The Return of George Washington, 1783-1789, By Edward J. Larson, a Review

By James Barasch on March 7, 2015

Even the most well-known and lauded figures of history have had periods in their lives that were less well known and well examined than others. No man has become more symbolic of the early United States than the “indispensable man,” George Washington, whose fame and near-deification began before his death and meteorically rose commensurate with the ascendance of American global influence. His heroic leadership of both the Continental Army during eight long years of revolutionary conflict (1775-1783), and of the new Federal government as the first President of the United States (1789-1797), has easily established him as one of the great and influential men of history. It is the far less glorious but no less critical intervening years that occupy “The Return of George Washington, 1783-1789,” by Pulitzer Prizewinning historian Edward J. Larson.

There was no more reluctant leader than Washington, who frequently expressed to politician, soldier and friend alike, his desire to enjoy life as a gentleman planter in the Virginia tidewater. Whether this was a clever political ploy or a true reflection of the heart is up for debate, but Larson admirably uses 18th century source material to paint a wonderfully personal, intimate and human picture of a great-minded, visionary man who time and again performed great duties and made personal sacrifices for his country with an abundance of humility and little complaint. Even after the monumental victory at Yorktown in 1780, the Revolutionary War dragged on for three more dreadful years, further ruining the threadbare finances of a powerless and disorganized Continental Congress that relied on the beneficence of the fiercely independent states thanks to the Articles of Confederation. Underpaid, underappreciated, and angry, many in the Continental Army itself wished to march on Philadelphia and install one of their own as military governor. Washington, in one of his last heroic acts as General, skillfully defused the crisis and soon afterward stunned the world by resigning his military commission to Congress and rode home to his beloved Mount Vernon, writing both publicly and privately of his wish to live the rest of his days in well-deserved ease.

The country, though, was rapidly disintegrating, and despite himself, Washington kept close watch on national politics through his network of well-placed friends, former Army aides, and other informants. He watched with increasing horror as the country he and so many others had fought so hard to free, risked dissolution by the centrifugal forces of regionalism, a lack of leadership, and economic depression. An advocate of a strong balanced government, Washington lent his vast moral support to calling a Constitutional Convention in 1787, even though it would later require his attendance as its President. Through skillful use of his personal gravitas and understated social expertise, Washington played a key role in guiding the Convention to its far-from-inevitably successful conclusion. As Larson argues, many of Washington’s own views, quietly and privately expressed, found expression in the resulting document. The triumphant end of the Convention was bittersweet for Washington, as his moral authority was once again required for the Constitution’s ratification via his promise to serve as the new government’s first President. Ever the consummate political actor, as well as genuinely reluctant, Washington remained at Mount Vernon until representatives of the new Congress delivered the results of his unanimous election and bade him begin a journey to take his place in the President’s chair and in history.

Edward Larson rises admirably to the challenge of tackling such an influential and well-documented life as that of George Washington. Lovingly peeling the way the centuries of hagiography and legend, Larson reveals a more human Washington, plagued by doubt, indecision and reluctance, and thus a far more relatable leader. Utilizing the vast primary source material of Washington’s public and private letters, diaries and papers, Larson sheds much-needed light on a little-known part of Washington’s vastly successful career.

Rating: *****+

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