Pulitzer
Prize–winning historian Edward J. Larson recovers a crucially important—yet
almost always overlooked—chapter of George Washington’s life, revealing how
Washington saved the United States by coming out of retirement to lead the
Constitutional Convention and serve as our first president.
After
leading the Continental Army to victory in the Revolutionary War, George
Washington shocked the world: he retired. In December 1783, General Washington,
the most powerful man in the country, stepped down as Commander in Chief and
returned to private life at Mount Vernon. And yet as Washington contentedly
grew his estate, the fledgling American experiment floundered. Under the
Articles of Confederation, the weak central government was unable to raise
revenue to pay its debts or reach a consensus on national policy. The states
bickered and grew apart. When a Constitutional Convention was established to
address these problems, its chances of success were slim. Jefferson, Madison,
and the other Founding Fathers realized only one man could unite the fractious
states: George Washington. Reluctant but duty-bound, Washington rode to
Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 to preside over the Convention.
Although
Washington is often overlooked in most accounts of the period, this masterful
new history from Pulitzer Prize winner Edward J. Larson brilliantly uncovers
Washington’s vital role in shaping the Convention—and shows how it was only
with Washington’s support and his willingness to serve as president that the
states were brought together to ratify the Constitution, thereby saving the
country.
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