:18 > 0:18:22would forever change the lives of enslaved people here.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25In 1861 at Fortress Monroe,
0:18:25 > 0:18:29General Benjamin Franklin Butler makes a very fateful decision
0:18:29 > 0:18:32when three sleeves come to him, seeking asylum.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35And he thought, "Well, why should I send them back to their masters?"
0:18:35 > 0:18:38Even though by law, he should have, he decided to keep them
0:18:38 > 0:18:41and use their labour for the Union cause.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45Officially, slaves were considered not people, but property.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49So, using the same logic, General Butler, a trained lawyer,
0:18:49 > 0:18:53decided that they could be kept by the North as contraband.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57Escaping slaves know that if they can get in the area that is
0:18:57 > 0:19:00protected by the Union, they have a chance at freedom.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02They weren't exactly completely free,
0:19:02 > 0:19:05but they knew if the Union won the war, they would be.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08But they had a chance to work for a wage and they had some protection
0:19:08 > 0:19:12and they had at least some autonomy in how they lived their lives.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15Alexandria fell to Northern, Union forces
0:19:15 > 0:19:20and thousands of enslaved people risked their lives to reach it.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22In the space of just 16 months,
0:19:22 > 0:19:27its population more than doubled as 10,000 escaped slaves,
0:19:27 > 0:19:30who came to be known as contrabands, made it to the city.
0:19:30 > 0:19:36Many arrived malnourished and exhausted and succumbed to disease.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43The Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery became the final
0:19:43 > 0:19:47resting place for about 1,700 African-Americans.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53On the walls are the names etched in bronze of the men,
0:19:53 > 0:19:55women and children who are buried here.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03Has the cemetery survived in quite good condition,
0:20:03 > 0:20:04then, over the years?
0:20:04 > 0:20:07We know that the community of course obviously knew that it was
0:20:07 > 0:20:08a cemetery during the time -
0:20:08 > 0:20:11there were wooden markers for the graves, there was a wooden
0:20:11 > 0:20:13picket fence that went around the cemetery.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17But over the years, and with the weather, the fence fell down,
0:20:17 > 0:20:21the headboards disintegrated and so you really have a grassy mound.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24But people were aware that it was a cemetery.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30In the 1950s, a petrol station was built on the site.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33We don't know why that happened
0:20:33 > 0:20:38when we know as late as 1948 the cemetery shows up on city maps,
0:20:38 > 0:20:41so it is one of the unanswered questions that we have.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45For ten years, community activists fought to restore the site
0:20:45 > 0:20:51and in 2007 the City of Alexandria purchased and cleared the land.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55It was rededicated and this memorial was erected in 2014.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00So, these people, who did not have any dignity
0:21:00 > 0:21:02in life or any respect in life,
0:21:02 > 0:21:05we think, in this memorial, retain that dignity
0:21:05 > 0:21:08and retain the honour that they deserved for what
0:21:08 > 0:21:11they did to help our country move forward from slavery.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22I am continuing my journey south with an excursion
0:21:22 > 0:21:26recommended by Appleton's to a place so hallowed that even
0:21:26 > 0:21:30when the Civil War raged all around, it remained neutral ground.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37Back in 1879, tourists would have travelled here
0:21:37 > 0:21:40in the spirit of pilgrims, for this is the home of the man
0:21:40 > 0:21:44who represented the highest ideals of the American nation -
0:21:44 > 0:21:47its first President, George Washington.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54"Mount Vernon," says Appleton's,
0:21:54 > 0:21:57"on the Virginia side of the Potomac, was bequeathed by
0:21:57 > 0:22:03"Augustine Washington, who died in 1743, to Lawrence Washington.
0:22:03 > 0:22:08"George Washington inherited the estate in 1752.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11"The central part of the mansion, which is all wood,
0:22:11 > 0:22:15"was built by Lawrence and the wings by George Washington."
0:22:15 > 0:22:20It may seem extraordinary that a man who fought a revolutionary war
0:22:20 > 0:22:24and was the first President of the United States had time to
0:22:24 > 0:22:27involve himself in home improvements.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29But you know what they say -
0:22:29 > 0:22:32if you want something done, ask a busy man.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39George Washington was born into the colonial gentry of Virginia.
0:22:39 > 0:22:43When he inherited Mount Vernon, he and his wife Martha
0:22:43 > 0:22:46transformed it into this grand Palladian mansion.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53In the garden, designed by Washington himself,
0:22:53 > 0:22:56I am meeting the head of this historic site, Curt Viebranz.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02- Michael, pleased to meet you. - And a lovely spot in which to meet.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05From my guide book, I get an impression of George Washington
0:23:05 > 0:23:08that I had not had before, of a rather house-proud man
0:23:08 > 0:23:11who has time to take care of this estate. Is that right?
0:23:11 > 0:23:15Yes, the home itself was added onto twice,
0:23:15 > 0:23:18and it was very important to him that he be seen as
0:23:18 > 0:23:21not just a backward Virginian,
0:23:21 > 0:23:24but really somebody who was in line with the latest fashion.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28So much of what you see here in terms of the architecture,
0:23:28 > 0:23:31as well as all of the gardens, was really his handiwork.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37The great contradiction that we find in George Washington was that
0:23:37 > 0:23:41while he was forging a nation of men created equal,
0:23:41 > 0:23:46his 8,000-acre plantation was worked by 200 slaves.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51He was not a signatory of the Declaration of Independence
0:23:51 > 0:23:54because he was of course leading the army,
0:23:54 > 0:23:59but I think he saw that there was a huge conflict between those ideals
0:23:59 > 0:24:03espoused in the Declaration and the fact that we had a significant...
0:24:03 > 0:24:08Around the 1790 census, we had 600,000 slaves in the United States.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11But again, ever the pragmatist, I think he realised that
0:24:11 > 0:24:13there was no possibility that there would be
0:24:13 > 0:24:16a Union if they had to really wrestle with that.
0:24:16 > 0:24:18But over time, his views evolved.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22In July of 1799 - not knowing, of course,
0:24:22 > 0:24:25he was going to be dead within five months -
0:24:25 > 0:24:29he wrote a second will and that will called for his slaves to be freed
0:24:29 > 0:24:32at the time of Martha's death.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36George Washington was the only founding father
0:24:36 > 0:24:41to free his slaves, which came into effect on 1st January 1801.
0:24:44 > 0:24:49As the home of the first President, and of the first First Lady,
0:24:49 > 0:24:54Mount Vernon is a landmark in the history of the United States.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57A team of archaeologists is excavating to find out
0:24:57 > 0:24:59what life he was like.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02- Hello, Eleanor, I'm Michael. - Hello, good to have you.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05- May I join you in your pit? - Yeah, sure, come on in.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07- In fact, may I give you a hand? - I would love that.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09- All right, thank you. - Pick up the trowel and get to work.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12So, what is it you are digging here? What is the archaeology?
0:25:12 > 0:25:16Well, we are excavating in this area that Washington called his grove.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19This was the pleasure grove, meant for strolling and admiring
0:25:19 > 0:25:22the landscape on the part of the many visitors
0:25:22 > 0:25:23that came to Mount Vernon.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25And why would that be rich in archaeology?
0:25:25 > 0:25:28Well, this landscape in particular actually changes
0:25:28 > 0:25:30over time pretty vastly.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34Early on it is a big midden or trash pile, so we can learn a lot about
0:25:34 > 0:25:37the operations of the plantation and the daily lives of the Washingtons
0:25:37 > 0:25:40and the enslaved people, just by digging in this one space.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43What is this stone-like thing that I have struck here?
0:25:43 > 0:25:45Well, you have actually found an oyster shell.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49Oyster shells, of course, were the detritus of eating oysters.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52They were also pulverised to make the lime that made the mortar
0:25:52 > 0:25:55that held the bricks together here on the plantation,
0:25:55 > 0:25:57so that is a great find.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59Well, a veritable treasure trove of things.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01A treasure trove of trash.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04- What are we looking at here, then? - This is a drinking pot.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06It's actually a kind of ceramic
0:26:06 > 0:26:08that was made in Staffordshire, England,
0:26:08 > 0:26:11and would have been used probably in the kitchen here at Mount Vernon.
0:26:11 > 0:26:12CRASH
0:26:12 > 0:26:15- I'm so sorry.- That's OK. - The wretched handle came off.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17'Better not touch anything else!'
0:26:17 > 0:26:21And then, what, a piece of tinfoil?
0:26:21 > 0:26:24- This is actually a piece of silver. - Ah.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27We very rarely find silver and gold
0:26:27 > 0:26:30in the archaeological record, obviously because it was valuable,
0:26:30 > 0:26:33but this piece somehow managed to survive.
0:26:33 > 0:26:34Any idea what it is?
0:26:34 > 0:26:37We actually believe that it has been torn or ripped away
0:26:37 > 0:26:41from the scabbard of a sword, so the leather holder
0:26:41 > 0:26:45of a sword would have been decorated with lots of silver mountings.
0:26:45 > 0:26:46And this one, we think,
0:26:46 > 0:26:49actually bears the monogram of George Washington,
0:26:49 > 0:26:52so that's the bottom of the G there
0:26:52 > 0:26:55and the bottom of the curly W there.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58So what you are touching there may once have been touched
0:26:58 > 0:27:00- by George Washington.- Certainly.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20The view of the Potomac that George Washington enjoyed.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23He is revered by Americans as the general who defeated
0:27:23 > 0:27:27the British and as a wise and humble first President.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30And many will be relieved that at the end of his life,
0:27:30 > 0:27:34he chose to free himself of slaves.
0:27:34 > 0:27:38But he and the other founding fathers failed to resolve
0:27:38 > 0:27:40the slavery issue.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43It is the United States' founding fatal flaw,
0:27:43 > 0:27:45its original sin,
0:27:45 > 0:27:47and it took a long time
0:27:47 > 0:27:50and another war to deal with it.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53And another great president -
0:27:53 > 0:27:54Abraham Lincoln.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05Next time, I discover how crucial railroads were
0:28:05 > 0:28:07during the Civil War...
0:28:07 > 0:28:10Actually, it was the first time the troops arrived by rail during
0:28:10 > 0:28:14the history of railroad use and military use in the United States.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17..I bottle the classic Southern tipple, bourbon...
0:28:18 > 0:28:21Oh, you missed one. There's a little more skill to it.
0:28:21 > 0:28:22Apparently!
0:28:22 > 0:28:24Michael Portillo. How do you do?
0:28:24 > 0:28:28..and learn how to behave at Virginia's oldest cotillion ball.
0:28:28 > 0:28:30- Help me, help me!- It's easy.
0:28:30 > 0:28:32Four, two, three, turn,
0:28:32 > 0:28:34five, six, seven, eight.
0:28:34 > 0:28:35Out, in...