All language subtitles for Ancient Aliens S03E11 Aliens and The Founding Fathers 720p

A star gate encoded in the
dome of our nation's Capitol...

Strange symbols found on our
most famous monuments...

And a mysterious flying disc

appearing in a painting
of George Washington.

What is the meaning behind
secret messages found throughout

our nation's capital?

And might there be more to America's
origins than we've been told?

CHRIS PITTMAN: For Benjamin Franklin,
belief in extraterrestrials

was part of a scientific
view of the world.

BILL BIRNES: Thomas Jefferson
still remains as the highest

public official ever to make a

report of a UFO in American history.

DAVID CHILDRESS: We have to
wonder if extraterrestrials were

there monitoring our progress.

NARRATOR: Millions of people
around the world believe we have

been visited in the past by
extraterrestrial beings.

What if it were true?

Did ancient aliens really
help to shape our history?

And could extraterrestrial
forces have been behind

the founding of the
United States of America?

sync and corrected by Bellows
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Washington, D.C.
July 19, 1952.

Tensions between the United
States and the Soviet Union

are at an all time high, fueled
by the Soviets' opposition to

American involvement
in the Korean War.

At this critical juncture,
an air traffic controller at

Washington National Airport
picks up seven strange objects

on his radar screen.

But he quickly determines the
aircraft are not Soviet military.

PITTMAN: From the tower,
they were also able to see

very large bright lights,
moving very quickly

speeding away at very high
speeds, or simply disappearing.

BILL BIRNES: They didn't
just appear and go

they appeared over
the capitol building

Over the skies,
over the White House.

Over the Washington Monument

NARRATOR: Fighter jets are scrambled
to intercept the strange objects.

But as the jets close in, all
seven suddenly disappear.

PITTMAN: Some Air Force
officers reported that airmen

had tried to shoot down UFOs but
had not been able to because the

UFOs were able to fly
faster than our aircraft.

NARRATOR: Days after the
breach of capital airspace,

Major General John Samford,
Director of lntelligence for the

United States Air Force,
addressed the issue at a

Pentagon press conference.

SAMFORD: We have received and
analyzed between 1,000 and

2,000 reports.

There have been a certain
percentage that have been made

by credible observers of
relatively incredible things.

BIRNES: Washington is
capital of the United States.

So the point was to demonstrate
at the height of of the Cold

War, that they were a
power greater than us.

CHILDRESS: It's sometimes
thought that during periods

of political upheaval and
turning points and history

that these extraterrestrials
suddenly show up

NARRATOR: What were these
strange lights that penetrated

the airspace of the U.S. capital?

Could they have been, as ancient
astronaut theorists suggest,

alien craft-- sent here to

monitor this turning
point in our history?

If so, even as far back as the founding
of the United States of America?

CHILDRESS: Just prior to the
Revolutionary War, what a lot

of the scientists would do at
that time was meet once a month

during the full moon, and they

called themselves
the Lunar Society.

And Benjamin Franklin and Thomas
Jefferson were part of all this.

And they would meet to discuss
new scientific ideas, life on

other planets, and how they
could create a United States

that was different
from other countries.

NARRATOR: On July 4, 1776--
in the midst of the American

Revolution-- the colonies formally
severed their ties to England.

The men behind the movement--
the Founding Fathers-- had

risked, in the words of the
Declaration of Independence,

"their lives, their fortunes and
their sacred honor" on an ideal

and now looked to create, not just
a new nation, but a new world.

But unlike the monarchies
of Europe and Asia, the new

American government would
eventually be based on the

ancient philosophies
of Greece and Rome.

GEORGIO TSOUKALOS: When
it took you four days to get

from Virginia to New York
in the middle of the night,

with their kerosene
lamps and their candles

they read the ancient Greek classics
how did they found United States.

on principles of the ancient world.

AKRAM ELIAS: Having a bunch of men,
geniuses on their own right at all levels

gathered at one point
in time to try to

come up with a new experiment
for humanity and it is extraordinary.

The Romans used
to call it Fortuna.

Or in other words, when the
gods conspire on your behalf.

NARRATOR: After the war, on
July 16th, 1790, plans were

announced for the construction
of a national capital to be

built on the banks of
the Potomac River.

Named after George Washington,
the new nation's first president,

it would be designed

to resemble classic
Greco-Roman architecture.

But why?

What was the reason behind the
Founding Fathers' near-obsession

with the ancient world?

MICHAEL CROWE: In the 5th
century, 4th century B.C

there was a very active debate
in regard with the question

of extraterrestrial life, ***,
being Democrates and ***,

Epicurus and Lucretius

all believed in the plurality of worlds,
they all believed in extraterrestrial life.

NARRATOR: For the Founding Fathers,
this idea of the plurality of worlds,

was well-known as one of the
cornerstones of ancient philosophy.

One that was finding greater popularity
what was known in the 18th century

as the Age of Enlightenment

MARK KOLTO-RIVERA: The Enlightenment
was a social movement

that said we should look at
the universe in a rational way.

And that was the hub of
the wheel, so to speak.

And from that hub,
many spokes came out.

You had a concern with science,
and you had belief in

the plurality of worlds, which
seemed scientifically plausible.

CROWE: The Enlightenment
figures, at least half--

including scientists, political
theorists, philosophers,

literary people-- talked about

extraterrestrials in their writings.

It was very widespread
in 18th century thought.

NARRATOR: Even one of the
most prominent astronomers of

the time, William Herschel,
believed that intelligent life

existed elsewhere in the universe.

SARA SEAGER: His claim to fame is
he discovered the planet Uranus

he also discovered a couple
of moons of Jupiter,

a couple of moons of Saturn

and he build hundreds of telescopes,
including the largest one of its age.

DERRICK PITTS: It's a 40 inch reflecting
telescope, this is an enormous instrument

anywhere in the world, at that time.
So he now has the ability to

observe all sorts of
wonders of the universe

So now the idea of
the plurality of worlds,

gains credence with this
particular scientist and observer.

CROWE: Regularly in his
writings about the planets, he

referred to the inhabitants
of Jupiter, Saturn or Uranus.

NARRATOR: Herschel was
instrumental in furthering the

debate about the possibility
of extraterrestrial life.

But perhaps most influential
of all was Benjamin Franklin.

PITTMAN: Ben Franklin has
been called the first American.

He was an author
and a printer.

He was a scientist
and an inventor,

and also a politician
and a statesman.

He was a profound thinker
and an intellectual.

For Benjamin Franklin, a belief
in extraterrestrials was part of

a scientific view of the world.

NARRATOR: One way Franklin used
to disseminate his thoughts

on extraterrestrial life was
in his own publication,

the immensely popular
Poor Richard's Almanac.

STEVEN BULLOCK: In Poor
Richard's Almanac,

well, he suggests
that it's the opinion

of scientists that other planets

are habitable, that there
are beings on there.

And he presents this in a
sort of a matter of fact way

it's kind of surprising, I think,
probably even to most of the historians

the way this seems to be something
which he takes for granted,

it's just assumed that way.

TSOUKALOS: In 1728, Benjamin
Franklin wrote, "I believe that

man is not the most
perfect being, but one.

So there are many degrees of
"beings superior to him."

Franklin essentially suggested
that extraterrestrial life exists.

NARRATOR: But the ancient
philosophers were not the only

influence on the Founding
Fathers' growing openness to the

idea of extraterrestrial life.

The Native Americans
they encountered

not only shared the
belief that life exists

throughout the universe,

but even believed they were the
descendants of extraterrestrials.

WILLIAM HENRY: Benjamin Franklin
was deeply interested in the star

legends of the native americans

He was deeply connected with the
legends of the Iroquois, confederacy

DONALD A GRINDE, Jr.: Franklin's
indian treaties were pamphlets

that he published from
the 1730s to the 1760s

they frequently recorded
explanations of native culture

NARRATOR: One of Franklin's
best-selling pamphlets

chronicled the Iroquois creation
story of the Sky Woman.

GRINDE: Before Earth really
became what it is today, there

were beings that were similar
to us living in the sky.

One day, a young woman-- Sky
Woman, as she is to become--

became pregnant.

She is to go down
to the world below.

So this extraterrestrial
that lived in the sky, she

comes down, and then
the human race begins.

NARRATOR: Did America's
Founding Fathers really believe

in the possibility of life
on other planets?

And if so, was their belief
based not only on scientific

and philosophical principles,
but on firsthand experiences

with extraterrestrials?

Ancient astronaut theorists
believe that such a notion is

not only possible, but that the
evidence exists in a firsthand

account from one of George
Washington's closest aides,

and his recollection of a
strange, close encounter on

a cold winter night
at Valley Forge.

Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
Winter, 1777.

NARRATOR: It is the height of the
American Revolutionary War.

After several bloody battles
against superior British forces,

George Washington's
army is in tatters.

BULLOCK: Valley Forge is the winter
encampment of the Continental Army

the army which is set by the
nation to fight the revolution

The British had taken Philadelphia,
washing on the sides

he is gonna headquarter some 12,000
troops were outside of Philadelphia.

GRINDE: This is the darkest
time of the American Revolution

when people thought that the United
States was really not going to win

BULLOCK: Washington is trying
to figure out what he's going

to do, and trying to
keep the army together.

There's very little money.

There's almost no supplies.

They often don't have shoes.

Lots of stories of things like
bloody footprints in the snow.

NARRATOR: So severe were the
conditions that Washington wrote,

"Unless some great and

capital change suddenly takes place,

this army must inevitably
starve, dissolve or disperse."

But ultimately Washington's
will to remain at Valley Forge

forced the British to retreat

and proved to be a turning
point in the war.

What was it that sustained
Washington in these dark hours?

Some believe it was a strange
vision he received during a

moment of prayer.

BIRNES: In a moment
of absolute misery

he went off into the woods to pray.

And there in the forest, he had
this magnificent vision of a

creature garbed in white.

And this creature, call it
an extraterrestrial

call it a heavenly spirit, but it was
an otherworldly presence--

laid out for Washington
the victory that

the Continental Army would have
in the Revolutionary War against

the British, and laid out the

history of the new United
States of America.

TSOUKALOS: He sees a map of
the United States, and rain

drops onto this map, and cities

are popping up throughout
the entire country.

A model of how the United States would
look in 100 or 200 years in the future

BIRNES: Now, how
do we know this?

We know this because an aide to
General Washington lived to be

over 100 years old, told this
story to a newspaper of our

first general having
an alien encounter.

NARRATOR: Could George
Washington really have had

an extraterrestrial
visitation at Valley Forge?

Or was this just a story he
told to build up morale?

Ancient astronaut theorists
claim to have also uncovered

evidence that throughout the
Revolutionary War, George

Washington himself may have
unknowingly come in direct

contact with extraterrestrials.

CHILDRESS: One of the strangest
stories about George Washington

which allegedly comes
from diaries that he kept

that Washington would
meet occasionally

with these mysterious people
he called "Green Skins."

BIRNES: Washington sees a
green glowing ball hovering in

the tree line, and out of this,
Washington sees these small figures.

What were they?

Were they, as Washington thought

they might have been, small
Native Americans in war paint?

One theory is that these were
extraterrestrials, observing

this cataclysmic event.

PITTMAN: George Washington's vision at
Valley Forge during the Revolutionary War

is just one of the examples of a
great many stories we have

about miraculous visions
and apparitions

during times of war and bloodshed.

Some people believe that
it's during these crucial times

in human history that perhaps

aliens would be most interested
in interacting with us.

NARRATOR: Did George
Washington really encounter

green-skinned visitors and witnessed

glowing orbs at Valley Forge?

And, if so, might there be
additional evidence of alien

encounters with other
Founding Fathers?

April 5th, 1800.

The city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Astronomer William Dunbar
reports to then Vice President

Jefferson that he witnessed
a bright glowing light

the size of a large house
hovering 200 yards above ground.

PITTS: It was quite bright,
radiated a tremendous amount of

heat and crashed not so far away.

It destroyed that whole
area where it crashed

However, given the supposed size
and speed with which the object

was moving, it didn't seem
to create a crater of a size

of what it would have been
appropriate for an object like that.

PITTMAN: The details of the
sighting report make it

impossible that it could have
been a meteor; it wasn't moving

fast enough to be a meteor.

It was something unexplained,
something very unusual.

And Jefferson took this
report very seriously.

He passed this report on as he
would pass on any other account

of a scientific discovery
or a natural observation.

BIRNES: Jefferson was so
impressed by the account that

Jefferson, Vice President of the
United States, presented this to

the American Philosophical Society.

PITTS: So who was this American
Philosophical Society, anyway?

Well, it was founded by Benjamin
Franklin in Philadelphia, and it

really was the intellectual
cognoscenti of America at that time.

So here we have some of the
greatest thinkers here in the

United States, all pooled
together in one group that could

write research papers, write
philosophical papers, examine

all sorts of phenomena from
a scientific point of view.

PITTMAN: It's no
coincidence that Thomas

Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin

both believed
in extraterrestrial life.

They were men of science, they
were astronomers who studied

weather patterns.

And their belief in
extraterrestrials was part of

their scientific view of the
world and of the universe.

BIRNES: For Thomas Jefferson
to report a UFO sighting still

remains the highest public

official ever to make a report
of a UFO in American history.

NARRATOR: George Washington's
close encounter

with an otherworldly being...

Thomas Jefferson reporting
a UFO sighting...

could these incidents suggest that
the Founding Fathers not only

believed in the existence of
extraterrestrials, but actually

encountered them?

Perhaps the answer can be found
hidden in the symbols and codes

of a secret society, one to

which Washington himself
was a member.

Fredricksburg, Virginia.
1752.

20-year-old George Washington is
initiated into a secret society:

the Freemasons.

Among his fellow members are
many other Founding Fathers,

like Benjamin Franklin, John
Hancock and Paul Revere.

But what is Freemasonry?

What role did it play in the
founding of the United States?

And what meanings lie behind
their many mysterious symbols?

ELIAS: There are a lot of theories
about the true origins of Freemasonry.

What we know for a fact is that definitely
with the age of the Renaissance

this is when people decided to
start studying ancient civilizations.

And see was there any
knowledge in those

civilizations that was lost?

NARRATOR: According to experts,
the Freemasons believed in the idea

of acquiring knowledge
through largely scientific

as well as spiritual means.

In the age of Enlightenment,
this included the possibility

of extraterrestrial life.

ELIAS: Freemason was like main
vehicle, if you want, that brought

these ideas and principles of the
Enlightenment to the new world.

KOLTKO-RIVERA: You have the most
prominent citizens of the community

becoming freemasons and then
associating with one another.

They would be discussing the
major issues of the day

and certainly the speculations
about the plurality of worlds.

NARRATOR: Could the growing
belief in the possibility of

extraterrestrial life have
influenced the Founding Fathers'

vision for America?

RIVERA: In terms of the
Declaration of Independence,

there were 56 signers.

Of those, nine were
definitely Freemasons.

Concerning the signers of the
Constitution, there were 39

signers, 13 of them-- a clear
third-- were Freemasons.

NARRATOR: But does the
influence of Freemasonry

explain why Masonic values are woven

into the principles behind America's
most important documents?

And could this also explain how
and why Masonic symbols can be

found on much of the nation's
monuments and architecture?

ELIAS: In the design of
Washington, the language of

symbols is very important, and

that's where we see
connections with Freemasonry.

The original universal symbol of

Freemasonry is the
square and compass.

The compass is the main
tool of the individual.

You are at the point, and the
idea in Freemasonry is that the

individual is sovereign.

You draw a circle, using
the compass, around you.

If you go beyond the perimeter,
that's when you start to go into

knowledge and light.

The square is considered
a symbol of wisdom.

And the letter "G" stands for

the grand architect of the universe.

RIVERA: People have to
wonder whether Franklin's

beliefs about the plurality of
worlds somehow made their way

into Masonic symbolism.

The same people who were
involved in the development

of Freemasonry were very
interested in Egypt.

They were inspired by the
idea of ancient wisdom.

NARRATOR: Other Masonic symbols
found in Washington D.C.

are eerily similar to
the icons of ancient Egypt--

the sphinx, the obelisk, the pyramid
and the All-Seeing Eye.

CHILDRESS: If you were to pull
out a dollar bill right now

and look at it, you would see
that on one side is a depiction

of the Great Pyramid of Egypt with
an all-seeing eye at its apex.

This is the Great Seal of the United
States and it's an awesome

mystical symbol of the
Eye of God watching us

and also how ancient civilizations
were divine in nature.

And that the Founding Fathers

were to recreate that here
in the United States.

ELIAS: The idea is we
need a source of light

in order to help us
become enlightened.

We cannot do it alone.

Now that to the Founding Fathers

is whatever is out there
that is keeping an eye.

And there is a belief that this
experiment did not just happen.

It was necessary to help the human
condition make a major leap.

It's like the alignment of the stars,

providence was there,
watching and interacting.

NARRATOR: Why did this
group of 18th-century men

who set out to build a nation
based on principles of

logic and reason attach such
importance to pre-Christian

symbols and ancient mysticism?

And who-- or what-- did they
believe was watching over them?

God? Or something else?

According to ancient astronaut
theorists, the answer can be

found in an 1866 lithograph of
George Washington that resides

in the Library of Congress.

CHILDRESS: There's a famous painting
of George Washington as a Freemason.

And over his right shoulder is
an unusual scene of Jacob's

Ladder ascending to Heaven and

what seems to be some kind of
spaceship there in the sky.

NARRATOR: In the biblical story
of Jacob from Genesis 28th,

Jacob witnesses angels ascending

and descending a ladder from Heaven.

But in this painting, the ladder
comes not from Heaven, but out

of a dark, round object
emitting multi-colored lights.

Although Jacob's Ladder is a
popular symbol of Freemasonry,

is it possible that this image

is attempting to depict something else?

Something of an
extraterrestrial origin?

TSOUKALOS: According to the ancient
astronaut ideas, Jacob's ladder

was nothing else but a ramp or a device
with which to reach the realm of the gods.

And the gods were extraterrestrials.

NARRATOR: The square and compass...
the All-Seeing Eye...

Jacob's Ladder.

What do all these symbols reveal
about the true origins of the

United States of America?

Ancient astronaut theorists don't
only point to the presence

of Masonic symbols and
pre-Christian influences as

evidence of the Founding Fathers'
extraterrestrial connections.

They also find proof in the fact

that even the very layout of
Washington D.C. points to the stars.

Alexandria, Virginia.
1791

In a full Masonic ceremony on

the edge of the Potomac River,
George Washington lays the first

cornerstone marking the southern
boundary for what will become

the District of Columbia.

ELIAS: What happens in the
laying of the cornerstone?

Washington scattered corn.
You pour wine and pour oil.

Now, corn stands for prosperity,
oil stands for peace,

and wine stands for happiness.

BULLOCK: You have Masons
chanting in response to it.

You have an oration afterwards in which
artilleries fire during the duration.

So it's an extraordinary ceremony.

NARRATOR: According to
scholars, the nation's capital

has been steeped in ancient
symbolism since its inception.

And ancient astronaut theorists
point to the city's tallest

structure, the Washington
Monument, as proof that the

American capital was built with
a deliberate eye to the stars.

Although construction began in
1848, nearly 50 years after

George Washington's death,
the Freemasons built the

Egyptian-style monument so that
the constellation Pleiades would

be visible directly
over the giant obelisk.

PITTS: The Pleiades is a group
of seven bright stars

For the egyptians, they would use
these stars as a way to figure out

all sorts of judgments that needed
to be made in many different things

TSOUKALOS: I find it fascinating
that in the ancient world

in places of great power
and great influence

they built monuments
aligned with the Pleiades

So the fact that we find the
Washington Monument also

aligning with the Pleiades...
is that coincidence?

NARRATOR: In a city largely built
to evoke ancient cities

like Athens and Rome, is the
dominant architectural structure

based on an icon of ancient Egypt?

RIVERA: It is the largest obelisk
in the world, 555 ft high.

It draws the eye and
it draws the eye up,

We have to ask, what did the
Founding Fathers want us to see?

HENRY: The idea of the obelisk
is that it's frozen sunlight.

They believed that the energy

of the God Ra literally came
through that antenna.

The same concept is shown
here in Washington D.C,

with the Obelisk, sitting in
the center of Washington

or near the center of Washington,
bring in that energy from the stars

and radiating it out
to the sacred precinct

ELIAS: They have a
reflecting pool-- why?

To reflect the obelisk.

Washington's Monument
points to the Heavens.

With the reflecting
pool, it points below.

There is a direct correlation
between what happens here below

and what's happening up there.

NARRATOR: For ancient
astronaut theorists, it's not

just the placement of the
Washington Monument and the

Capitol Building that point to
the stars, but the layout of the

entire city, which harkens back
to ancient places like Egypt,

Greece and Rome.

RIVERA: Washington D.C.
is laid out in perfectly straight

lines, radiating from different
little hubs around the city.

They converge on places
like the Capitol Building,

the White House.

It is a revelation of clarity
that highlights the cornerstones

of American democracy.

HENRY: Washington D.C.
was conceived from the very

beginning as a sacred space.

In fact, it is a ten-by-ten
square-mile diamond matrix into

which the Founding Fathers
believed they could pour all

their Enlightenment teachings
and bring them to life within

its Capitols and its other buildings.

NARRATOR: Another Freemason,
Pierre Charles L'Enfant, was

selected by President Washington
to create a layout of the city

within the ten-mile diamond
of the District of Columbia.

He began by aligning the corners
of the square with the four

cardinal directions: north,
south, east and west.

ELIAS: It is not by coincidence.

There is a scientific rational
way of developing the

city of Washington with
geometric shapes-- circles,

rectangles, triangles-- and this
is to emphasize that this new

form of government was not
going to rely on religion...

but we're going to rely on
reason and scientific discovery.

And the design of the
city reflects that.

And there is absolutely no other
capital city in the world that

was designed like this.

There is no question that
the main triangle at the

heart of the city was very key,
and connecting the Capitol to

the White House, and then
to the Washington Monument.

NARRATOR: Some historians
believe the triangle found

in the center of Washington D.C.

represent the Masonic
symbol of the square and

compass, symbolizing the
Founding Fathers' search for

enlightenment from above.

But ancient astronaut theorists
claim beyond this triangle lies

an even more significant
geometric shape--

the shape of pentagram.

BIRNES: The interesting thing about
Jefferson's design's of Washington D.C,

was the star.

With rows emanating in all
directions from the star that

seemed to be a mirror of the
heavens, because Jefferson did

believe that the heavens were
inhabited, and he wanted

Washington D.C., not just to be
the capital of the United States

of America, but the
capital of the universe.

NARRATOR: George Washington and
Thomas Jefferson were both

expert surveyors and mapmakers,

and were hands on in the layout
and design of the new capital.

BIRNES: George Washington
and Thomas Jefferson, who

was an architect that built
Monticello, laid out Washington

D.C. with the expectation
that somehow, if there were

extraterrestrials, they would see
the image of the star at the

center of the city, and know

this was a sign that we
respected extraterrestrial life.

NARRATOR: Did the design and
placement of the Washington

Monument, Capitol Hill and the
National Mall really reflect the

Founding Fathers' belief in
extraterrestrial forces?

Perhaps the answer can be found
by a close examination of the

Capitol Building itself, and

the strange connection to other
worlds that can be found inside.

Washington D.C.,
1791.

Jenkins Hill.

Pierre L'Enfant declares this location

"a pedestal waiting for a monument."

For the next two years,
he works closely with

George Washington and Thomas
Jefferson, designing the

building that will sit at the
top of this hill and house the

United States Congress.

On September 18, 1793, the
day of the Autumn Equinox,

Washington lays the cornerstone
for the Capitol Building, and

Jenkins Hill officially becomes

Capitol Hill, the heart
of the new democracy.

HENRY: The concept of the
ancient and sacred hill

was deeply in the minds
of the Founding Fathers.

In Boston we have high hills
that were important.

We have Monticello being built
on a hill, we have Capitol Hill.

So the Founding Fathers clearly
understood the importance of the

Temple Mount concept.

NARRATOR: But was the design
and placement of the Capitol

Building directly influenced
by Washington and Jefferson's

reported contact with alien beings?

Ancient astronaut theorists point
to evidence in the form of

the statue that still sits
atop the Capitol Dome,

placed there after the current
dome was completed in 1866.

HENRY: The Freedom Statue is
a 19-and-a-half-foot-tall

statue of a goddess who actually
is morphing into an eagle.

This is very important in
ancient alien theory,

because the ancient gods were
portrayed as eagle-headed.

So it looks like freedom is being
referenced here as a star being.

NARRATOR: Inside the dome,
directly in line with the

Freedom Statue, is an empty tomb
that had been designed to hold

the remains of George Washington.

One floor above it is the crypt,
then the Capitol Rotunda, and

soaring 180 feet above
that is a painting of

Washington, looking very
much like an ancient god.

PITTS: If one goes to the Capitol Rotunda
and looks at the artwork on the ceiling

you see what is called the
"apotheosis" of Washington.

It's an enormous painting
that depicts Washington

in a very interesting setting.

HENRY: The painting was completed
by Constantino Brumidi in 1865.

The word "apotheosis" is a Greek
word that means to deify, to

raise from a man to a god man.

PITTS: You see him depicted as
you would see a god depicted.

He sits in a setting of clouds
with what look like angels

immediately surrounding him,
with a big rainbow that runs

right underneath his feet.

HENRY: When we're in the Rotunda,
the dome of the U.S. Capitol,

we are literally in
a vortex of energy.

Domes are places where
Heaven and Earth meet.

They literally are considered to

be portals or gateways to the stars.

NARRATOR: There is another
depiction of Washington that

specifically represents
him as a divine figure.

BIRNES: Congress authorized
an incredible statue

of George Washington by ***

in which he is depicted
as Zeus or Jupiter.

HENRY: The statue had several key
features that identified him

as a man of peace and a
conductor of Heaven and Earth.

His sword is offered to the
viewer of the statue, indicating

he's here in peace.

And then on the sides of the
statue you have a very important

representation of the god Apollo

riding his sun chariot or star chariot.

So the idea that we get from all
of this is that Washington is a

cosmic being who is riding

through the Heavens on
his own star chariot.

NARRATOR: Could the symbols,
monuments and alignments found

throughout Washington D.C.

be evidence that the Founding
Fathers actually believed

otherworldly beings were
instrumental if the new American

experiment in government
were to survive and prosper?

Was their interest in the stars,
and their belief in the

possibility that intelligent
life exists elsewhere in the

universe, based on the ideas of
the Enlightenment, or actual

close encounters?

PITTMAN: We've gone from Benjamin
Franklin's electricity experiments

to space travel in less than 250 years,
and it's brought about really

vast changes in American society
But what hasn't changed is that

desire to know more about space
and that desire to find out is

there really life
outside of our planet?

PITTS: Not only is the
Founding Fathers' belief in

the plurality of worlds alive
today, it also is being pursued

scientifically in a way that
they had no capability to do.

And this is a concept that has
been considered ever since the

first person looked up at the
night sky and wondered about

what's out there.

NARRATOR: Did George
Washington receive some secret

knowledge at Valley Forge that
guided him in the founding of

the United States?

Did he share this information
with other Founding Fathers,

like Thomas Jefferson
and Benjamin Franklin?

And did they, in turn, pass this
knowledge down to the men who

followed them?

If extraterrestrials really were
present during the founding of

the United States, did they
come here to watch over us?

Was there some ultimate plan?

And if so, will they
return once more?

sync and corrected by Bellows
www.addic7ed.com