Washington on Washington

191 Pages·2003·7.296 MB·English

by  Paul M. Zall

Washington
on
Washington

Washington
on
Washington
Edited by Paul M. Zall
THE UNIVERSITY PRESS OF KENTUCKY
Publication of this volume was made possible in part by a grant
from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Copyright © 2003 by The University Press of Kentucky
Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth,
serving Bellarmine University, Berea College, Centre College of Kentucky,
Eastern Kentucky University, The Filson Historical Society, Georgetown
College, Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University, Morehead
State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University,
Transylvania University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville,
and Western Kentucky University.
All rights reserved.
Editorial and Sales Offices: The University Press of Kentucky
663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508-4008
07 06 05 04 03 5 4 3 2 1
Frontispiece: Gilbert Stuart's George Washington. Courtesy of the Huntington
Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Washington, George, 1732-1799.
Washington on Washington / [compiled by] Paul M. Zall.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8131-2269-4 (Cloth : alk. paper)
1. Washington, George, 1732-1799. 2. Presidents—United States—
Biography. 3. United States—Politics and government—1775-1783—
Sources. 4. United States—Politics and government—1783-1809—Sources.
5. Washington, George, 1732-1799—Archives. 6. Washington, George,
1732-1799—Quotations. I. Zall, Paul M. II. Title.
E312.79.W3175 2003
973.4'1'092—dc21 2002156189
Member of the Association of
American University Presses
FOR JAN MARION ZALL

CONTENTS
Introduction: George Washington's Socratic Style vii
Note on the Text xxii
1. Growing up Virginian, 1738-1752 1
2. Confronting Human Nature in the Wild,
October 1753-January 1754 13
3. Finding Fam on the Frontier, May 1754-December
1758 24
4. Planting Rebellion, January 1759-April 1775 37
5. Waging War, 1775-1781 52
6. A Farewell to Arms, 1781-1784 67
7. Seeking Retirement, 1784-1786 74
8. Becoming President, 1787-1789 87
9. Creating the Presidency, 1789-1793 98
10. Preserving the Presidency, 1793-1797 114
11. Finding Peace,
132
4 March 1797-14 December 1799
143
Notes
153
Sources
159
Index

Introduction
GEORGE WASHINGTON'S
SOCRATIC STYLE
In trying to assess George Washington's personality, the
difficulty is distinguishing between the way we see him and
the way he saw himself. The difference may be inferred from
passages that talk about himself in his own writings, both
public and private. The public statements fit the Olympian
image of Washington in the national memory. The private
statements in his journals and letters sometimes reveal a
different person—one who will overflow with romantic feel-
ings or wallow in sentimentality or explode with spontane-
ous wit, even in the privacy of a diary.
A quintessential^ private person, Washington had a
natural reluctance to express his feelings at all, a reluctance
that was reinforced when his words were published to pub-
lic scorn. He would be known by deeds, not words, but the
written words remain to mirror him, often obliquely.
His public personality rose to the nation's needs for a
military demigod subservient to civil authority and a presi-
dent above party or special interest. But Washington's pri-
vate personality surfaced when he retired to cultivate his
gardens—relinquishing both military and political power
more fit for a king.
In his public letter of 1783 announcing his military re-
tirement and again a dozen years later in his celebrated Fare-
IX