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George Washington #6
George Washington (Vol 6): Patriot and President, 1784-93
This is the 6th volume in the monumental 7-volume life of Washington by historian Douglas Southall Freeman. This book takes General Washington from his triumphal return to planter's life at Mount Vernon in 1783 to his 61st birthday and then end of his first term as President in early 1793.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1954
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About the author
Douglas Southall Freeman
234 books92 followersThe son of a Confederate veteran, Douglas Southall Freeman was long interested in the Civil War. A man of intense work ethic, he earned his PhD at 22, then balanced a journalist's demanding schedule with a historian's, as he churned out Lee's Dispatches (1915), the Pulitzer-Prize-winning four-volume R. E. Lee: A Biography (1934-35), Lee's Lieutenants: A Study in Command (1942-44), and finally, the multi-volume George Washington (1948-54). A respected historian, renown for his research, he garnered fame in his native Virginia and the friendship of major military figures.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 28, 2020
Washington unanimously voted President! The statement, obvious in light of the mythical stature of Washington, assumes a blinding radiance in an age of fake news, political polarization, and dissension at all runs of American society. Douglas Southall Freeman, concluding Washington's Revolutionary War service with Volume 5, moves on to Washington's brief respite at Mount Vernon in the 1780s through the first term of the first president of the United States.
The plodding, methodical and day-by-day research and writing of Freeman, so useful in wartime biographies, does not accord as well with Washington's political career. In fact, Freeman paints Washington more detached than he may have been, particularly in his careful implementation of the cabinet structure of the executive branch and his own leanings in the Jefferson v. Hamilton feud.
However, as with all volumes of Freeman's work, the research is impeccable, the facts are easily laid out, and the narrative still rings with the writings and sayings of a good man assuming great responsibilities.
The plodding, methodical and day-by-day research and writing of Freeman, so useful in wartime biographies, does not accord as well with Washington's political career. In fact, Freeman paints Washington more detached than he may have been, particularly in his careful implementation of the cabinet structure of the executive branch and his own leanings in the Jefferson v. Hamilton feud.
However, as with all volumes of Freeman's work, the research is impeccable, the facts are easily laid out, and the narrative still rings with the writings and sayings of a good man assuming great responsibilities.
March 27, 2020
Covering from his retirement as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army to the end of his first term as president, including his role at the Constitutional Convention. Very good. Balanced. Very thorough without being tedious. This volume was supposed cover a longer period of time, but Freeman died hours after finishing what turned out to be the final chapter. His staff worked with the publisher to wrap everything up.
August 22, 2016
Ends with Washington's election to his second term as president.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews