Student Resources

• Anticipate: See, Think, Wonder
• Close-Reading Washington in Trumbull’s Art 
• George Washington and Prudence Narrative
• Virtue in Action Organizer

Teacher Resources

• Analysis Questions 
• Virtue in Action  
• Journal Activity
• Sources for Further Reading  
• Virtue Across the Curriculum 

• Prudence: Practical wisdom that applies reason and other virtues to discern the right courses of action in specific situations.  
• Coup: A sudden, violent, and unlawful seizure of power from a government. 
• Tyranny: Cruel and oppressive government or rule.  
• Shrewdly: In a way that shows sharp powers of judgment; astute.  
• Mollify: Appease the anger or anxiety of (someone).   
• Restive: (of a person) Unable to keep still or silent and becoming increasingly difficult to control, especially because of impatience, dissatisfaction, or boredom.  
• Forbearance: Patient self-control; restraint and tolerance.  
• Malcontents: A person who is dissatisfied and rebellious.  
• Despotism: The exercise of absolute power.
• Precedent: An earlier event or action that is regarded as an example or guide to be considered in subsequent similar circumstances.  
• Resign: Voluntarily leave a job or other position. 

Procedures 

• The following lesson asks students to consider the virtue of prudence.  
• Students will engage with the story of George Washington as an exemplar of prudence as they consider the questions: How can prudence benefit decision-making?   
• The main activity in this lesson requires students to read and analyze a narrative that explores how George Washington led the early republic with prudence. Students may work individually, in pairs, or small groups as best fits your classroom. The analysis questions provided can be used to help students comprehend and think critically about the content. As the teacher, you can decide which questions best fit your students’ needs and time restraints.    
• The lesson includes a variety of activities and suggestions for your classroom. Time estimates are included in the activities so that you can decide what’s most appropriate for your teaching.  
• Lastly, the lesson includes sources used in this lesson for further reading and suggestions for cross-curricular connections.  

Anticipate 

• Before class, post the Image:  General George Washington Resigning by John Trumbull.  Have students complete the Anticipate: See, Think, Wonder handout prior to class.

 

Engage

• Have students work in pairs or trios to share the observations and questions they came up with from viewing the image of General George Washington Resigning by John Trumbull.
• Distribute the Close-Reading Washington in Trumbull’s Art . Review the context provided as a class or in pairs and have students complete a closer analysis of the painting.  
• Have students return to their Anticipate handout. Were they able to answer their questions? Are there any unanswered questions?  Compile unanswered questions into a class parking lot.  
• Introduce this definition of prudence: Practical wisdom that applies reason and other virtues to discern right courses of action in specific situations.   
  • Ask, How does the Trumbull portrait of Washington resigning his commission demonstrate Washington’s prudence? Why is it significant that this painting hangs in the rotunda (central hall) of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.? 
• Transition to the George Washington and Prudence Narrative by asking: Given what you “read” in this painting, how did George Washington’s character demonstrate prudence? How did it influence what our society values in its citizens as well as its leaders?   

Explore

• Transition to the George Washington and Prudence Narrative. Students will learn and analyze the story of George Washington to understand he led with prudence.   
• Scaffolding Note: It may be helpful to instruct students to do a close reading of the text. Close reading asks students to read and reread a text purposefully to ensure students understand and make connections. For more detailed instructions on how to use close reading in your classroom, use these directions. Additional reading strategies are provided for other options that may meet your students’ needs.  
• Essential Vocabulary: 
  • Prudence: Practical wisdom that applies reason and other virtues to discern the right courses of action in specific situations.  
  • Coup: A sudden, violent, and unlawful seizure of power from a government. 
  • Tyranny: Cruel and oppressive government or rule.  
  • Shrewdly: In a way that shows sharp powers of judgment; astute.  
  • Mollify: Appease the anger or anxiety of (someone).   
  • Restive: (of a person) Unable to keep still or silent and becoming increasingly difficult to control, especially because of impatience, dissatisfaction, or boredom.  
  • Forbearance: Patient self-control; restraint and tolerance.  
  • Malcontents: A person who is dissatisfied and rebellious.  
  • Despotism: The exercise of absolute power.
  • Precedent: An earlier event or action that is regarded as an example or guide to be considered in subsequent similar circumstances.  
  • Resign: Voluntarily leave a job or other position. 
• Transition to the following questions. Have students work individually, with partners, or as a whole class to answer the analysis questions.  
• Scaffolding Note: If there are questions that are not necessary to your students’ learning or time restraints, then you can remove those questions.   
• Analysis Questions:  
  • What were George Washington’s troops considering doing in 1783?   
  • Do you think Washington was tempted to seize power and become a dictator? Explain. If he was, how might prudence have helped him to make the right decision? 
  • Why might Washington, while addressing the troops, have paused to put on his glasses and admit his eyesight was failing?   
  • Prudence helps serve as a check against the “passions” of the people that can lead to the tyranny of the majority and violence. What are some ways that Washington exercised prudence to accomplish this?   
  • Prudence also requires individuals to moderate their own passions, i.e., to put the public good ahead of their own self-interest. What are some ways Washington accomplished this?   
  • Washington never abused the military power given to him as commander-in-chief of the continental army. He resisted the temptation to use the army as his personal bodyguard, to make himself a dictator, to become a Caesar, a Napoleon, or a Hitler. Instead, to what principles did Washington remain faithful?   
  • Historian Stuart Leibiger notes the irony that by never abusing power, and by giving it back to people, Washington became more and more powerful. Why do you think this came about?   
  • Think of other examples from history where individuals have voluntarily given up great power. Are they easy to find? In what ways can a leader demonstrate power by giving it up?   
  • Why do you think Washington’s greatest fear was that he would die in office? How does this evidence show he put the public good ahead of his own interest?   
  • Why does self-government at a societal level require prudence and self-governance on an individual level?   
  • Moments after taking the oath of office for the first time, President Washington addressed the new nation and stated, “The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the republican model of government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.” Discuss how you personally uphold the virtue of prudence and ensure the success of this experiment.  
  • Return to the parking lot of questions from the Trumbull art analysis. Are there any questions that can be answered after reading more about Washington and having this discussion? Ask students to investigate remaining questions for homework.  

Assess & Reflect

Virtue in Action  

•  Distribute the Virtue in Action Organizer. Review the directions and examples with your students. 
• Directions: Fill in the chart by creating a solution to the presented scenario that requires prudence. Note what other virtues would be required to take this course of action by referring to your civic virtues handout. The first scenario has been done for you as an example, using the story of George Washington from your reading.  
• Discuss student responses either with partners or in small groups.  
• Debrief by asking students: 
  • What similarities did you see across these scenarios? Was it difficult to come up with a solution that was governed by the virtue of prudence? Why or why not?

AND/OR

Prudence Journal Activity  

• Have students self-reflect and answer the following question in their journal: 
  • Prudence requires self-restraint and moderation. When is it difficult to act with prudence? List at least three examples of when and why it’s difficult to act with prudence.  
  • How can you overcome these barriers so that you make decisions with reason and discern the right course of action? 

 

Extend

Sources & Further Reading  

• Explore the following list for additional sources and further reading on George Washington.  
  • Brookhiser, Richard. Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington. New York: Free Press, 1996.   
  • Ellis, Joseph J. His Excellency: George Washington. New York: Vintage, 2005.  
  • Knott, Stephen F. and Tony Williams, Washington and Hamilton: The Alliance that Forged America. Naperville: Sourcebooks, 2015.   
  • Leibiger, Stuart. Founding Friendship: George Washington, James Madison, and the Creation of the American Republic. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2001.  
  • Morrison, Jeffry H. The Political Philosophy of George Washington. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009.   
  • Washington, George. “Farewell Address.” September 19, 1796  
  • Washington, George. George Washington’s Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior. N.p.: CreateSpace Independent Platform, 2013.  

Virtue Across the Curriculum  

• Below are corresponding literature suggestions to help you teach about prudence across the curriculum. Sample prompts have been provided for the key corresponding works. For the other suggested works, or others that are already part of your curriculum, create your own similar prompts. 
• Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card 
  • To what extent does Ender embody the virtue of prudence?  
• The Odyssey by Homer 
  • To what extent does Odysseus represent a prudent leader? In what ways does he fall short of exemplifying this virtue? 
• Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen 
  • Compare the behavior and temperament of sisters Marianne and Elinor. How do they act prudently or imprudently in their quest to survive after the death of their father and loss of their fortune?  
• George Washington as a prudent leader in American art: This lesson from Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness has students analyze depictions of George Washington across time.
  • To what extent do these depictions demonstrate that Washington was a prudent leader?

• OTHER RESOURCES
  • Washington’s Farewell Address: 
    • Video: George Washington’s Farewell Address and First Inaugural Address | A Primary Source Close Read w/BRI
    • George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796