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Book Review: Travels with George - In Search of Washington and his Legacy, by Nathaniel Philbrick
Apparently it's a cliché, and a 1940s film comedy, to say that "George Washington slept here". Of course insurgent leaders move around, exposure of their whereabouts being a constant threat. But Washington is different in that he also took a tour of the 13 states in 1789 on becoming the first President of the United States, and this book is Philbrick's reconstruction of that tour (broken into several distinct stages).
The writing style is leisurely and homely; Philbrick is accompanied by his wife and their dog, which does not always behave impeccably. The journeys up and down the eastern seaboard attempt to follow traditional roads rather than modern highways, and there are frequent stop-offs in places documented as having been visited by Washington. A bit of the writing is on contemporary or recent history of these places; more often it focuses on how Washington was received and reported at the time, with an overall story arc of the challenges he faced in running his first administration, with dispute and factionalism over the balance of power between the federal government and the states.
I noticed a few of the more lukewarm comments on Goodreads felt that Philbrick wrote too much about Washington's relationship to slavery. When writing about a man who was a leader of his country, who owned slaves, at a time when slavery was controversial, it does not seem unreasonable to bring this subject into the discussion. It seems it would be best to describe Washington's view as "evolving" and Philbrick finds a nuanced viewpoint, with Washington trying to keep all states on board in a fractious emergent country. Judgement by today's mores (on this and other subjects) would leave all national Pantheons empty. There were different values at the time; but Washington could have made decisions and acted differently. I don't think this disqualifies him from being a national hero, but it's a clear demonstration that heroes are imperfect.
Apparently it's a cliché, and a 1940s film comedy, to say that "George Washington slept here". Of course insurgent leaders move around, exposure of their whereabouts being a constant threat. But Washington is different in that he also took a tour of the 13 states in 1789 on becoming the first President of the United States, and this book is Philbrick's reconstruction of that tour (broken into several distinct stages).
The writing style is leisurely and homely; Philbrick is accompanied by his wife and their dog, which does not always behave impeccably. The journeys up and down the eastern seaboard attempt to follow traditional roads rather than modern highways, and there are frequent stop-offs in places documented as having been visited by Washington. A bit of the writing is on contemporary or recent history of these places; more often it focuses on how Washington was received and reported at the time, with an overall story arc of the challenges he faced in running his first administration, with dispute and factionalism over the balance of power between the federal government and the states.
I noticed a few of the more lukewarm comments on Goodreads felt that Philbrick wrote too much about Washington's relationship to slavery. When writing about a man who was a leader of his country, who owned slaves, at a time when slavery was controversial, it does not seem unreasonable to bring this subject into the discussion. It seems it would be best to describe Washington's view as "evolving" and Philbrick finds a nuanced viewpoint, with Washington trying to keep all states on board in a fractious emergent country. Judgement by today's mores (on this and other subjects) would leave all national Pantheons empty. There were different values at the time; but Washington could have made decisions and acted differently. I don't think this disqualifies him from being a national hero, but it's a clear demonstration that heroes are imperfect.