Washington's Government: Charting the Origins of the Federal Administration

Early American Histories

by Max M. Edling (Editor), Peter J. Kastor (Editor)

Washington's Government shows how George Washington's administration--the subject of remarkably little previous study--was both more dynamic and more uncertain than previously thought. Rather than simply following a blueprint laid out by the Constitution, Washington and his advisors constructed over time a series of possible mechanisms for doing the nation's business. The results were successful in some cases, disastrous in others. Yet at the end of Washington's second term, there was no denying that the federal government had achieved remarkable results. As Americans debate the nature of good national governance two and a half centuries after the founding, this volume's insights appear timelier than ever.

ContributorsLindsay M. Chervinsky, Iona College * Gautham Rao, American University * Kate Elizabeth Brown, Huntington University * Stephen J. Rockwell, St. Joseph's College * Andrew J. B. Fagal, Princeton University, * Daniel Hulsebosch, New York University * Rosemarie Zagarri, George Mason University

290 pages, Hardcover

Published July 7, 2021

Reviews

[Andrew Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a fine collection of essays which surveys the beginnings of the federal government under President George Washington. Each essayist is a noted historian in their field of study and brings clarity and erudition to a subject that frankly has been misinterpreted over the years. Washington emerges as a stable presence in government and although not schooled in diplomacy practices it with great ability especially within his fractious Cabinet. Those who are interested in how our new government got started and what problems it faced will find this book to be quite a revelation. There are lessons to be learned even today as one scours for examples of governance in the past. I highly recommend this volume.