For all Washington’s talk of the “American Union and Patriotism,” his arsenal of personal grievances cannot be underestimated. He had grown and changed over the previous sixteen years, but at his core, he was still a man eager to be recognized. As commander in chief of the Continental Army, he would be at the center of his country’s story. It was the ultimate way to right past wrongs, to distinguish himself not by where he came from or whom he married but by what he had achieved. And there could not be a more auspicious start than a unanimous election. Only Washington could deny himself the
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