Upworthy's book GOOD PEOPLE, now available - take a look!

Shop
 Explore 

george washington

Pop Culture

SNL's latest 'Washington's Dream’ sketch hilariously skewers the quirks in American English

Nate Bargatze is back as Washington for the second time.

via SNL/YouTube

Nate Bargatze and Kenan Thompson star in SNL's follow-up to "Washington's Dream."

In 2023, “Saturday Night Live” struck gold with a historical sketch where, in 1776, then-General George Washington laid out his dream for the future of America after the Revolutionary War. The twist is that his dream is to promote a series of nonsensical American cultural quirks, such as the refusal to adopt the metric system and the arbitrary ways American English differs from the UK’s.

The sketch was a great send-up of the cultural differences that separate Americans from their cousins across the pond and stand-up comedian Nate Bargatze, as Washington, delivered them in a pitch-perfect deadpan.

The sketch was the second most popular from SNL season 49 and introduced the low-key stand-up comedian to a much wider audience. On October 5, 2024, Bargatze returned to host SNL and once again donned the powdered wig as Washington. This time, America’s first president addressed his troops, played again by Mikey Day, Kenan Thompson and Bowen Yang, about his dream for America from a boat crossing the Delaware.

In the second “Washington’s Dream” sketch, the general tells his soldiers that he hopes the new country will "do our own thing with the English language."

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

"I dream that one day, our great nation will have a word for the number 12. We shall call it a dozen," Bargatze's Washington says.

"And what other numbers will we have a word for?" a soldier asks.

"None," Washington replies. "Only '12' shall have its own word because we are free men, and we will be free to spell some words two different ways." Which ones? "Doughnut, and the name 'Jeff'," he explains, noting that there’s "the short way with the J and the stupid way with the G."

Washington also plans to differentiate some living animals from those on our plates. "We will also have two names for animals: One when they're alive and a different one when they become food," Washington explains. "So cows will be 'beef.' Pigs will be 'pork.'"

"And chickens, sir?" Yang asks. "That one stays. Chickens are 'chicken'," says Washington. "And we will create our own foods, and name them what we want. Like the hamburger."

"Made of ham, sir?" Day asks. "If it only were that simple," Washington adds. "A hamburger is made of beef, just as a 'buffalo wing' is made of chicken." However, he assures his troops that a hot dog is not made from man’s best friend. "A real American would never want to know what's in a hot dog, just as they will never know why."

Just like the original “Washington’s Dream,” the sketch was co-written by cast member Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell, with Mike DiCenzo.

The bit was initially conceived by SNL writer Seidell, who was surprised by how well the counterintuitive casting worked. “I forget who we originally wrote it for, but it was very much a dramatic actor who would play more of a serious Washington,” he told Indiewire. “You can see that version of it, but in hindsight Nate was the perfect person to do it because it had this charm that I don’t know that it would have with a real powerful George Washington. An Academy Award-winning actor might have taken it too seriously.”

Here is the original "Washington's Dream" sketch:

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

SNL will return on Saturday, October 12, featuring host Ariana Grande and a musical performance by Stevie Nicks.

From Your Site Articles

saturday night live

It's no secret that it's a difficult time to be Muslim in the United States.

Take for example the rising rates of anti-Muslim hate crimes. Or the recent Supreme Court ruling upholding the Muslim ban. Or the misguided "anti-Sharia" marches that descend upon U.S. cities several times a year. Or the time when President Trump told CNN that he believes "Islam hates us."

As a result, a lot of Muslims feel as if they're treated as outsiders or enemies of the state.

But believe it or not, Islam has been a part of the U.S. since its founding.

Few people know that the first nation to recognize America's independence from Great Britain was a Muslim country.

In 1777, Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah — the Muslim ruler of Morocco — wrote a letter to Benjamin Franklin, the U.S. minister to France at the time. The letter let Franklin know that the newly formed country was welcome to use Morocco's trade ports at any time. This made Morocco the first country to seek diplomatic relations with and formally recognize our independence.

— (@)

And that was just the beginning of a long friendship with Morocco.

A few months after George Washington was inaugurated as our first president, he wrote a letter to ben Abdallah expressing his desire to establish a friendship between the two countries. As a new nation, the U.S. had great difficulty accessing ports in the North African region without coming across pirates and rival ships, and the sultan offered protection and also to spread the good word about the U.S. to neighboring North African countries.

A few years later in 1786, the Moroccan-American Treaty of Friendship was signed by ben Abdallah, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams, among other American diplomats. Today, it's still considered the longest standing unbroken treaty between the United States and any other country.

But as we celebrate the U.S.'s 242nd birthday, let's not forget that Muslims still contribute to American society in modern times, too.

On July 4, a non-profit research group in Washington, D.C. called the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) released their "Muslims for American Progress" report, which features notable Muslim-American figures and their contributions to this country.

Photo by Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images.

Here's a selection of Muslim contributions highlighted by the ISPU report:

1. Muslims contribute 33% more than the national average in charitable donations.

While just under 769,000 Muslims live in New York City, they donated more than $608 million to charity in 2016. But it's not just money, either — these Muslims also donated about 124,370 pounds in food and 5,500 backpacks in 2017.

2. Muslims have been essential to economic growth and job creation.

In 2016, there were 95,816 Muslim-owned small businesses in NYC, employing a total of at least 251,864 people. Furthermore, Muslim households in the city contributed to approximately $17 billion in consumer spending.

3. Muslim medical professionals contribute a lot to the community.

According to the report, 9.7% of all doctors in NYC are Muslim. In addition to health care providers, Muslim lab technicians and other medical professionals facilitate 6.4 million patient appointments.

But more importantly, a lot of these health care professionals work to serve homeless populations and underprivileged and low-income communities.

Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images.

It's vital now more than ever to use facts like these — as well as the stories behind them — to challenge anti-Muslim stereotypes.

The ISPU compiled the report in response to the alarming fact that more than 80% of media coverage on Muslims and Islam is negative. The context in which Muslims are depicted in U.S. media often fixates almost entirely on terrorism and national security. But that's not an accurate portrait of the Muslim community at all.

"In New York City alone we found Muslims at the forefront of the economy, philanthropy, education, accessible healthcare, STEM, groundbreaking arts, etc," Elisabeth Becker, the report's NYC principal investigator, says via email. But most Americans lack an understanding of this Muslim diversity because they get most of their portrayals through entertainment and media. That's what the ISPU hopes to change.

"We believe that combing quantified data and human stories on these impacts provides a much deeper lens into the realities of Muslim life," says Becker. "In so doing, we can begin to chip away at stereotypes and undermine dominant narratives that erroneously equate Muslims with threat."

Some strides have lately been made to portray Muslims more accurately in media and entertainment.

A lot of celebrity figures like Sarah Silverman and Gigi Hadid have been using their platforms to speak against Islamophobia. Hollywood has been working hard to include Muslim actors or diverse and relatable people like "The Daily Show's" Hasan Minhaj or "The Bold Type's" Adena El Amin.

As Muslim representation in media increases, and as groups like the ISPU work hard to change perception of the Muslim community, we can expect that non-Muslim Americans' understanding of their Muslim neighbors will continue to grow.

Fortunately, for now, the future is looking bright.

From Your Site Articles

Ahead of President Obama's final speech, a look back at some important lessons.

On Sunday, Jan. 10, President Barack Obama will travel to Chicago to deliver his farewell address to the nation.

The farewell address is a tradition dating all the way back to George Washington himself. The address has historically provided outgoing presidents with an opportunity to publicly reflect on their successes and failures, as well as to share a bit of unique wisdom with both their successor and with the general public as a whole.

"Since 2009, we've faced our fair share of challenges, and come through them stronger," wrote President Obama on the White House website. "That's because we have never let go of a belief that has guided us ever since our founding — our conviction that, together, we can change this country for the better."

— (@)

One of the most interesting aspects of the farewell address is how, as a concept, it's such a contradiction in terms of the president's power and influence.

Usually delivered just days before a successor is set to take office, the farewell address comes at what is arguably the low point in any president's administration in terms of actual policy influence — and yet, these addresses have typically been imbued with such candidness that they become powerful in a whole new way.

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images.

1. George W. Bush shared a message of compassion and understanding for immigrants.

"In the face of threats from abroad, it can be tempting to seek comfort by turning inward. But we must reject isolationism and its companion, protectionism. Retreating behind our borders would only invite danger," Bush warned.

While much of President Bush's speech focused heavily on the importance of national defense and vigilance about preventing future terrorist attacks, at one point during the address, he focused on the very concept of what it means to be American:

Photo by Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune Herald, Pool.

2. Bill Clinton urged future generations to embrace equality "in our hearts and in our laws."

"As we become ever more diverse, we must work harder to unite around our common values and our common humanity," implored Clinton in his speech.

During his administration, President Clinton's record on equality was somewhat mixed. As the president who signed both the Defense of Marriage Act (which preemptively blocked same-sex marriages) and the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy (which prohibited gays, lesbians, and bisexuals from serving openly in the armed forces) into law, his farewell address hinted at a bit of regret when it came to social equity:

Photo by AFP/AFP/Getty Images.

3. Ronald Reagan used his address to remind the country why city walls must have doors that are open to everyone.

"I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it," Reagan said in his speech. "In my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, windswept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity."

"And if there had to be city walls," he said, "the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That's how I saw it, and see it still."

Reagan's address mostly centered on his successes in office, focusing on economic gains and the U.S.'s role in ending the Cold War, but also included a word of advice for when the going gets tough or problems seem overwhelming

Photo by J. David Ake/AFP/Getty Images.

4. Jimmy Carter played up the importance of defending the human rights of all people in the success of America.

"Those who hunger for freedom, who thirst for human dignity, and who suffer for the sake of justice, they are the patriots of this cause," said Carter during his address.

His anti-isolationist message touched on the U.S.'s role in ensuring that people around the world are treated with dignity, respect, and basic human rights. Carter urged Americans to be a force for good in the world, extending far beyond geographic borders.

Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images.

5. George Washington warned us of the dangers of partisanship, a message that remains incredibly relevant.

"I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the State, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations," wrote Washington. "Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party generally."

Despite having been delivered more than 220 years ago, Washington's address is perhaps the most prescient for 2017 and beyond. Political parties can serve as coalitions for individuals with similar goals. As President Washington warned, however, they can also lead to despotism. Now, in 2017, as the country's 45th president is about to be inaugurated, it seems our attachment to these political parties has done just that: empowered a despot.

Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images.

Party allegiances today have even chipped away at the very concept of facts. Should a Democrat say the sky is blue, expect that a Republican will be there to dispute the assertion, and vice versa. It often feels as though the parties are no longer working toward common interests and solutions, but rather, a very dangerous game of one-upmanship, the most obvious example being the rush for Congress and the PEOTUS to repeal President Obama's landmark health care bill, which could boot up to 30 million people off their health insurance.

President Washington warned us. It's not too late to listen to what he — and our other past presidents — had to say.

From Your Site Articles

George Washington.

This guy, amiright? Portrait by William Matthew Prior/Wikimedia Commons.

The father of our country — and a complicated man.

On the one hand, he defeated a global superpower in war, helped usher the world's first modern federal democratic republic into existence, and single-handedly established a system of peaceful presidential succession. Total pro moves.

Dude was literally money. Photo by the U.S. government/Wikimedia Commons.

On the other hand, dude owned literally hundreds of slaves. Definite negative 1,000.

Painting by Junius Brutus Stearns/Virginia Museum of Art.

But on the issue of religious freedom, Washington was on point.

Jewish immigrants on their way to New York City in 1887. Image by Frank Leslie/Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper.

Witness this amazing letter he wrote in 1790 to the largest Jewish community in America at the time, the Hebrew congregation of Newport, Rhode Island. The Newport Jews had sent a message to Washington, basically congratulating him on being awesome.

A few days later, Washington responded(emphasis mine):

Gentlemen:

While I received with much satisfaction your address replete with expressions of esteem, I rejoice in the opportunity of assuring you that I shall always retain grateful remembrance of the cordial welcome I experienced on my visit to Newport from all classes of citizens.

The reflection on the days of difficulty and danger which are past is rendered the more sweet from a consciousness that they are succeeded by days of uncommon prosperity and security.If we have wisdom to make the best use of the advantages with which we are now favored, we cannot fail, under the just administration of a good government, to become a great and happy people.

The citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy — a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship.

It is now no more that toleration is spoken of as if it were the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights, for, happily, the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.

It would be inconsistent with the frankness of my character not to avow that I am pleased with your favorable opinion of my administration and fervent wishes for my felicity.

May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants — while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid.
May the father of all mercies scatter light, and not darkness, upon our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in His own due time and way everlastingly happy.

G. Washington

Here was the president of the United States telling one of his country's most vulnerable religious minorities: You're safe here.

Photo by Bain News Service/Library of Congress.

Not only "tolerated," but endowed with rights — to live safely and worship freely — that can't be taken away by anyone.

For that reason, Washington's letter is read by many American Jews on Passover to this day.

These days, there are some loud voices who want to shut the doors that Washington wanted to keep open.

Thanks in no small part to President Washington's example, America's Jews are doing pretty OK these days. We do suffer a disproportionate number of religiously motivated hate crimes, but we're also pretty prosperous, educated, and integrated.

We've even got our own popular dating app.

However, with a massive refugee crisis rocking Europe and the Middle East, a leading presidential candidate...

Not naming names, not saying who. Photo by Mark Makela/Getty Images.

...has called for members of the world's second-largest faith — an impossibly diverse community of over a billion people — to be banned from entering the United States.

Over 30 governors have spoken out against resettling Syrians in their states.

Others have proposed admitting refugees, but only Christians.

These voices are, essentially, calling for a religious test in order to establish who can and cannot be American.

In times like these, we'd all do well to remember what President Washington said back in 1790:

"May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants — while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid. May the father of all mercies scatter light, and not darkness, upon our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in His own due time and way everlastingly happy."

More than anything, that's who we are.

On Passover, a day when Jews all over the world celebrate their liberation from tyranny, it's especially important to remember.

A Passover seder at the White House in 2011. Photo by The White House/Flickr.

Here's to making sure America remains a place where people of all nationalities and all faiths are welcome, safe, and free to sit "under their own vine and fig tree."

Happy Pesach.

From Your Site Articles

Thomas Jefferson once wrote that black people are inferior to whites. Here's my response.

In my American history class, I heard lots of stories about the men who founded this country.

I was taught that men like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison personified the best of what our country had to offer. They saved us from imperialistic rule in order to build a country predicated on freedom.

Our Founding Fathers. Photo via iStock.

They made America what it is today.

But what I didn't know: 12 presidents of the United States owned slaves, eight of those while they were in office.

Those eight included George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, John Tyler, James K. Polk, and Zachary Taylor.

This poem is my letter to the first five of them:

History Reconsidered

Letter to five of the presidents who owned slaves while they were in office.

George Washington—when you won the revolution how many of your soldiers did you send from the battlefield to the cotton field? How many had to trade in their rifles for plows? Can you blame the slaves who ran away to fight for the British because at least the Redcoats were honest about their oppression?

Thomas Jefferson—when you told Sally Hemings that you would free her children if she remained your mistress did you think there was honor in your ultimatum? Did you think that we wouldn’t be able to recognize the assault in your signature? Does raping your slave when you disguise it as bribery make it less of a crime? When you wrote the Declaration of Independence did you ever intend for black people to have freedom over their bodies?

James Madison—when you wrote to Congress that black people count as three-fifths of a person how long did you have to look at your slaves to figure out the math? Was it easy to chop them? Did you think they’d be happy being more than half human?

James Monroe—when you proposed sending slaves back to Africa, did black bodies feel like rented tools? When you branded them did the scars on their chest include an expiration date? When you named the country Liberia, were you trying to be ironic? Does this really count as liberation?

Andrew Jackson—was the Trail of Tears not enough for you? Was killing Cherokee, Choctaw, Creeks, and Seminoles not enough to quench your imperialism? How many brown bodies do you have to bulldoze before you can call it “progress”?

Mr. Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson—when you put your hand on the bible and swore to protect this country let’s be honest in who you were talking about. When the first Independence Day fireworks set the sky aflame, don’t forget where we were watching from.

So when you remember Jefferson’s genius, don’t forget the slaves who built the bookshelves in his library. When you remember Jackson’s victories in war, don’t forget what he was fighting to preserve. When you sing that this country was founded on freedom don’t forget the duet of shackles dragging against the ground.

My entire life I have been taught how perfect this country was. But no one ever told me about the pages torn out of my textbooks. How black and brown bodies have been bludgeoned for three centuries, but find no place in the curriculum.

Oppression doesn’t disappear just because you decided not to teach us that chapter. If you only hear one side of the story, at some point you have to question who the writer is.

What we learn in our history classes doesn’t tell us the full story of our country’s relationship with race.

Take Jefferson, for example. In his book, "Notes on the State of Virginia," our third president wrote that black people were "inferior to the whites in the endowment both of body and mind" and "that in imagination, they are dull, tasteless, and anomalous."

Yes, Jefferson was an American leader ... but he was also a slave owner. Photo via iStock.

He wrote that black men did not have the capacity to sustain complex emotions. And he also believed that black people did not possess the creative or intellectual acumen to create art, writing that Phyllis Wheatley (who is considered to be the first published black American poet) produced work that was "below the dignity of criticism."

Jefferson, in large part, serves as a microcosm for how American history is often taught — myopic, one-dimensional, and not illuminative of the whole truth of our nation’s past. We need to more seriously grapple with the complicated, and often contradictory, parts of our history if we want to be more honest about how we can effectively move forward.

We are in the midst of a moment where the conversation around race in this country has been brought to the forefront of our political discourse — as it should be.

The problem, however, is that if we don’t understand the historical context that has shaped our contemporary racial dynamics, then we can’t fully understand the totality of the problem, and thus we risk misdiagnosing the solution.

From Your Site Articles