Objectives:

• Students will step into the role of George Washington to decide on a historical event, using primary and secondary sources
• Students will decide on a solution and reflect on their choice using source material
• Students will compare eighteenth-century events with nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first century decisions.

In this lesson, developed by and included with the permission of George Washington’s Mount Vernon, students will use the Be Washington simulation and primary and secondary sources to consider the following prompt:

If you were Washington, and it was within your power, would you suspend the tax, let local officials handle the enforcement of the tax, or use military force? Why?

Access the Be Washington simulation on Mount Vernon’s website: http://play.bewashington.org.

Access this lesson and accompanying materials on Mount Vernon’s website: https://www.mountvernon.org/education/lesson-plans/lesson/be-washington-whiskey-rebellion/.