George Washington's Diaries: An Abridgment

by George Washington, Dorothy Twohig (Editor)

CULLED FROM the six volumes of The Diaries of George Washington completed in 1979, this selection of entries chosen by retired Washington Papers editor Dorothy Twohig reveals the lifelong preoccupations of the public and private man. Washington was rarely isolated from the world during his eventful life. His diary for 1751-52 relates a voyage to Barbados when he was nineteen. The next two accounts concern the early phases of the French and Indian War, in which Washington commanded a Virginia regiment. By the 1760s when Washington's diaries resume, he considered himself retired from public life, but George III was on the British throne and in the American colonies the process of unrest was beginning that would ultimately place Washington in command of a revolutionary army. Even as he traveled to Philadelphia in 1787 to chair the Constitutional Convention, however, and later as president, Washington's first love remained his plantation, Mount Vernon. In his diary, he religiously recorded the changing methods of farming he employed there and the pleasures of riding and hunting. Rich in material from this private sphere, George Washington's An Abridgment offers historians and anyone interested in Washington a closer view of the first president in this bicentennial year of his death.

453 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

George Washington was an American military leader, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first President of the United States. He is often referred to as the "Father of His Country" for the central role he played in the founding and early development of the nation.
Born into a family of Virginia planters, Washington grew up on the family's estates and received limited formal education. As a young man, he became a land surveyor, which provided him valuable knowledge of the American frontier. He began his military career in the Virginia militia during the French and Indian War, gaining experience that would later serve him during the American Revolution.
In 1775, with tensions between the American colonies and Great Britain reaching a breaking point, Washington was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army by the Second Continental Congress. Leading a force that was often underfunded, poorly equipped, and inexperienced, Washington faced a series of challenges. Despite suffering early defeats, he demonstrated resilience and strategic skill, securing important victories at Trenton and Princeton. His leadership at the Siege of Yorktown led to the surrender of British forces and ultimately secured American independence.
Following the Revolutionary War, Washington voluntarily resigned his commission and returned to private life at Mount Vernon, a move that reinforced the principle of civilian control of the military. However, the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation soon became evident, and Washington returned to public service as the presiding officer at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. His steady leadership helped facilitate the drafting and ratification of the United States Constitution.
Unanimously elected as the first President, Washington took office in 1789 and served two terms. During his presidency, he set many important precedents that would shape the role of the executive branch, including the creation of a Cabinet and the peaceful transfer of power. His leadership style emphasized unity and national identity at a time when political divisions threatened the stability of the new republic.
Washington's foreign policy was characterized by neutrality, particularly during the conflicts arising from the French Revolution. He promoted peaceful relations with foreign powers, most notably through the Jay Treaty with Great Britain. Domestically, he dealt with challenges such as the Whiskey Rebellion, asserting the authority of the federal government to maintain order.
Although a wealthy plantation owner who held enslaved people throughout his life, Washington's views on slavery evolved over time. In his will, he made arrangements to free the individuals he directly owned, setting a precedent among the Founding Fathers and reflecting his personal conflict over the institution.
After completing two terms, Washington declined to seek a third, emphasizing the importance of term limits and setting a lasting example. In his Farewell Address, he warned against the dangers of political factions and entanglements in foreign affairs, advice that influenced American political thought for generations.
George Washington's legacy endures in American culture, politics, and national identity. His name and image have been commemorated in countless ways, from the capital city of Washington, D.C., to monuments, currency, and public institutions. Admired for his leadership, character, and devotion to republican ideals, Washington remains one of the most respected figures in United States history.

Reviews

[Malia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disappointed that Washington didn't keep a diary when at valley forge.
There seems to be a gap. But gives a pretty good idea what it was like, for Washington. Must have been really frustrating.

[Jeremy Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

So near to the end, so near to the final page, I did not expect to cry when I did, nor at all, until it came upon me, the overwhelming weight of this life in private thoughts and modern abridgements, ending quietly and abruptly in a bedroom at Mount Vernon, the General, the President, feeling for his own pulse and then letting himself go, saying Tis Well, just as a loving teacher, a friend of the family, raises his hand to confirm for Mrs. Washington, at the foot of the bed, that her husband is gone, to which she also says, Tis Well.

These diaries offer the rawness of a man with nine lives, a man whose survival through a myriad of American movements and tragedies is already well known, but whose personal account shows a lesser known side, that of a man we all might picture in our own neighborhoods and farming lands beyond, a man caught staring at and studying the grass, the trees, the sky, and striving to manage all of it, all that he owned, responsibly. That he could never do this alone, in private, is a testament to the fact that Mr. Washington also learned (certainly over time) to be just as responsible with the people who entered and passed through his life just as well, exhorting every family member, friend, and acquaintance who behaves with dishonesty and indolence to do better, raising up a nation on the highest principles of integrity and grace, even as he himself falls periodically short of his own ideals.

We are all indebted to Mr. Washington, for this nation, for this life, for this place we call home.

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