Existing comment:
If the men of America are allowing the home of its most respected hero to go to ruin, why can't the women of America band together to save it? Accepting this challenge, Ann Pamela Cunningham, a mild-mannered 37-year-old from rural South Carolina, founded the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association in 1853 with the express purpose of saving Washington's home for future generations. In order to raise $200,000 -- an incredible sum in the pre-Civil War period -- to purchase the rapidly-declining Mansion from the Washington family, Miss Cunningham and her original board of 12 determined women organized a campaign that would captivate the entire nation. In doing so, they planted the seeds for the preservation movement in America.
Edward Everett, one of the greatest speakers of his age, tirelessly traveled the nation, delivering two-hour orations on the first President and designating his lecture feeds to the purchase of Mount Vernon. |