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George Washington: The Political Rise of America's Founding Father
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About This Book
A fascinating and illuminating account of how George Washington became the single most dominant force in the creation of the United States of America, from award-winning author David O. Stewart Washington's rise constitutes one of the greatest self-reinventions in history. In his midtwenties, this third son of a modest Virginia planter had ruined his own military career thanks to an outrageous ego. But by his midforties, that headstrong, unwise young man had evolved into an unassailable leader chosen as the commander in chief of the fledgling Continental Army. By his midfifties, he was unanimously elected the nation's first president. How did Washington emerge from the wilderness to become the central founder of the United States of America? In this remarkable new portrait, award-winning historian David O. Stewart unveils the political education that made Washington a master politician—and America's most essential leader. From Virginia's House of Burgesses, where Washington learned the craft and timing of a practicing politician, to his management of local government as a justice of the Fairfax County Court to his eventual role in the Second Continental Congress and his grueling generalship in the American Revolution, Washington perfected the art of governing and service, earned trust, and built bridges. The lessons in leadership he absorbed along the way would be invaluable during the early years of the republic as he fought to unify the new nation.
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Reviews
"He does not flinch from the cruelty of American slavery and Washington's part in it, but situates him in the time and place of his origins rather than in ours."
"A must for fans of biographies."
"Stewart's balanced portrait of Washington also includes uncomfortable details about his treatment of his slaves, whom he verbally abused and actively prevented from filing legal claims that might have led to their emancipation."
"examines in detail and with excellent analysis how Washington developed the political skills that would serve him during both war and peace ..."
"I couldn't shake the feeling that this book is a bit of a missed opportunity—to articulate the improbability that one man, within a short period of time, could win a war against the most powerful empire on earth, relinquish that power, bring 13 disparate colonies together, stand as their first leader, and ensure the new nation's survival."
"Stewart closes with an analysis of Washington's ambivalent distaste for slavery and his posthumous freeing of his own enslaved workers."
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