Home /

Founding Fathers

(Courtesy of Joe Ravi)

Founding Fathers: A July 4th Reflection

COVID-19 continues to rage across wide swathes of America. Necessary social distancing prevents traditional picnics and cookouts. Meanwhile, a national wave of protests spurred by the killing of George Floyd has initiated a discussion of our history, specifically our country’s legacy of racism and slavery. This Independence Day will be very different.

Jean Leon Gerome Harris, George Washington Visiting Bartram's Gardens in 1787 (Courtesy of Smithsonian American Art Museum)

Plants & America: A July 4th Reflection

Every summer, near the Fourth of July, I try to read a history of the American Revolution or a biography of a founding father. This period has long captivated my imagination: Enlightenment thinkers led a young nation discovering its identity.