PulitzerPrize-winning historian Edward J. Larson recovers a crucially important-yetalmost always overlooked-chapter of George Washington''s life, revealing howWashington saved the United States by coming out of retirement to lead theConstitutional Convention and serve as our first President.
Afterleading the Continental Army to victory in the Revolutionary War, GeorgeWashington shocked the world: he retired. In December 1783, General Washington,the most powerful man in the country, stepped down as Commander in Chief andreturned to private life at Mount Vernon. And yet as Washington contentedlygrew his estate, the fledgling American experiment floundered. Under theArticles of Confederation, the weak central government was unable to raiserevenue to pay its debts or reach a consensus on national policy. The statesbickered and grew apart. When a Constitutional Convention was established toaddress these problems, its chances of success were slim. Jefferson, Madison,and the other Founding Fathers realized only one man could unite the fractiousstates: George Washington. Reluctant but duty-bound, Washington rode toPhiladelphia in the summer of 1787 to preside over the Convention.
AlthoughWashington is often overlooked in most accounts of the period, this masterfulnew history from Pulitzer Prize winner Edward J. Larson brilliantly uncoversWashington''s vital role in shaping the Convention-and shows how it was onlywith Washington''s support and his willingness to serve as president that thestates were brought together to ratify the Constitution, thereby saving thecountry.
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