Bestselling historian Ferling draws on his unsurpassed knowledge of the Founding Fathers to provide a fresh and provocative new portrait of the greatest of them all, George Washington. b&w illustrations throughout.
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Bestselling historian Ferling draws on his unsurpassed knowledge of the Founding Fathers to provide a fresh and provocative new portrait of the greatest of them all, George Washington. b&w illustrations throughout.
Read Less
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Early in this new book, "The Ascent of George Washington", John Ferling quotes the famous two lines offered by Henry "Light Horse" Lee in his eulogy for George Washington offered on December 26, 1799 in Philadelphia. Lee declared that Washington was "first in war - first in peace - and first in the hearts of his countrymen." Lee proceeded to observe that in his long public life, Washington had acted in a selfless manner. Washington's intentions and actions had been motivated solely "from obedience to his country's will". (Ferling, pp 3-4) Ferling is professor emeritus of history at the State University of West Georgia and the author of many books on the Revolutionary Era. Most recently, he is the author of "Almost a Miracle", which describes the Revolutionary War with an approach that he also follows in this book.
Many generations of Americans have accepted the iconic portrayal of George Washington that Henry Lee, together with his fellow eulogists, propounded. In our critical and skeptical age, this idealization of Washington has received substantial attack and correction. In his book, Ferling takes issue with two primary components of the Washington legend. He attacks the view that Washington was a disinterested participant in the political process and finds instead that Washington was heavily motivated by personal, political ambition. Ferling also attacks the view that Washington was above partisan politicking, and describes the first president as a skilled politician knowingly acting to advance a specific political agenda. Ferling argues that "George Washington was so good at politics that he alone of all of America's public officials in the past two centuries succeeded in convincing others that he was not a politician." (at xix) Ferling also takes issue with other parts of the Washington legend. He points out that Washington made many military mistakes, both in the French-Indian War and in the Revolutionary War. Further, Washington was habitually indecisive and frequently acted with slowness more than with his vaunted deliberation.
Unlike the other Founders, Washington lacked an extensive formal education and, at least early in life, was not as wealthy as is sometimes believed. But Washington had an overweening ambition to make something of his life. (In this regard, Washington resembles the other great American hero, Abraham Lincoln.) Through hard work and the use of connections, Washington rose to increasingly large positions of responsibility while showing, especially in the French-Indian War, military deficiencies, a tendency to blame others for his own shortcomings, and a certain indecisiveness. Washington became active and Virginia politics and an early supporter of American independence. He saw America through a difficult and brutal war for independence, served as president of the Constitutional Convention, and as the first President of the United States, to highlight the greatest of his accomplishments.
Ferling shows that in many instances, Washington's disinterestedness and apparent aloofness were calculated to mask an individual with a drive for power. Ferling seems to me correct in this, but he also tends to overlook that many other students of Washington have made the same observation. Ferling also fastens upon Washington's many military mistakes. Here again, he offers little that will surprise students of the Revolutionary War. However, Ferling overstates his case against Washington, and he tends to overlook glaring deficiencies and mistakes made by other leaders of the Continental Army that, Ferling would have the reader believe, had a better military sense than Washington. There is a feeling of carping in Ferling's account. He recognizes, as he must, that Washington displayed the highest qualities of leadership and administration during the difficult years of the war. The conflict almost certainly could not have been won without Washington at the helm. Some of Ferling's criticisms, while true, are thus relatively insignificant.
When he considers Washington's presidency, Ferling again covers ground that has been well-explored by other historians. He argues that Washington was not above the political fray but was instead a strong supporter of the politics and tendencies to aristocracy of the Federalist Party, as exemplified in Alexander Hamilton. Yet Ferling recognizes that Washington, at his best, listened carefully to divergent points of view before making up his mind on issues of importance. He also downplays instances in which Washington did not fully follow Hamilton's counsel. While Hamilton undoubtedly tried to use his Chief on several occasions to further his own agenda, Washington was savvy enough to use Hamilton as well. Here again, Ferling's criticisms, while well-taken in part do not capture the nature of Washington's presidency. Ferling acknowledges the judgment, skill, and dedication with which, for all his pomposity, Washington conducted the presidency. Washington established the presidency as an institution. There was no one else, Ferling admits, who could have led the United States through the eight tumultuous years of domestic and foreign unrest as did George Washington. Ferling's account perhaps humanizes Washington. But it hardly lessens his stature.
It is a commonplace that many Americans today are woefully ignorant of our history. There is also a tendency to approach history and revered figures with cynicism. Ferling's book is readable and accessible. If his book encourages readers to think about its subject, it will have served its purpose well. The book offers a good if polemical account of Washington, the Revolutionary era, and the first presidency. For all his caviling, Ferling offers a portrait of a Washington who deserves strong and continued study and admiration from his countrymen.
