'Glenn Beck': Founders' Fridays: George Washington

This is a rush transcript from "Glenn Beck," May 7, 2010. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

GLENN BECK, HOST: Welcome to our second "Founders' Fridays." And if last week's ratings were anything of what tonight's ratings will be like, it's going to be a very quick month. We might have to expand them. It seems like America, for some reason or another, is interested now in our Founding Fathers and meeting who they really, truly are.

Tonight, I want to introduce you — well, first of all, meet my friends. The audience is here. And we're going to have them talk to some of the experts that we have about George Washington and ask the questions that, you know, you probably have.

George Washington was called the indispensable man. I didn't even know why until — until — I mean, I've read a lot of books on George Washington. This is the best book ever written on George Washington, "The Real George Washington." It's the first in a series. And I love it because it's mainly his words and you get to know who he was. I didn't really know why he was called the indispensable man. Sorry, I like George Washington an awful lot. And he's the kind of guy that I've been looking for. And I think we all have — we've been looking for a guy who is just honest and doesn't want to serve, you know? People who say — all the time — "Well, I want to be president." You do? Why exactly?

I can't imagine a worse job. I can't imagine — especially now, the next guy who serves, even this president, what's left of our country? How do you knit this all back together? Well, quite honestly, it wasn't much different back when George Washington was around. Things were a mess. And he was the indispensable man because nobody trusted anybody. All the states were arguing with each other. Nobody — you couldn't sell anything across the border. The whole thing was falling apart. Here is George Washington, a man who at 16 was out surveying land for his country, which was then Great Britain. All he wanted to do was go to Mount Vernon and be a farmer.

His country, Britain and then the United States of America, had him serving for year after year after year after year. After he won the Revolutionary War, he went back to be that farmer in Mount Vernon. And things started to fall apart. And they came knocking at his door and said, "George, we need you, because the whole thing is falling apart." I'm paraphrasing, but I think it was pretty close to — "Have I not yet done enough for my country?" No. He went back and he didn't say very much during the Continental Congress and the constitutional convention. He didn't say much. He didn't have to. He was a revered figure. He was — that's my favorite painting of him. He was a revered figure. He was a guy — this was actually a painting done on the, just on the words of one of the — I think it was a farmer if I'm not mistaken. A farmer came into the field one day, and heard some noise and heard him standing there, in the field and he just watched him as he got down in Valley Forge on one knee and he prayed all by himself. He's a guy that in the end could have been made king. He could have been made a ruler. He's a guy who could have been really upset at Congress. Boy, oh, boy.

Valley Forge — I mean, when you think of Valley Forge and how many times, it wasn't just one year they were cold and didn't have shoes. They didn't have pants. And it was year after year after year. I used to live near Valley Forge. It's not that far from Philadelphia. And yet, Congress just — they wouldn't even — they just wouldn't help our troops. And he stuck with them. In the end, they weren't going to pay the troops. And — you know, I think my most telling moment of George Washington's power, they were going to — the soldiers were going to a revolt. They had just won against the most powerful army on the planet, Great Britain. And then they found out the United States of America, what a surprise, weasely Congress wasn't going to take care of the troops, wasn't going to pay them. Well, they went nuts. They went nuts. And they said, you're in the going to pay us? We've just defeated Great Britain! We're afraid of you? And they made a plan and they knew Washington wouldn't go it with. And they made a plan to go and kill everybody in Congress. Washington heard about it. He said let's not replace one tyrant with another. They didn't listen to him. They had a secret meeting. He wasn't invited to it. He knew what was going on. He went to Congress and he got a letter from a member of Congress that said, OK, guys. I'll do my best. Please, give me more time. I'll do my best. He found out about this meeting and he walked in, in the middle of it. All heads turned and it became silent. They didn't know what to say.

He said —again, paraphrasing — "Gentlemen, I know what you're doing. Don't do it. Don't do it. We didn't work this hard." He said, "I have a letter in my pocket," and he reached into his pocket. And he opened up the letter and he was going to read it. But he needed his glasses. This is a guy who used to sit on top of a white horse in the middle of a battle and he never got shot. They thought this guy was God. And when he put his glasses on, he said, "I am sorry. But I have grown old and gray in the service of my country." Nobody had ever seen him with his glasses on. It seems like such a silly story, but it goes to the power of George Washington. He took his glasses off, folded the paper up. Never read it and walked out. They decided not to storm Congress. But they were mad at George Washington.

In the end, a lot of his troops didn't — weren't real happy with him, didn't want to stand with him. I think what I like about George Washington is most of the choices he made, he didn't want to make. Most of the things he did, he didn't want to do. He was revered for it. He was revered. And I think it's because they knew that in the end, he didn't matter to him. It was just doing the right thing. That's what mattered. Tonight, I want you to spend an hour meeting George Washington through the eyes of a couple of friends of mine.

Joining me, first of all is, Andrew Allison. He is the co-author of "The True Story of America's Most Indispensable Man." Also, Earl Taylor, he is president of the Center for Constitutional Studies. He travels around the country and he talks about George Washington. How are you, guys? First of all, you know, you and I met, I don't know, about a year ago?

ANDREW ALLISON, "REAL GEORGE WASHINGTON" CO-AUTHOR: About a year.

BECK: Yes. And I think I was a little like I am now, just a weepy mess when I saw you, because I love — love this guy because of your book. And I've read a ton of books on him. But what's the — what's the secret of this one? What is it that you think you have captured in this?

ALLISON: Well, you know, the title "The Real George Washington" is pretty presumptuous. But the reason that we call it that is — instead of trying to interpret him for the scholars, we really went out of our way to let him speak for himself, so that the American people, including young people, could find out who he is.

BECK: Yes.

ALLISON: So, the bulk of the book is either in his words or those who knew him.

BECK: This is the best thing about this is book is split in half. This is just almost encyclopedic form. And you can look up taxes and it's all his words. It's what he had to say about it, exactly what he said. And do you think that somebody like George Washington could be in office today?

(LAUGHTER)

BECK: Neither of you?

ALLISON: Well, you know, you said before we started that people are beginning to wake up. I think that Americans are looking for somebody like George Washington. Here is a man who is unanimously elected as the commander-in-chief of the New American Army, unanimously elected as the presiding officer of the constitutional convention, unanimously elected by the Electorate College twice as the president of the United States. He didn't want to do any of it. What kind of person is that?

But there was something in him — the subtitle on the biography is "The Man Who United America." When we started, we were not united. And it's true, as you talked about last week, Samuel Adams earned the title "The Father of the American Revolution." Jefferson even called him the "Patriarch of Liberty." But there was only one man who could have been called the father of our country and that's George Washington.

BECK: Is there any president in your studies — is there any president that has even come close to the role he played — right guy, right time?

EARL TAYLOR, NAT'L CTR FOR CONSTITUTIONAL STUDIES: I can't point to one.

BECK: It was his honesty, wasn't it?

TAYLOR: And people knew that. And they respected him. And as you said in your intro, he was almost god-like that. That's the painting in our Capitol today.

BECK: Can we — can we show that? I don't think most — most people don't know this. Do we have — do we have the painting in the Capitol? This is — and I think Dan Brown, even in his book, talks about this. This new Dan Brown book that's out. This is — what is the name of the painting?

TAYLOR: Apotheosis of George Washington.

BECK: Yes, that.

(LAUGHTER)

BECK: If you look — if you look straight up, here you see George Washington, and he is sitting on a throne. And he's becoming god-like. What is the significance of this?

TAYLOR: Apotheosis is actually a Latin word which means "the raising of human to a god-like quality." And that's what they felt like him. They could totally trust him.

BECK: So, we have him here, was this controversial to raise him? Because I know this and I've heard — I've heard two stories on this. I heard one that it was — he was too god-like. And the other, well, the same story I guess. One is that he was too god-like. And, you know, our presidents aren't gods. And the other is that it was an affront to religious people to have this. But it's the statue that was supposed to go underneath this painting that was sitting in the basement for so many years or sitting some place unnoticed. The picture or the statue of George Washington sitting in a chair like a Greek god. It was why — was this controversial at the time for them to be able to come out and say...

TAYLOR: There were some people who disagreed with him, but they weren't in control. They were in the minority. They didn't...

BECK: Well, what I'm asking is, I guess, when you — when you look at him this way, is this saying that he is, you know, you as people can rise up to great things, or he was just god-like? Which is it?

TAYLOR: I think it's the former, the former. They didn't think he was God.

BECK: Right.

TAYLOR: But he had some attributes that were god-like.

BECK: How — when you were doing your research, I've noticed that Benjamin Franklin, were they real close friends, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, or not?

ALLISON: Not the closest, but they had a lot of involvement with each other; had tremendous respect for each other, and they were friends.

BECK: Benjamin Franklin and George Washington had one thing in common that I've seen, that I think is fantastic, and that the lists that they would start their day and end their day with, that they were — they were works-in-progress. Can you talk a little bit about that? Either.

TAYLOR: You're talking about the 13 attributes that he...

BECK: Yes.

TAYLOR: ...that Franklin worked on?

BECK: That they looked at, you know, I know Ben Franklin started his day and ended his day every day and said, did I do this? Did I do this? Did I do this?

TAYLOR: Right. Yes.

BECK: And George Washington was working on his character as well.

TAYLOR: Those "rules of civility" is what he called them.

BECK: Right.

TAYLOR: And they're great for young people today.

BECK: Give me — give me an idea of the things that you think he struggled with that he was working on in his character.

ALLISON: I think one thing if — if you study the life of Washington, you know that it took tremendous self-control for him to overcome a natural temper, OK? There was a story about a fellow named William Payne who is the only man who ever physically assaulted George Washington and got away with it. It was during one of the early elections before George Washington was world famous. And Washington came to Alexandria to support a friend of his who is running for the colonial legislature. And this Payne — this Mr. Payne supported an opponent. And their discussion turned into an argument. And all of a sudden, Payne reaches up because he's considerably shorter as almost every American was, considerably shorter than George Washington, knocks him to the ground.

Well, he was the commander of a Virginia regiment at that time, and all of his fellow officers and soldiers stepped forward to take care of this guy, and Washington waved them off and said, "No, it's OK. Let him go." And he went back to the — went back to the inn where he was staying. And he almost immediately wrote a letter saying, "Mr. Payne, I'd like to visit with you tomorrow morning." Well, the guy was scared to death.

(LAUGHTER)

ALLISON: As you can imagine. And if you had to face George Washington and his legendary physical power, you'd be scared, too. But when he showed up the next morning, Colonel Washington, which is what he was then, he put forward his happened and said, "Mr. Payne, I'd like to apologize for losing control of my temper in an unprotected moment and I hope we can still be friends." And they were for the rest of their lives. Amazing guy, but he did this consciously. It was important to him to learn how to demonstrate respect for his fellow men just because of who he was and who he felt they were.

BECK: Back in just a minute.

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BECK: Welcome back to "Founders' Fridays." And make sure you go to GlennBeck.com and sign up for Insider Extreme. "Beck University" is coming. You can find out the five things you didn't know about George Washington. While there, you can get a free subscription of "Fusion" magazine and an exclusive article from Andrew Allison, the author of "The Real George Washington." Andrew, let me come to you on the youth of George Washington. And the one thing that I love about this book is, that anybody can read it. I can't wait — my son is five now, he needs to be a little older — but I can't wait for him to see George Washington, because as a youth, at 16, George Washington is out and he is surveying land. He looks at Pittsburgh and says, "Great place for a fort." I mean he was — he was a remarkable, remarkable kid.

ALLISON: He actually began surveying at age 15 and a prodigious worker his whole life. One of the reasons I think that he was so trusted by the troops and everybody else because they saw that he was willing to roll up his sleeves. But it was kind of fun to read about George Washington. He used to loan money to his friends and family members when they were short on funds because he was the guy who always had money, because he was the guy who always had a job. But it was non-interest loan. But that's right. That's a pattern that started very early and lasted his whole life.

BECK: And he — because he was remarkable at such a young age, he was trusted by everybody? He would go out and make treaties as a kid, right? Didn't he help — am I wrong on that? Didn't he — he went out as a young man...

ALLISON: Yes, in his early 20s.

BECK: Yes, and was trusted on making treaties. And people, they did. They trusted him. Tell me the story of — I'm trying to remember the name of the Indian that came up and made the George Washington prophecy. A, is it true? Tell me the story and then, is it true?

TAYLOR: That is true. This is actually in the French — during the French and Indian War when he in his early 20s was on aide to General Braddock - British General Braddock. And they were leading about almost 1,500 troops out to western Pennsylvania, Fort Duquesne, around Pittsburgh now. And Washington had warned — because Washington knew the area and he had warned Braddock that there are places that are real good ambush sites, I wouldn't go there.

Well, General Braddock, he was a — he was a British general. And, you know, they're — most of them are quite proud. And they know it. So they march right into — through this area. And almost 1,000, I guess the number is 700 French troops with Indians ambushed them and just started mowing them down. And out of the almost 1,500 that they started with, there was over 1,000 deaths and wounded. And among those were all of the officers including Braddock, except George Washington. And he wrote the next day to his family, he said, "I don't know why I'm still here. It must be the hand of Providence that had preserved me. I've got bullet holes in my hat, through my clothing. I've had two horses shot out from under me."

BECK: He was never wounded ever, was he?

TAYLOR: No. Not in battle.

BECK: And he — and the troops talked about bullet holes through his clothing and he was on a white horse.

TAYLOR: Oh, yes.

BECK: It would be like camouflage!

(LAUGHTER)

BECK: Camouflage your horse!

TAYLOR: Well, 15 years later, Washington — this was in 1770, Washington was with a group of men that were reviewing and kind of scoping out the same area. And an old Indian was part of an Indian band that discovered them and invited them to sit down in the council, around the council fire. And this old Indian chief gets up and he said, "I was there. As a matter of fact, I was in command when the Indians and the French drenched this area with the blood of the soldiers. And we killed a lot of them. But we could not kill that man." He said, "I had moved my best marksmen on him and I told them they cannot miss and they usually did not miss." "But this time," he said, "we couldn't hit him."

BECK: And is this the same Indian that said, you will be a great leader of...

TAYLOR: Yes. And that was his — that was his prophecy. He said, "I'm telling you, the great spirit is with that man. He will one day be the great chief of a great nation."

ALLISON: Preside over an empire.

TAYLOR: "He cannot die — he cannot die in battle."

BECK: How — were there times — I mean, I get the impression that George Washington was tired a lot. But was he afraid?

TAYLOR: I don't know that he showed he was. Maybe he was. But he took on the British sometimes all alone. As a matter, one of the — one of the — this is why we know the story, one of the men that was with him, one of his aides, wrote it down and reminded the troops later, like at Monmouth when Washington practically, he was so angry, he took on the whole British force almost at once. And here his aide reminded him, the troops, "He won't die in battle. Don't worry."

ALLISON: Do you mean, was he afraid in battle? Is that your question?

BECK: Was he afraid of — I mean, I read the stories of the founders, and all of them — all of them didn't want to do what they did. They didn't want to be that person. They didn't want to say those things. They didn't — you know, I get the sense from all of the founders, they were like, really? Me again? You know what I mean? They did it out of duty and honor, mainly to God.

TAYLOR: That's right.

BECK: But there are times when you are doing that, that you are like, OK, I trust, I have faith. But I'm afraid. Was he ever afraid?

ALLISON: Washington, there is no evidence in the record that he feared death. There is no evidence that he feared being injured in battle. What he was afraid of was that he was not up to the task, that he didn't have what America needed to provide the leadership that they were calling him for.

BECK: He didn't at first, did he? When he firs — I mean, the most surprising thing that I learned about George Washington, we think of him as a great general. He stunk on ice at the beginning for like a year or so. I mean, he — we lost New York, we lost everything. They were chasing him all around.

ALLISON: He grew into it.

(LAUGHTER)

TAYLOR: He had to learn how to hit and run.

BECK: Yes.

TAYLOR: That's what he had to do.

BECK: Yes. And it was really — it was really crossing of the Delaware that changed things. Was there a — was there a moment of him saying uh-huh? Or did it just — did he just start to do the right thing? How did that happen? Was there — was there a moment for George Washington?

ALLISON: Well, I think it was a whole series of moments. But, you know, in order to understand George Washington, you have to understand his self-perception and his understanding of his role. We know of at least 67 occasions during the Revolutionary War alone when he said that the American cause of independence would have come to a complete disaster except for one thing and that was the direct intervention of God to save us. And later on, after he was elected president, he said the same thing about the constitutional convention. He used the word "miracle" more than once. It's a miracle. And he said later on after he was elected president that you would have to be — listen, is it OK? I mean, you use a chalkboard.

BECK: I'll tell you what? Yes, hang on. We have to take a break, but I want to pick it right up there. If you will share that and let's talk a little bit, because people say, oh, no, he was a deist. He didn't really believe in God. He was a "crazy, white, rich, slave owner deist."

ALLISON: They need to read the book.

BECK: All right. So, hang on just a second. We'll come right back for that.

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BECK: We're back with Andrew Allison, coauthor of "The Real George Washington," and Earl Taylor, the president for Center for Constitutional Studies. This is the best book on George Washington I have ever read, because it is so simple and it really focuses on his words.

You know, I say all the time, read original sources. Read original sources. Read their words. Don't read somebody who is trying to figure out what he meant today. Read their words. And about half of this book is just his words on topic.

And the story of George Washington, I promise you, you will fall in love with him. And if he can be more like him, if we can strive to be more like him, we'll survive. We will do more than survive. We'll thrive.

OK. So we were talking before we went in the break about George Washington and God. You were saying? You wanted to read something on it?

ANDREW ALLISON, CO-AUTHOR, "THE REAL GEORGE WASHINGTON": Well, it is true, as you said, that a lot of people say that George Washington and some of the other founders were deists. And a deist is understood certainly today as somebody who believes in God, but believes that God basically wound up the universe and then took off and said good luck.

BECK: Right.

ALLISON: Tell me if this sounds like a deist. After attributing the salvation of America on dozens of occasions to God's intervention, he said this after being elected president, "No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency."

And this is almost incredible to believe me, but he also said, "When I contemplate the intervention of providence in guiding us, I feel almost overwhelmed. I feel that nothing — nothing is due to my personal agency." That is truly remarkable.

BECK: These guys — you know, I have read the words and the diaries of Columbus, and the pilgrims and many of the founders. I'm currently studying George Whitfield and reading his words.

They all got to a point to where they were like, "OK, I don't have the hands on the steering wheel." Of course, they didn't have cars. "I don't have my cars on the reins." They all thought and I think knew that this is a God thing that is happening here, you know. Go ahead. You were going to say?

EARL TAYLOR, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL CENTER FOR CONSTITUTIONAL STUDIES: I was going to say in this book the word "providence" is used 88 times in Washington's quotes. And that is just "providence." There are others — "almighty," "divine" — I mean, it's still...

BECK: They'll say now that he was just saying that. Let me ask you this. I made George Washington - faith, hope and charity. I made Washington hope, because I was trying to figure out why that Obama hope doesn't work — because it's false hope. It's not telling you the truth.

And I mean, it's ironic to me that we make up a lie about "I shall not tell a lie" on George Washington when there are so many great truth stories with him. Would you say that he is the best example of hope?

ALLISON: Can I answer that question?

BECK: Yes.

ALLISON: You hit the nail right on the head, Glenn. There is no figure in the history of this nation that represents hope as well as George Washington. Just let me give you a couple of reasons why I believe that. One, we already have been talking about it.

And it's so astonishing to me that we have writers today who say no only were the founders deists, but in some cases atheists. Now, George Washington was the most vocal. But virtually, all of them said that the reason that this country was created was because of the intervention of God. And nobody said it more often or more effectively than George Washington.

But the other thing is this — and if that — by the way, when you consider who the men were and what they accomplished, you know, these were the most brilliant and insightful political philosophers and statesmen...

BECK: In the world.

ALLISON: In one place, at one time, in the history of the world. And here, they were all saying it was God who used to us do this. And you have to ask yourself, were they all wrong? No, they weren't.

And the other thing is this. You know, you mentioned — you asked me recently to write an article for your magazine about George Washington. And we call it, "Can George Washington Help Us Restore America?" I had a surprising and kind of an emotional experience in the process of researching and preparing that article.

BECK: Hold on, hold on. Let me take a break and then we'll come back. I don't want to interrupt that story. Back in a second.

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BECK: Back with Andrew Allison, coauthor of "The Real George Washington," a fantastic book, and also Earl Taylor, president of the Center for Constitutional Studies.

OK. So you said that I asked you to write an article about George Washington. What can - you know, does he have an answer for us? And you said you had an emotional experience doing research.

ALLISON: Well, it really was, to tell you the truth. When my friend Jay Parry and I wrote this book, this was part of the project, but for some reason, it just didn't hit me the way it did this time. You had a caller last week, maybe Friday, on your radio program. I think her name was Carol. And she started...

BECK: Poured her heart out.

ALLISON: Crying. And she said, "As I see what is happening to our country today, I feel like I'm losing a child." And I understood exactly what she was talking about.

And I have been going through some distressing feelings as I watch what is being done to our dear country and when I read this statement, which I included in that article, it just jumped off the page at me. I'm going to make a plaque of this and put it near that free bird painting of George Washington...

BECK: Yes.

ALLISON: At Valley Forge that my wife Kathleen and I have at home. But this is what he said, "If I have distressing apprehensions, I am supported by a confidence that the most gracious being who has hitherto watched over the interest and averted the perils of the United States will never suffer so fair an inheritance to become a prey to anarchy, despotism or any other species of oppression." That gives me hope.

BECK: I tell you, in reading who they were, knowing what they created, knowing that this not — this aren't our rights. This isn't our land. This is his land, knowing that he will protect and knowing also the story.

I pray every night. I got more than five. I got more than 10. I mean I know — I mean, I know there are millions of people God — millions of people right now who are falling to their knees saying, "OK. OK. Sorry. Sorry. I got it now. I got it."

And I just don't think that — we are going to have to pay the price, but we're not going to have to be — you know, we won't lose in the end. We won't lose the country in the end.

Who was it that said a minute ago that you were reading the founders and there is so much. Can you say that? What was that you said?

AUDIENCE MEMBER: What I was saying was after reading all the quotes of George Washington, people say they are outdated but they read the words — it's like they are here now. If you read some of these quotes, it's so true for what is going on in our country right now.

BECK: It's really — I asked this a minute ago. I think everybody raised their hand. Who is religious here? Who believes in God and religious?

And it is really true. When you read these guys, it's alive. It's like, you know, reading the scriptures. It's like reading the Bible. It is alive today. And it only comes alive when you need it.

I don't know how many times I have read the Declaration of Independence in the past and it's like, yes, yes, whatever. You read it now and it's alive. You read the words of these guys and it's...

ALLISON: It's the same spirit you feel when you read the scripture.

BECK: Yes, it is. It is. Who else, up in the corner — yes?

AUDIENCE MEMBER: What was George Washington's stance on the redistribution of wealth? What did he think of taking from the fruits of one's labor and giving to another?

BECK: You want that?

ALLISON: Well, to say it short, he was absolutely appalled with that kind of an idea. That was socialism. And he was for the protection — the equal protection of property.

BECK: There is a difference between — none of the founders ever talked about social justice. That is a 20th century term. That's not a spiritual term. That's a socialist term that has been perverted in our churches.

None of them were for anything like that, but all charitable — they believed in — pull yourself up. You make your own way. Is there any — do you have anything that shows George Washington's charitable side, where he was helping others?

ALLISON: This man gave a tremendous portion of his wealth to care for the unfortunate, very tender hearted for the soldiers that served under his command. Beautiful stories...

BECK: His wife went — we have to take a break. But his wife went to Valley Forge and she would make them pants and shirts.

ALLISON: That's right.

BECK: They didn't even have pants and she would make them. I guess they didn't have to have the government come and tell them how to do it. We'll be back in just a minute.

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BECK: Rob, in the front row, you have a question.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: It seems that things never change. Andrew, I think you said earlier that Congress tried to weasel out of paying our troops. How did we end up paying for the war?

ALLISON: Well, the problem was that Congress — at that point, we didn't have our Constitution. All they could do was make requests of the states to provide funds. And finally, they began to come in, you know, after the victory was assured that it was — it took a long time and there was a lot of suffering.

BECK: Dennis?

AUDIENCE MEMBER: I wanted to know — do we know who George Washington voted for to succeed him and why?

TAYLOR: Well, the electors voted and he wasn't an elector, so he had no vote.

BECK: He didn't vote? He didn't have a vote?

ALLISON: They weren't popularly elected the way that they are today.

BECK: Oh, my gosh. How weird.

ALLISON: The Electoral College is what elected them. And no public official can be an elector.

BECK: But who played the role of ACORN under that system?

(LAUGHTER)

ALLISON: It's in the book.

BECK: Who else? Who else had a question?

AUDIENCE MEMBER: This is more point of information. First of all, thank you for the book. I love it already. You mentioned Valley Forge and we're all familiar with Valley Forge.

But you might — I wonder if in your book you indicate that Morristown, New Jersey, which is where we're from, was the military capital of the revolution because of the strategic location between continental Philadelphia and British-ruled New York.

And also, George Washington and the Continental Army were in camp. They are in more than one occasion. Is that part of your information in the book?

BECK: Oh, yes. And you talk about — you talk about a lot. I was surprised. Most people just think Valley Forge — oh, it was a bad winter. Oh, no, no, no. It wasn't just in Pennsylvania. It was in New Jersey, too.

ALLISON: I mean, a few years later, they went through the same thing again.

BECK: Horrible. Horrible. Horrible. And to think that these — you know, one thing that's in the book, too, is Washington trying to keep people convinced — losing men, freezing, no pants, nothing. And nobody is helping and then, they're just — they're like, "Yes. You know what? I'm done. My time is up serving."

And the struggle he had to try to keep people. OK, fight, fight, fight — one more round with me, will you? I mean, he was amazing, truly the indispensable man. George Washington.

On August 28, I'm going to Washington, D.C., and I'm going to be at the feet of Abraham Lincoln and facing the Washington monument. Everybody tries to fix the Capitol. I'm telling you, the Capitol will fix itself if we just stand between Washington and Lincoln and try to be those people restore honor in the country. We'll be fixed. We'll be right back in just a second.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: The audience requested that I use a pipe seeing that I'm with eggheads. Everybody in the audience is going to get a copy of this t-shirt, the hope t-shirt, and everybody gets a copy of "The Real George Washington." Read this book. It's fantastic.

You can find out more information at "GlennBeck.com." And sign up for "Fusion" magazine. You're going to get Andrew's article on George Washington. We'll see you again.

From New York, good night, America.

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