GEOFF BENNETT: As our country observes the 250th# anniversary of the Declaration of Independence## this year, Judy Woodruff is kicking off a new# chapter in her series America at a Crossroads.

AMNA NAWAZ: This year, she will explore# what it means to be an American,## how that idea has evolved since the nation's# founding, and where we might be headed.

She begins by looking at how closely# our identity as Americans hews to the## template created by war hero and# first President George Washington.

LINDSAY CHERVINSKY, Presidential Historian:# We refer to this as our smoking gun letter,## because you can start to see him# thinking about the fact that,## because he's an American, he's# actually a second-class citizen.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Inside a temperature-controlled# vault, historian Lindsay Chervinsky is showing me## a letter written by a then 25-year-old commander# of the Virginia regiment, George Washington.

He'd been fighting alongside the British# during the French and Indian War and was## angry at the lack of royal commissions# for him and his fellow Virginia officers.

LINDSAY CHERVINSKY: When you think about what it# means to be a full-fledged citizen, we think about## economic participation, political participation,# but also can you advance on your own merits?

And he has this realization early that# he's not going to in the British system.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Nearly two decades before the# American Revolution, Washington foreshadowed## the collision with Britain that would lead# to the creation of the United States and our## identity as Americans, a question that, 250# years later, many continue to wrestle with.

EMILY CHAFFIN, Mesa, Arizona: Being an American## means being able to pursue life# liberty and happiness unimpeded.

RICHARD WATKINS, Memphis, Tennessee:# Believing in those ideals that were set up## at the founding of our nation,# that's what being an American is.

JUDY WOODRUFF: We asked our viewers about being an## American and the responsibilities# that come with that identity.

JEN THISSEN, St.

Paul, Minnesota: In# order to be a citizen, that is an active## job description.

You need to learn.

You need# to understand.

And you need to participate.

KATHLEEN SINCLAIR CANNULI, San Jose, California:# To live by who got elected, all the various## viewpoints that people have, you don't have to# embrace them, but you have to live with them.

IAIN BURNETT, Raleigh, North Carolina:# We are a nation of immigrants.

And## except for those that are fully# Native American, at some point,## in the last 15 generations,# our ancestors immigrated here.

TONYA BAXTER, Grapevine, Texas: We're the# beacon on the hill.

Everybody wants to come## here.

Everybody has opportunity, no matter who# you are.

Come, do your best, and you can succeed.

LINDSAY CHERVINSKY: There was never one answer# to the question of, what is an American?

JUDY WOODRUFF: Chervinsky is the# executive director of the George## Washington Presidential Library and the# author of two books on the founding fathers,## including "The Cabinet: George Washington# and the Creation of an American Institution."

LINDSAY CHERVINSKY: They didn't necessarily# agree amongst themselves as to what was## the ideal American, what was the# right culture, the right religion,## the right economy, who belonged in that equation.

And from the founding, of course,# most people of color were excluded,## most women were excluded, Native Americans# were seen as sort of a separate entity.

And## then over the course of American history,# this has evolved and changed.

So it should## give comfort to people that we# have never had a clear answer.

JUDY WOODRUFF: After the# Revolutionary War was over,## Washington returned here to# his estate at Mount Vernon.

LINDSAY CHERVINSKY: He had# about 8,000 acres when he died.

JUDY WOODRUFF: The nascent nation was struggling# under the weak Articles of Confederation.

And in## 1787, Washington became a delegate to the# Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.

The view that emerged was that this country,## rather than 13 squabbling colonies,# needed a strong central government.## Why did George Washington come to# believe that was the right answer?

LINDSAY CHERVINSKY: Well, they believed that# they needed a strong central government,## but they also believed that they needed# what they called an energetic executive.## Washington and many of the other military# officers understood how inept Congress was,## because it had failed to raise money for the army.

And so they really believed in a# stronger national government.

They## were sort of early nationalists# in a true sense of the word.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Washington supported ratification# of the new Constitution that created branches## of government, Congress in Article I and# an executive or president in Article II.

LINDSAY CHERVINSKY: Everyone knew that, if this# worked, he was going to be the first president.

JUDY WOODRUFF: No dissension?

LINDSAY CHERVINSKY: No dissension.

Ever.. And so when we look at Article II, it's very# short, especially compared to Article I. And## I think and I think a lot of historians# believe that a lot of the silence there is## because they just figured he would figure# it out once in office, and they trusted## him to establish precedents and norms that# would be good for the future of the nation.

JUDY WOODRUFF: As president, Washington was# committed to civilian control of the military,## the peaceful transition of power, and the# idea that everyone is held to the same laws.

But as a wealthy landowner in Virginia, Washington# also embodied the contradictions at the heart of## our founding documents, including the# idea that all men are created equal,## while codifying enslaved people as unequal,# including the more than 300 people enslaved## by George and Martha Washington at Mount Vernon# at the time of George Washington's death in 1799.

LINDSAY CHERVINSKY: They continued to sort of buy# and sell without thinking about the implications## for the people that they were buying and# selling until the revolution.

And then,## in the record, we can see a pretty distinct# shift in how Washington thinks about slavery.

First, he is interacting with free Black# communities in places like Philadelphia## and Baltimore and Boston.

He was also seeing# different types of agricultural production.## He also was interacting with ardent abolitionists,## including the Marquis De Lafayette, who was# very outspoken about his distaste for slavery.

But, lastly and I think most# importantly, by the end of the war,## some estimates suggest that about 30# percent of the Continental Army was Black.

JUDY WOODRUFF: In his will, Washington# stated that the people on his estate## that he controlled would be# free upon his wife's death.

LINDSAY CHERVINSKY: There's a lot that# he didn't do.

He didn't speak out against## slavery as president.

He did continue to# track down people who had run away.

And it## is in no way an excuse or a justification for# all of the people that he did hold in bondage.

But he knew his will was# going to be a public document,## and he knew it was going to be a major statement.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Chervinsky sees# Washington's evolution on slavery## as a reminder that the founding# fathers expected things to change.

LINDSAY CHERVINSKY: They didn't think what they# were creating was perfect.

They genuinely believed## that they were trying to create something# that was just a little bit better than## what they had had before.

They had all made# compromises to try and ensure ratification.

And they understood that there were problems they# were sweeping under the rug.

They could not figure## out how to solve the issue of slavery.# They also knew that there were problems## they couldn't possibly foresee because they# didn't have the ability to predict the future.

And I think what they hoped was, even if# the Constitution didn't survive forever,## that the republic would survive because# each generation was willing to embrace## that challenge to try and make the# nation just a little bit better.

VERONICA WILLIAMS, Paris, Tennessee:# We as Americans have found our way to## pull up our bootstraps in times of# dire need and in times of stress.

EMILY CHAFFIN: I believe the civil# rights movement was an overall success,## right.

Women's suffrage was# a success.

We can vote now.## We have basic rights.

I think that# we still have a lot of work to do.

AKSHAY SINGH, Tukwila, Washington: I# think the Congress should be expanded,## the House of Representatives should# be expanded to represent more people.

RICHARD WATKINS: We have really given up on filing# amendments to make our system more adaptable to## where the world is going, the way society is# going, particularly now in the 21st century.

ELENA SOTELO MCCRARY, San Ramon, California: I'm# still sad about the Equal Rights Amendment because## that's simple, two-paragraph language.

If that# had been adopted, it would have covered everybody.

JEN THISSEN: Thank you for your service, founding# fathers.

Great job, but now it's time to evolve.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Modern polling tells us we# are extremely divided along partisan lines,## and while feelings of pride in being# an American remain relatively high,## they have fallen significantly from# almost unanimous levels in the mid-'80s,## and those declines in the last decade have# mostly been among Democrats and independents.

LINDSAY CHERVINSKY: So this is Washington's# study.

This was his most private space when## he was here at Mount Vernon.

It was where he# did a lot of his thinking about the presidency,## where he reflected on things# like his farewell address.

JUDY WOODRUFF: In 1796, George Washington# published a farewell address that first## and foremost announced that he would# not seek a third term as president.

LINDSAY CHERVINSKY: He believed it was# essential that that first transition## happen while he was alive and happen in an# intentional way, so it would be less chaotic,## but also so that he was establishing a# precedent that presidents didn't serve for life.

JUDY WOODRUFF: The address also provided# warnings to his fellow Americans for## the future, cautioning against foreign# entanglements, regionalism, and partisanship.

LINDSAY CHERVINSKY: At this point, Washington# wasn't actually opposed to political organizing.## He was saying, don't allow political# parties to break the bonds of citizenship.

JUDY WOODRUFF: It seems so prescient today... LINDSAY CHERVINSKY: It's unbelievably prescient.

JUDY WOODRUFF: ... as we are so divided.

LINDSAY CHERVINSKY: Yes.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And, some.. LINDSAY CHERVINSKY: He did.

Our divisions and our partisan rancor have# been something.. again over the course of the last 250 years.

And# so he was certainly living it in the 1790s.

And## I don't know that he would have been terribly# surprised that it came up again and again, but## I do think that he would hope we could find a way# to put that American identity above the others.

It was a revolutionary thing to# do to form a nation based on an## idea.

Because it has survived and maybe we# have become a little bit jaded about it... JUDY WOODRUFF: Yes.

LINDSAY CHERVINS.. JUDY WOODRUFF: This visit to Mount Vernon,# reflecting on George Washington's influence on the## country to be, is just the start of our plan for# a yearlong inquiry as America observes its 250th.

We will be sitting down with more people# from across the country to ask how they## see their role as Americans, especially# at this deeply divided moment.

And we will## be looking for lessons from history to how# we begin to reach that more perfect union.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Judy# Woodruff in Mount Vernon, Virginia.