caroline harrison, the beautiful burgundy gown, made a point of only wearing american fabrics and american-made clothes. a lot of first ladies have worn american clothing. if you look to the back, you'll see a beautiful dress of eleanor roosevelt that's actually her first inaugural gown. eleanor roosevelt had a busy life, and she made a point of saying busy women also like to buy their clothes off the rack. but she also stressed that you shouldn't buy clothes from sweat shops. so her politics also came into her clothing. >> what is the oldest gown? >> the oldest gown in the collection is actually martha washington's. it's not on display right now. it has been on display for a long, sustained amount of time. so it's having a rest right now. in this gallery, when we round the corner, the oldest dress will be dolly madison's. >> fast-forward to today. michelle obama. she donated hers personally? >> actually, mrs. obama came and presented the dress and the jewelry and the shoes. but they were actually donated.

and she -- it's interesting. this is the first time we had the designers donate, and mrs. obama had them donate these pieces. so jason wu and jimmy chu and lori rodkin actually donated the pieces. and they are donated -- when you see the label it will be donated by jason wu in honor of the first laity, michelle obama. and mrs. obama came to present the pieces to the museum. >> what goes into deciding which dress to wear? and are they thinking about the influence that will have on their husband's administration? >> i think we like it to maybe be a little more political than it probably is. when we did -- there's a video playing in this exhibition. we were lucky enough to interview rosalind carter and laura bush about the dresses they chose thinking maybe there was a symbolism. mrs. carter in reality for sentimental reasons wore a dress again that she had worn when her husband was made governor of

ga. georgia. and mrs. bush just remembering collaborating with the designer, michael faircloth, and wanted a pretty party dress. i think what women -- the first lady wants it to be beautiful. she wants it to be comfortable. she wants it to be appropriate. i think appropriate is the word when first ladies are dealing with clothes. they want to be appropriate for the occasion, appropriate for their age, appropriate for the circumstance, and i think appropriate as a symbol of the united states. because we still do look at the first lady as representing women in the united states. even when she's not functioning in duty hours, she represents the united states.

all day monday, american history tv is featuring america's first ladies. who to you think was our most influential first lady? vote and join the conversation with us on facebook at facebook.com/cspan. next, william fowler on his book "american crisis: george washington and the dangerous two years after yorktown, 1781 to 1783." the author details general george washington's struggles as he dealt with an ineffective congress and continental army on the veshlg of mutiny. this 50 minute event was hosted by the social law library in boston.

>> seats, please. welcome to the social law library. my name is robert brink, and i'm the executive director. we're honored to have all of you and also delighted to welcome back william fowler, who will talk about his new book "an american crisis: george washington in the dangerous two years after yorktown, 1781 to 1783." let me first ask you to silence your cell phones. let me also invite you to stay for a reception and book signing following professor fowler's talk. and in that connection i want to independent bookstores, porter square books, for coming over from cambridge whenever authors appear at the social law

library, so thank you very much. i also want to thank the william m. wood foundation and its truce tee, the bank of america. william wood was a distinguished and grateful lawyer who relied on the social law library throughout his career. charitable funds from his memorial foundation underwrite all of the library's conferences and author series. tonight's speaker is william m. fowler jr., distinguished professor of history at northeastern university and a long-time president of the new england quarterly. he is the author of a number of highly regarded books, contributions to scholarly publications and articles in the popular media. many of which concentrate on aspects of the american revolution, its military and political history, and the people of that era. both the famous and the obscure. the list of publications in professor fowler's cv is long, so i can't list them all.

but here are two popular books ereday readers might well remember. "samuel adams: radical puritan and the biography of john hancock. the last time bill fowler was at the social law library was in 2005. at the time he was the director of the massachusetts historical society and he joined gordon wood, pauline maier, ankiel redemar and me in a fascinating and fun discussion celebrating the 225th anniversary of the massachusetts constitution of 1780. the storyline of bill's newest book, "an american crisis," starts just a year later in 1781. there's an interesting bridge between the adoption of our massachusetts constitution of 1780 and bill's book that describes the uncertain war years that followed. i dug out a very interesting letter dated november 12, 1780.

it was from soldiers encamped with george washington in new jersey. the letter is about the soldiers' view of the new massachusetts constitution ands the war. in part, the letter to the massachusetts legislature reads the undersigned officers of the troops of massachusetts in our own names and in the names of our brethren in the field declare that we highly respect and approve the new constitution of the commonwealth of massachusetts. it goes on with paragraphs of praise and then it predicts we form the most auspicious omens of its free operation and prosperity, and those omens came true. the massachusetts constitution served as probably the most important model to the federal constitution and today is the oldest constitution in the western world. i think in the entire world, for

that matter. but the letter from these soldiers turned from praise to plea. the soldiers reminded the legislature that they were still at war and that the liberties promised in the new constitution of 1780s would be meaningless without support for the troops who were fighting for our freedoms. if only the legislatures of the respective states will vigorously carry into immediate effect the resolutions of congress, the enemy will be deprived of their only well-grounded hope of conquest. it seems pretty clear that the soldiers in the field with washington knew that the fight for independence was far from over and that our new constitutional freedoms were still in jeopardy. they knew of the american crisis facing george washington and the war effort. let me now welcome back bill fowler, who will pick up the story line and tell you of the ta dangerous two years after yorktown, 1781 to 1783.

bill? [ applause ] >> thank you, bob. very kind and flattering remarks. a few moments ago bob asked what i would like him to say about me when he introduced me and i simply told him that he ought not to hesitate to exaggerate. but thank you. but at the same time i must also caution you that, you know, sometimes we're raised up to be let low? this is the season of course and student teacher evaluations. and i was just reading mine this morning. it was pretty good. good, good, good. and then i came to one. the student decided to make a comment. the student described the comment. he said if i only had two hours left on earth, i'd want to spend them in professor fowler's class. and then i turned the page. and he continued. he said because professor

fowler's class goes on for eternity. so one must always be cautious. on the morning of january 6, 1783, the doors of the continental congress in philadelphia opened to admit three senior officers of the continental army, then encamped at newburgh, new york. the officers were general alexander macdougal from new york, cog knell mathias ogden from florida and colonel john brooks from massachusetts. these three officers arrived in the congress to announce to the members that the army at newburgh, the american army, was on the verge of mutiny. how could this have happened? after almost eight years of war with victories so close in sight, all was now in peril of being lost.

we often think, of course, the american revolution ended october 1781, yorktown, with the surrender of general cornwallis to the franco-american force under the command of washington. that was not the case. but even with the surrender of yorktown, the british army still occupied new york, savannah, georgia, charleston, south carolina, wilmington, north carolina, and a good portion of maine. and the navy while it had been defeated at the battle of the capes during the yorktown campaign, the navy was still supreme. their navy was still mistress of the ocean. the british had hardly been beaten. no one understood this better than the commander in chief himself, general washington. he was fearful that the news and victory at yorktown would, in

fact, diminish the american effort. shortly after the battle he wrote to governor william nelson, the governor of virginia. he told governor nelson, quote, instead of exciting our exertions, the victory at yorktown will produce such a relaxation in the prosecution of the war as will prolong the calamities of it. he then wrote a few days later to general nathaniel green, the american commander in the south. he told general green, my greatest fear is that congress may think our work closed and will fall into a state of languor and relaxation. lang following that washington made a brief visit home to mt. vernon, only, by the way, the second time in eight years that he had been home. after a brief visit, he and martha left mt. vernon and journeyed to philadelphia where they planned to spend the winter

of 1781-'82. in the meantime, the american army, having taken care of cornwallis's army, began their march to their winter quarters which they would take up on the hudson valley just north of new york city at a place from which they could watch the british army. washington arrived in philadelphia to great acclaim. parades and fireworks, endless banquets and toasts. they even wrote an opera in his honor. he went fox hunting, his greatest pastime, and, indeed, was having a wonderful social time in philadelphia. but not political. he did not attend the sessions of congress. that would have been improper for the commander in chief to attend congress. but every monday night he, robert morris, the financier as he was called, the equivalent of our secretary of the treasury,

governor morris, no relation to robert but an important figure in the congress, alexander hamilton, james madison and, perhaps, a few others met for dinner. it was at these dinners that these men discussed what had happened in the congress that day, usually very little. they discussed the fact that the nation was bankrupt, the congress was paralyzed, and the army had not been paid. what to do. what to do. these men formed the core of a kind of shifting political alliance in the congress of men who were nationalists. these were men who saw america as a great nation, but only if it had a more powerful central government. that, of course, was not the general sentiment in the congress itself. the congress was very much mindful of states' rights, parochial in particular. as the months wore on through

the winter, washington and martha enjoyed themselves, but virtually nothing got accomplished. nothing politically. in the meantime the army was there in the hudson valley, unpaid, waiting. everyone knew sort of that the war was coming to an end, wasn't certain, but there were rumors, even though hard information was not forthcoming from paris, where negotiations were under way. there were rumors that things were finally going to end. but no sure sign of it yet. washington finally in march 1782 presented himself to the congress and asked their permission to leave. he wished to rejoin his army. they summoned him to meet before them, and they told him, quote, we have nothing particular to give you and have appointed this audience only to assure you of our esteem and confidence and to wish you happiness and success.

happiness and success was all that he carried north, back to the army. there at the encampment just north of the city, the american army was busy watching the british. the british in new york were under the command of general sirguy carlton. general carlton had recently arrived. he was his majesty's commander in chief and sirguy's instructions were to take no offensive action against the americans. indeed, sirguy's instructions were to prepare for evacuation. at the same time, while washington was watching now carlton, there arrived the french. the french army under general roshambo had spent the winter in virginia near the yorktown battlefield. come the spring, it was time for them to move. the french army was coming north to come here to boston to depart

for the west indies. the french were leaving america. there was a grand ceremony at the american encampment, troops passed in review. they reviewed each other's armies but then bade farewell. the americans were now very much on their own. as was in the midst of this that general washington received a letter, an extraordinary letter from colonel lewis nicola. colonel nicola was the commander of the regiment of invalids. these were men who through injury in combat or disease or some other infirmity were unable to serve in the line but were perfectly able to do guard duty, garrison duty, support duty. colonel nicola, the commander of this regiment, saw every single day the cost of war in the faces and disabilities of his men. his men had not been paid either.

he wrote to general washington, when this war is over, we who have borne the heat and labor of the day will be forgot and neglected. the army will not submit to this grave injustice. from several conversations i have had with officers, i believe it is generally intended not to separate after the peace till all grievances are redressed, engagements and promises fulfilled. this war must have shown to all but to military men in particular the weakness of republics. washington was stunned at the letter. ordinarily when the commander in chief received a communication from one of his subordinates, he would certainly reply. but the reply would come within a few days, perhaps a week,

perhaps longer. washington replied to nicola's letter the very same day. he wrote to the colonel, i have read your letter with a mixture of surprise and astonishment. no occurrence in the course of a war has given me more painful sensations than your information of there being such ideas existing in the army. he then said, we will solve our difficulties in a constitutional way. well, of course, colonel nicola quickly ran for cover. there were several more letters from the colonel to the general apologizing for his statements. but nonetheless, colonel nicola's letter did, in fact, reflect the feelings of so many officers serving in the army. about two weeks later after colonel nicola's letter, general washington received major gener

james mitchell varnum. he was from rhode island. he had been a major general and had retired and served in the congress. he was a man of great influence and prominence. the general wrote to his commander in chief, the congress is a baseless fabric. my fellow citizens are totally destitute of that love of equality that is absolutely requisite to support a republic. only an absolute monarchy or a military state alone can save us from the horrors of subjugation. washington interestingly enough did not respond to the general. but all of this weighed heavily on his mind, and so he wrote to the secretary at war, benjamin lincoln, a massachusetts man.

he told secretary at war lincoln if these men who have spent the flower of their days in establishing the freedom and independence of their country are sent home without one farthing of money, great discontents will arise. the patience and long sufferance of this army are almost exhausted. he then went on to tell secretary at war lincoln that he was particularly concerned because the army was about to go into winter quarters once again, 1782, 1783, and he knew the despair of winter quarters. they had come through torturous times before in the revolution, morris town, valley forge, but in each of those winter encampments they had at least the promise of a campaign, a military campaign in the spring, to secure american independence.

there would be no campaign in the coming spring. how to keep these men together, how to prevent mutiny. in the midst of this, the officers of the army gathered. the regimental leaders, the staff of the army gathered, and without washington's permission, they did not seek it, they presented a memorial to him. they asked his permission to take this memorial to the congress in philadelphia. washington was very uneasy about this. it was a violation of military protocol. it could be seen, of course, as a challenge to civilian authority, authority that he had always respected. but nonetheless the situation was so grave he feared that if he refused permission for his officers to take this memorial to philadelphia, he would resent the consequences that would arise. the memorial began in asking the

congress, quote, as the head and sovereign to hear our plea, we have borne all that men can bear in further experimentsen our patience may have fatal results. this was entrusted to them to deliver to the congress. the congress received the memorial, gave it to a committee, of course, and the committee then deliberated for weeks and weeks. in the meantime, those gentlemen i mentioned earlier, hamilton, madison, morris and morris and lincoln began to concoct a plan. they saw an opportunity here with the disgruntled army to use the army as a lever, as a threat, against the states and

the congress. so force the states to give greater power to the congress, to demand from the congress their pay, and the only way they would get paid by the congress was if the states sent money and increased the power of the central government. and they began then to play this very dangerous game of using the army. what these men feared most was peace, peace. because they knew that if peace came, the army would dissolve. they had not heard anything from our commissioners in paris, from mr. adams, mr. jay, mr. franklin, and later mr. lawrence, they didn't communicate with philadelphia, but the rumors were about. these men in congress then knew that they had to act quickly before peace came. morris wrote to his friend,

matthew ridley, quote, not much for the interest of america that peace should be made at present. think about that. not much in our interests that peace should be made. it is in our interests that the war be prolonged. meanwhile, up at the camp in newburg, the officers muttering and murmuring, there arrived a new general. his name was horatio gates. horatio gates was not a man much troubled by principle or loyalty. earlier in the war he had distinguished himself as the commander of the american army at the battle of saratoga, the great victor of saratoga where he had defeated general burgoyne. but we sometimes forget about that year, 1777, called by the british by the way the year of the hangman for the three sevens being a gallows. we forget that in that same year that we were celebrating saratoga and the accomplishments

of general gates, general washington retreated from brandywine, germantown, and lost philadelphia. washington's reputation was sinking fast, and there were those in the congress, samuel adams and others, new englanders in particular, that thought gates might make a better commander than general washington. there were rumors, maybe not a plot, that's a little much, but certainly there are plans being made to replace gates, take him into washington's position, and washington knew this, of course. later general gates was given command of the army in the south and there in the south general gates fought the battle of camden, one of the worst defeats the american army ever suffered. what made it even worse is when the smoke cleared from the battlefield at camden, general gates was not there. he had retreated about 50 miles to reorganize. he was replaced.

general green took general gates' place in the south. gates was in the south. washington disliked him intensely, but gates was a powerful politician and he managed to get reinstated as the commander of the army at newburg without washington's consent. the congress appointed him and sent him to newburg telling general washington, you may use hip as you please. so general gates arrived to be the actual commander of the army. washington, of course, commander in chief, but gates being the general in charge at the encampment. the men in the encampment, of course, bored, not much to do, about 7,000 soldiers. there they began to build their huts at a place called new windsor, the new windsor encampment. they built about 700 wooden huts, neatly laid out for the winter encampment, and there they took up their quarters. what do you do with an army in this kind of situation? you drill and drill and drill and then you drill some more.

you build more huts, build roads. you have to keep them busy. but it wasn't working very well. and so chaplain evans decided let us build a temple of virtue. so in the middle of this encampment the soldiers went to work to build a temp le of virte where the men might come on sundays for religious services and during the week the administrative operation of the army took place there. but clearly all of this make busy work was not doing much for morale and washington remained deeply concerned about the murmurings he heard in the army. in philadelphia the congress decided or certain members of the congress decided to take action. pressed now, fearing that peace was coming, they decided to make their move. morris wrote to his good friend general henry knox.

ft. knox, the man from boston, the book seller from boston. knox had been with washington since the very first days of the war. he was washington's closest friend in the field. morris wrote to henry knox. he addressed his letter, my dear friend. he suggested that if knox would agree, that general knox might lead the army to press the states. he went on to say to his friend, knox, the army may now influence the legislatures, and if you will permit me a metaphor from your own profession, after you have carried the post, the public creditors will garrison it for you. while morris was given the assignment to write to general knox, knox at this time the commander at west