[close] Originally published in 1889, George Washington is the first volume in a series of biographies of the Founding Fathers and succeeding generations of like-minded Americans to be reissued. This is a welcome opportunity to remind this generation of leaders of the great story of liberty. In an age when politicians abound but statesmen are all too rare, Henry Cabot Lodge's portrayal of Washington is timelier than ever.

According to the majority of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century historians, the most remarkable event during America's founding era did not take place on battlefields, during the course of the great constitutional debates, or in the midst of diplomatic negotiations with European powers. It occurred instead when the field commander of the Continental army—Gen. George Washington—surrendered his commission to congressional authorities at Annapolis in a humble demonstration of what it means to be a leader who serves the nation instead of himself.

At the time, Washington was the idol of the country and his soldiers. The army was unpaid, and the veteran troops, well-armed and fresh from their victory at Yorktown, were eager to have him take control of the disordered country. Some wanted to make him a king. Others thought to make him a dictator—like Cromwell had been a century earlier in England. It was clear to all that Washington was "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen."