On this 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, noted historian David McCullough joins Wayne Shepherd for Part 2 of 1776:  George Washington.   (click for more…)

Website: www.simonandschuster.com/p/david-mccullough

Recorded in 2005, this is a continuation of last week’s FIRST PERSON as the late David McCullough talked about his book, 1776, and the experiences of George Washington in that momentous year. The conversation centers on George Washington's leadership during the darkest days of the war. McCullough describes how Washington forgave Joseph Reed's disloyalty and Nathaniel Greene's costly mistake at Fort Washington, choosing loyalty and grace over punishment — a decision that deepened both men's devotion to him. He portrays Washington as a leader shaped more by character than intellect: not a brilliant orator or strategist, but someone who inspired trust through steadiness, humility, and self-sacrifice (leaving behind wealth and comfort to lead a ragged army). McCullough also highlights lesser-known figures — Henry Knox's astonishing winter trek hauling cannon from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston, and ordinary soldiers like Joseph Hodgkins and Jabez Fitch whose diaries, often scrawled on scraps of paper, McCullough treats as the "gold" of his research. The interview closes with McCullough reflecting on why he writes — to understand human sacrifice and courage — and calling Washington "the greatest American of all time," while noting the book deliberately ends with the pivotal victories at Trenton and Princeton rather than covering the full war.

                                              NEXT WEEK:  Bill Hendricks

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