George Washington
Ron Chernow's 'Washington: A Life' is an excellent biography!
-Washington had a very troublesome relationship with his mother, and he strived all his life to divorce himself from her teachings.
-Washington didn’t have any kids, so it was through Providence that he was destined to be the father of America.
-Washington's discerning insight as evidenced by his recognizing the exact time for an outright rebellion against the British.
-Wasghinton's mode of thinking was deliberate, he took time to make decisions, but when he made a decision, it was always vindicated in retrospect.
Washington's special mentoring of up and coming generals like Marquis de Lafayette and Hamilton is inspiring; he elevated them, admired their conduct and intellect, and always sought their advice on a variety of essential matters.
Washington had to reconcile his owning of slaves with the libertarian values trumpeted in the american revolution; it kept nagging at him until the end of his life, but he kept his thoughts low key so as not to trigger any brouhaha in the states.
When the federalists got their constitution ratified with the compromise of bill of rights, a new faction was born: the republicans who wanted to limit the federal discretion in light of the constitution vs Hamilton-led federalists who emphasized the importance of a strong federal government. The ongoing battles in letters between Thomas Jefferson and Hamiltom shows the formidable literary prowess of the two.
Washington served two terms, and despite his education that pales in comparison to that of the other founders, he valued education deeply, and didn't shrink from mingling with people of high intellect and learning from them. He had a special kind of wisdom that was forged by years of battles and experience, he thought in systems, understood what nations are motivated by, and did everything with futurity in mind( the neutrality act, for exanple). He also encouraged American manufacturing and supported Hamilton's establishment of the first bank a national mint.
One scene that really stuck with me through all this is when Marquis de Lafayette's son George Washington de Lafayette was sent to America for safety while Marquis was in prison, and Washington was torn between disturbing his relationship with the new French government and his deep relationship with Marquis de Lafayette; he chose to honor laffayette and supply the son with place to get educated and thrive; Lafayette the son proved quick at learning English and different subjects, that he even surpassed his tutors.
Throughout the book, some incredibly influential characters would pop up in passing and I am like who is Patrick Henry? How did I never hear of John Marshall, How did Hamilton have time to write everything on Washington's behalf AND as anon in different gazetes...
Two questions: Should we blame washington for owning slaves in a time where it was the norm to do so? Should we give him the benefit of the doublt bc he recognized how discordant that was with the American revolution values? ( the founders had this inclination to shift the blame to future generations to make the right choice in regards to slaves)
What does the preponderance of eloquently written letters exchanged between the founders say about the quality of their thinking at the time?