Walking Tour: New York City and the Nation's Founding

Walk through downtown NYC streets (Civic Center and Financial District) to understand the centrality of New York City to the nation’s founding — keeping in mind that New York was the nation’s first capital. Examine the New York lives of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton (his grave is here), Thomas Jefferson, and Pierre L’Enfant (the French-born New York artist who laid out Washington, D.C.). Themes to be explored are the influence of France on the new republic and the role of Greek and (especially) Roman classics on the lives and thought of the founders.