His Excellency: George Washington

This chapter deals with the relatively tranquil period in Washington’s life between the end of the Revolutionary War and his resumption of power as president of the United States. During this time, Washington believes that his political career is over and desires to live a quiet life at Mount Vernon, putting his papers in order for future historians and renovating the estate. He sees the American Revolution as continuing to its next phase, the consolidation of the federal government. He believes also that the future of America lies in westward expansion. One obstacle to this, the most “menacing western culprit,” (156) is Great Britain, which still has troops stationed on the western frontier to recover some of its lost empire. Washington aggressively pursues the acquisition of western lands for himself.

The shape and direction of the new American republic is intensely debated. The growth of the Society of Cincinnati, believed by some to be an “aspiring American nobility” (159), proves alarming to observers, like Thomas Jefferson, who believe its aristocratic tendencies are a threat to American democratic values. Washington’s ties to the society hurt his reputation, and he is forced to distance himself from it.

Meanwhile, the issue of

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