George Washington: Anguish and Farewell 1793-1799 - Volume IV

An engaging, accessible biography of George Washington during the Revolutionary War. Major events such as the Conway Cabal and the defection of Benedict Arnold are treated with some detail and authorial analysis. Flexner's final evaluation of General Washington ("Cincinnatus Assayed") is excellent at presenting Flexner's conclusion on General Washington's military performance. This chapter is also quite helpful in teasing out and summarizing the multiple threads that, through the course of the conflict, led inevitably to Washington's transformation from general to president.

Okay, I admit it. One of the pleasures that I take as a leftist (not a liberal, mind you, but a leftist) in reviewing American history books is in the debunking of the hagiography that passes for the biographies of our great men. But for anyone who claims to want to look at history with a hard realist eye there is one uncomfortable fact that (like a well-aimed rock tossed by Clio herself) smacks you upside the head now and then. The truth is that there are great men and women. And that it is simply not possible to make these individuals seem small without fudging the facts. Flexner, in this his second volume of a four volume standard of American biography, makes the strongest possible case for the greatness of George Washington. Washington was a farmer, a man who delighted in his domestic life. He was also an exemplar of the classical mindset that was common among the founding generation. For these men and women, fame was to be sought as the founder of a just constitution or as the general who served his country to save it from foreign or domestic enemies not as a career or a means to power. In some ways, Flexner's Washington reminds me of his near contemporary, Tecumseh. Both men seemed to have sought power as a modality of service. Hard to even imagine in this the Era of the Millionaire Serving His Own. Among other virtues, this book serves to remind us that there are many types of patriotism and that some of them can be the foundational virtue for truly admirable lives. The structure of this book is quite brilliant. All but the last chapter is a straightforward narrative of the eight years that Washington spent as the Commander-In-Chief of the Continental Army. The last chapter, "Cincinnatus Assayed", serves as a summing up of Washington's quality as a general and an explanation of how that service prepared him for his Presidency to come. All of his points have been made by the preceding narrative and seem inconvertible. Two examples: Washington struggled throughout the war with the unstable financing of his army by the various States. Part of the problem was the fact that the continental currencies became increasingly worthless. Under the tutelage of his friend, Robert Morris, Washington gained an understanding of the need for a strong national economy and monetary system. This understanding would then influence his reaction to the Hamilton-Jefferson debates that were to largely mark Washington's Presidency. Another point that is worth pondering is how Washington's innate merciful nature served the development of a growing sense of nationalism in the various States. Whenever possible, Washington did not punish Tories, enemy soldiers, his own soldiers who violated his orders or civilians who lived in the areas where the war was being fought. He seemed to understand that if you want to win the hearts and minds of a people that it is necessary to treat them as much as possible as if they were your neighbors. Time and time again in Flexner's narr

This is the final volume in the set of four, in this series about George Washington, written by James Thomas Flexner; and the most intensely dramatic covering Washington's second term, his retirement and death.George Washington takes his oath for a second term as President of the United States, in a time when the young United States is growing following a time of relative peace and a policy of non-aggression with France and England. And grow the young Republic did, by leaps and bounds, but with this growth, evolved some discontent. Factions in the fragile government wanted to be self-serving... Hamilton's lust for power and control, contrasted by Jefferson's lack of anything having to do with a central overseeing government. All of this coupled with the growing friction between North and the South, East and West, Federalism and Republican views all differing wanting a better stake in the government. If this wasn't enough, the French Revolution... with its pro and anti French sentiments creating unrest throughout the republic.We see the ever dominent Hamilton trying to further himself at the expense of Washington... and again Jefferson wanting nothing further in the government... retiring to his Virginia agrarianism, but later both men working toward Washington's anguish and distrust. Washington wanting to retire himself and enjoy what little time he had left to him at his beloved acres... Mount Vernon.We see again Washington's self-doubts, but with his aging, his brilliance fading and his body wreaked with infirmities, we see his judgement being clouded and distrusted. This book gives us the contrasts of Washington the public figure and the private Washington... a man deeply hurt by his attackers, now apprehensive, and forced to remain in office and in power, in thought a man weakened by age. Yet his last major services to the nation were as vitally important as his previous services had been. A man that wants to retire and leave the running of the government to others... wanting the cycling of power to be peaceful... a demonstration that humanity could rule itself, the orderly relinquishment of power by one elected representative to his elected successor. This, making the cycle complete, vindication that the new government is viable.We next see Washington get his long awaited dream of retirement albeit shortlived and the freeing of his slaves as his final act to free ones bondsman. This is the most engrossing and engaging of all the books in this four volume set... knowing Washington as a man with real human emotions and feelings.I highly recommend reading this volume, but to get the whole picture, reading the four volume set is a must.What a fascinating man, brought to us in a brilliant and scholarlly work.

This is volume #2 of the four volume masterpiece written by James Thomas Flexner on the life of George Washington. As we have read previously, George Washington was content living a life at Mount Vernon with his wife and family, but the tides are turning in the life of George Washington, bringing him to the forefront of leadership... albeit woefully prepared.Now, in the skillfully written volume, we see the wartime deeds and the soul searching that Washington goes through. A man thrust from the bosom of his home and hearth, a civilian who is now to lead the Continental Army for the American Revolution. An army that is hardly an army... more like a patchwork of the American cross section of life and skills. No formal training, little leadship, under equiped was the army Washington was to have. Washington at heart loved his army as they loved him is very evident. We see Washington's mood swings here, his wild furious temper... like an untamed bull, his mistakes, indiscretions, and a great deal of personal misery... we now have the man of Washington revealed. Washington's path was that of a mortal man, not that of an Icon, a man all-to-human, frought with inadequacy. Washington has to reach down deep to keep his dream alive and instill it in the men he has to lead.And to lead he did... being out-generaled by far superior forces was the norm for Washington, but nevertheless, always on the lookout for that shread of hope to call victory. Flexner writes of Washington's failures and the anguish of what Washington felt as the battles turned against him... but we also see the resourseful resolve coming to light, learning though trial and error... becoming the master of the American Revolution and the Continental Army. But Washington never happier to be at home with his wife Martha is not forgotten either. Martha seemed to know what was really troubling Washington.I found this volume much more interesting and with an impeccable eye for detail. Written in an engrossing and an engaging style that keeps you reading to find out the tidbits left out in your school's history books.This is a solid and well documented work.

The last volume of Flexner's 4-volume biography of Washington. The complete set is a wonder. You'll feel you've watched a man struggle with ambition, pride, betrayls and extreme disappointments...and then serve his country magnificently, setting precedents for its future that time has proved almost unfailingly correct. It's not an exaggeration to say that the country's fate rested on his shoulders. When unanimously elected by Congress, he accepted the position of Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. This was before that army existed: he was THE symbol of the cause (and willing to expose himself to British retribution to further it). He could have become king (not so much in title as through use of the powers granted the president) but he consistently refused to abuse the office's powers, leadng to restraint in later presidents (no one before Roosevelt was willing to run for more terms than Washington served, for example). By my count, he single-handedly changed the course of history 5 times through his actions (in his youth, not always deliberately: he unwittingly started the French and Indian War!). At the end of this volume, if you've read the previous three, his death will be wrenching. It a great telling of a great man's life (his "final" act was in his will to free his slaves - of all the Founders, including Jefferson, only Washington took a step so revolutionary - and so true to his ideals)