George Washington (1732-1799) was the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1783, and later the first President of the United States, an office to which he was twice elected unanimously (unanimous among the Electoral College) and held from 1789 to 1797. In 1787, he presided over the Constitutional Convention that drafted the current United States Constitution. His two-term administration set many policies and traditions that survive today. Washington did not run for a third term, thereby establishing an important precedent that was to serve as an example for the United States and also for other future republics.
Because of his central role in the founding of the United States, Washington is often called the "Father of his Country." Scholars rank him with Abraham Lincoln among the greatest of United States presidents.
Aside from portraits which hang in school classroom's and post offices, the painting Washington Crossing the Delaware is also one of the classic interpretations of the President.
Visual depictions[]
Miss Piggy as Washington in I Love Liberty
young George Washington (Jerry Nelson) in a Sesame Street News Flash segment
General Washington (Jim Henson) in an installment of The American Revolution
George Washington (Henson) in "The People in Your Neighborhood"
Washington crossing the Delaware, as seen on Lydia
Jim Henson takes the place of Washington on the US $1 bill in Time Piece
"Kermit Washington" in "This Old Nursery"
An Elvis as Thomas Jefferson, standing before Washington's portrait
On the wall of a classroom at Roosevelt Franklin Elementary School
Spectator Washington in "Jazz #10"
Sesame Street Episode 0962
Sesame Street Episode 1436
painting of Washington, adorning George Washington High School in Kermit's Swamp Years
Kermit as Washington for US State Quarters
US Mint commercial video shoot
Twiddlebugs' "portrait" of Washington
Sesame Street cartoon animated by Gene Barretta
Kermit in a 2014 Presidents Day video Disney Studios Facebook
Bert in a 2015 Presidents Day image Sesame Street Instagram
Elmo as Washington in a Hamilton promo
Piggy as Washington in The Muppets Present… Great Moments in American History
References[]
- A photo of Jim Henson from the 1950s is reproduced in a resource book for the Jim Henson's Fantastic World exhibit, in which he is holding his pet cat, named George Washington.
- Jim Henson's head appeared in the place of George Washington's on the one dollar bill in Time Piece.
- Two Washington heads appear in the Sesame Street animated insert Jazz #2, and make an encore appearance in Jazz #10.
- Thomas Twiddlebug brings home a George Washington postage stamp picture to hang on the wall. The Twiddlebug family mistakenly hangs it upside down and deduce that "maybe George Washington liked standing on his head."
- Washington appeared as part of the Mount Rushmore statue in the 1975 special The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence. Mount Rushmore also appeared in a PSA for the National Wildlife Federation in the 1980s, and in Muppets Tonight episode 106 in 1996.
- Lydia, the pig who danced to "Lydia the Tattooed Lady" in episode 102 of The Muppet Show, has a tattoo of Washington crossing the Delaware River on her body.
- The Sesame Street Muppets also reenact the crossing of the Delaware in The Sesame Street 1976 Calendar, with Bert playing the role of Washington.
- In a Sesame Street News Flash sketch, Kermit interviews Washington's father, who is annoyed that George keeps chopping down cherry trees and then telling the truth about it.
- The Muppets appeared in a sketch about the Second Continental Congress in the 1982 special I Love Liberty, a celebration of the 250th anniversary of Washington's birth. Miss Piggy appeared in that sketch as George Washington, despite Kermit's insistence that Washington wasn't at the Continental Congress. She also appeared as Abraham Lincoln and the Statue of Liberty.
- Ernie sings "George Washington Bridge" as part of the "Let's Sing a Song That Everybody Knows" medley on the 1982 album Sesame Street Sing-Along!.
- Bert and Ernie look at a portrait of Washington in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the 1983 special Don't Eat the Pictures.
- An Elvis appeared as Washington in a Great Moments in Elvis History sketch on episode 101 of Muppets Tonight.
- Kermit appeared as "George Washingtoad: The First Amphibian to Cross the Delaware" in the 1997 coloring book Great Muppets in American History.
- The name of the school that Dr. Hugo Krassman teaches at in Kermit's Swamp Years is George Washington High School.
- George Washington appears in front of 123 Sesame Street in The Street We Live On, as a false answer to Elmo's question about who lives on Sesame Street.
- In a Sesame Street cartoon, Washington is seen trying to get an even number of shipmates on his boat.
- In The Sesame Street Dictionary, Roosevelt Franklin is showing writing the date George Washington became president on the chalkboard for the entry for "date."
- In the Sesame Street sketch "Are You Smarter Than an Egg Layer", contestant Mairam guesses that two eggs plus one is George Washington.
- A talking portrait of Washington appears in President Elmo's office in the "Elmo the Musical" segment "President the Musical."
- A 2016 Presidents Day post of the official Sesame Street Instagram account showed a picture of "Bert Washington." (view)