Synopses & Reviews
In this startling look at the birth of American government, award-winning author Harlow Giles Unger shows how George Washington transformed the presidency from a ceremonial post into the most powerful office on earth. Washington combined political cunning, daring, and sheer genius to seize ever-widening powers and impose law and order while ensuring individual freedom and self-government.
and#147;Unger gives our precious American history the backbone it deserves and reveals more of Washington the man than Washington the demigod.and#8221;and#151;New York Journal of Books
and#147;[A] thoroughly researched and delightfully written book.and#133; A real thriller of a tale told with skill and authority.and#8221;and#151;Washington Times
and#147;[A] fast-paced chronicle of Washingtonand#8217;s presidency.and#8221;and#151;Publishers Weekly
Review
and#147;Unger gives our precious American history the backbone it deserves and reveals more of Washington the man than Washington the demigod.and#8221;and#151;
New York Journal of Booksand#147;[A] thoroughly researched and delightfully written book.and#133; A real thriller of a tale told with skill and authority.and#8221;and#151;Washington Times
and#147;[A] fast-paced chronicle of Washingtonand#8217;s presidency.and#8221;and#151;Publishers Weekly
"Truly enlightening insight into the earliest days of the U.S. government.... As eye-opening as it is fascinating."and#151;San Francisco Book Review
Library Journal, 12/20/2013
and#147;Written with spirit and some subtlety, this work demonstrates that George Washingtonand#8217;s contributions to the character of federal executive powers have been nearly as influential as his military leadership. Recommended to readers in early American and presidential history and U.S. political science.and#8221;
January Magazine, 12/4/2013
and#147;A very good bookand#133;In his typically lucid and conversational style, Unger paints a never-before-seen portrait of Washington as a surprisingly beleaguered leader whose challenges in many ways echo those of the current occupier of the White House.and#8221;
The Washington Lawyer, January 2014
and#147;Unger [is] a leading historian of the revolutionary era.and#8221;
Reading Eagle, 5/21/14
and#147;It deftly shows how George Washington created the presidency out of almost nothing.and#8221;
The Federal Lawyer, October/November 2014
and#147;A short and readable biography of our first President.and#8221;
Synopsis
In this startling, action-filled drama, award-winning author Harlow Giles Unger reveals one of the most significant yet least known chapters in American history: how George Washington converted his ceremonial post as president into the most powerful office on earth.
About the Author
An accalimed historian,
Harlow Giles Unger is a former Distinguished Visiting Fellow in American History at Mount Vernon and the author of twenty books, including ten biographies of Americaand#8217;s Founding Fathers and three other histories of the early republic. He lives in New York.
Table of Contents
IntroductionPrologue
1: A Mutiny over Bounties
2: A Coup dand#8217;and#201;tat in Philadelphia
3: His Highness, the President
4: and#147;Do You Advise and Consent?and#8221;
5: The Shell Game
6: Alive and Wrath
7: Tar and Taxes
8: The French Plot
9: and#147;The President Was Much Inflamedand#8221;
10: and#147;Venomous Reptiles on Our Shoresand#8221;
11: The Madman and the Indians
12: The Final Pillar
13: Farewell from a Friend
14: First in the Hearts of His Countrymen
Appendix: The Pillars of Presidential power and President Washingtonand#8217;s Precedents