Lectures Sponsored by Gadsby's Tavern Museum
Learn more about Alexandria’s history through select recordings of Gadsby's Tavern's public lectures.
Watch additional lectures sponsored by the Office of Historic Alexandria
All videos are posted with permission from the speakers.
¡Viva George!
¡Viva George! Celebrating George Washington’s Birthday at the US-Mexico Border
A lecture by Dr. Elaine Peña
Originally presented February 3, 2022
Alexandria has celebrated hometown legend George Washington for hundreds of years with parades and balls. Another city in America that has also celebrated with pomp and parade? Laredo, Texas. Learn from Dr. Elaine Peña, Associate Professor of American Studies at The George Washington University, about her research on these extensive festivities along the border. Afterwards, Tyler Vanice, Chair of Alexandria’s George Washington Birthday Celebration Committee, will join Dr. Peña as they explore the similarities and difference between Laredo and Alexandria. Dr. Peña's book, ¡Viva George! Celebrating Washington's Birthday at the U.S.-Mexico Border, is available in our online store.
What Made George Washington Tick?
A Lecture by Dr. Peter Henriques
Originally presented November 18, 2021
While recognizing him as the most important figure in American History, Professor Peter Henriques takes issue with the traditional image of George Washington as a selfless leader. Rather, his portrait of George Washington reveals a more complicated - and interesting - man who was both self-effacing and wildly ambitious, with a desire for public adulation that he never acknowledged, perhaps even to himself. Dr. Henriques, Professor Emeritus of History from George Mason University and noted George Washington scholar, lectures on these themes. This lecture topic was inspired by one of the chapters of his latest book First and Always: a New Portrait of George Washington.
Hannah Griffith: 18th Century Entrepreneur
Originally presented on March 11, 2021
Hannah Griffith used her status, experience, and industriousness to make a new life for her and her eight young children in late 18th century Alexandria. Although her husband was a Church of England pastor, life changed dramatically in 1789 when she became widowed. Using her experience while serving as a "deputy husband" during the American Revolutionary War, she operated the prestigious Alexandria Coffee-House, which is one of the buildings that today is part of Gadsby's Tavern Museum.
This lecture is presented by Kristy Huettner, museum educator for the Office of Historic Alexandria and graduate student in World History at George Mason University.
The Alexandria Story of the Syphax Family: An African American Genealogy
Originally presented on November 19, 2020
Lecture presented by Steve Hammond, genealogist and family historian. Nancy Syphax, once enslaved by tavern keeper John Gadsby, is Mr. Hammond’s third great-grandmother.
Working to find the African American roots of the prominent Syphax family, Steve Hammond forged working relationships with scholars across the nation. Through his work, Mount Vernon, Carlyle House, Arlington House, and the White House Historical Association as well as Historic Alexandria’s own Gadsby’s Tavern Museum and the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum have been able to tell a more complete story of Alexandria and the nation.
Election of 1800: A Peaceful Revolution that Nearly Wasn’t
A Lecture by Dr. Peter Henriques
Originally presented November 18, 2021
While recognizing him as the most important figure in American History, Professor Peter Henriques takes issue with the traditional image of George Washington as a selfless leader. Rather, his portrait of George Washington reveals a more complicated - and interesting - man who was both self-effacing and wildly ambitious, with a desire for public adulation that he never acknowledged, perhaps even to himself. Dr. Henriques, Professor Emeritus of History from George Mason University and noted George Washington scholar, lectures on these themes. This lecture topic was inspired by one of the chapters of his latest book First and Always: a New Portrait of George Washington.
The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution
Originally presented on September 17, 2020
A lecture by Dr. Lindsay M. Chervinsky.
The US Constitution did not create the president’s cabinet. In fact, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention explicitly rejected the idea. However, faced with unprecedented diplomatic, constitutional, and domestic challenges, President George Washington concluded he couldn’t decisions alone.
Dr. Lindsay M. Chervinsky, author of The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution, explains how Washington formed this powerful institution and why its legacy is so important.