Washington the Model of Character for American Youth: An Address Delivered to the Boys of the Public Schools

In the mid-19th century, American educators believed that character could be taught, and George Washington was their greatest text. This address, delivered by a Baltimore minister to the boys of public schools, transforms the first president into a comprehensive moral template for young men. M'Jilton systematically unpacks Washington's virtues: obedience to parents, affection for siblings, loyalty to friends, and unwavering duty to country and God. Knowledge alone is insufficient, he argues; true education must shape the soul. Spanning over fifty paragraphs, the address weaves together biblical language, classical virtue ethics, and nationalist fervor into a distinctly Victorian vision of American boyhood. This is not biography but engineering, instruction designed to produce smaller Washingtons in every classroom. For readers interested in 19th-century American culture, the history of education, or how earlier generations imagined the formation of citizens, this address offers a fascinating window into a world that believed character could be built, paragraph by paragraph, from the right example.