His Excellency: George Washington Paperback – November 8, 2005

George Washington possessed the gift of silence, according to his VP Adams (and a good thing that was, as Adams did not possess it at all.) Considering all the partisan noise and turbulence during the constitutional debate and the first presidency, that gift of silence may have been what saved the new republic from early shipwreck.For his earlier years, another key ability of his was more important: survival. If you want to succeed, you have to survive first. In GW's own view of his lucky escape over many years in two wars, he was a beneficiary of providential forces. It seems that was about as religious as he would get.Ellis defines his purpose in writing this short Washington bio like this: how did it come about that GW is considered the `Foundingest Father of them all'?Among the writing on GW, there are two frequent extremes: the hero worshippers and those of the `Oedipal' direction, the father murderers. Ellis intended to stay away from both, and I think he managed to do that.For the purpose of writing this book, Ellis read single-handedly the whole series of Washington Papers. Awesome. There are over 40 volumes of those.In the early chapters, Ellis is not trying very hard to avoid stepping on the fan club's toes. GW's emerging personality is characterized by two not very endearing traits: first, a thin-skinned aversion to criticism, and second, a capacity to play the political game effectively while cultivating the claim of not being interested in it. I have looked up some of the 1 star reviews here, and found that Washington worshippers don't appreciate this critical attitude towards their idol. Furthermore, an allegation that GW had a love affair with the wife of a friend is not accepted happily by some. Watched from afar, in time and space, I wonder: so what? Why does it matter? Answer: true admiration needs purity in its object. (On the other hand, a rational mind wants to know the real man, not the saint.)From the chapter about the squire time in Virginia, between the British war against France and her Indian allies, and later the War of Independence, we take away this key message: the man was aware of economics and business management needs. He understood what it meant to be exploited by the colonial master. His revolutionary impulses were fanned by genuine self interest.On the military leader of the revolutionary war, Ellis has to say that GW lost more battles than any other victorious general in modern times. GW's own judgment at taking the charge was that he was not qualified for the task. Ellis agrees. Why did GW win then? First, he was lucky with his overly cautious adversaries, who didn't pursue their advantage as relentlessly as they might have. Though everyone expected a short war at the start, the Americans would surely have lost a short war. Second, the leader's personal qualities helped: he was composed, indefatigable, and able to learn from mistakes.Ellis then challenges the assumption that time was on America's side. Wasn't the British war machine far better able to finance and maintain an army? Washington's ragtag Continental army gave little reason for optimism. Undermanned, undersupplied, underfunded and undertrained... Why did they win at all?Ellis quotes a picture that somebody else invented: the American victory was like that of an outclassed boxer who miraculously knocks out the stronger opponent in the last round.New to me: when many expected GW to make use of his victory for grabbing power in the new continental `empire', he proved `as immune to the seduction of dictatorial power as he had been to small pox'. I learned that he actually resisted a military coup that would have made him America's Napoleon (or rather, that would have turned Napoleon into France's Washington).During the interlude between generalship and presidency, which GW initially mistook for retirement, he gets dragged into the constitutional debate, but stays artfully aloof and thus can't avoid the first presidency.The presidency was a true first: the first republic in a new state. A nation is built out of chaos. Did GW take the helm or did he just man the bridge? That depends on the subjects. Some subjects were delegated, like treasury to Hamilton. Some issues GW took on himself. Some key issues were not tackled at all, like slavery (out of fear of the outcome), or were not successfully tackled (like GW's wish for a fair Indian solution). The second presidency term came up mainly because the president's surrogate sons started fighting: Jefferson (& Madison) versus Hamilton. Though he held things together, there seems to be no doubt that GW stood on Hamilton's side in the federalism question.The political game became dirty. Parties were born. Trust was betrayed. Jefferson and Hamilton both turned out to be villains. The Republicans started Fox News, then called Aurora, with the task to smear and slander Washington and his policy of nation building.They started the predecessor of the Tea Party, then called French Party, in opposition to Washington's neutrality policy in the war between Britain and France.Not having grown up with these subjects, I don't know how original the book is. For me it was certainly very interesting, and it puts the noises that I hear out of the contemporary US in a different light. There is nothing new under the sun, alas.

This book is easy to read about the interesting life of one of the most important pillar of American History.

As Ellis writes in the introduction to His Excellency, The Founding Fathers acknowledged George Washington as their unquestioned superior. They did so despite being better educated, more politically astute, wiser, and smarter than he. Why was this the case? How did the ambitious young Washington rise through the ranks of the Virginia elite to lead the Continental Army and the nascent United States? These are the central questions of Joseph Ellis’ brilliant work.His Excellency is not a biography in the traditional sense, but a succinct character study of Washington. It serves as an approachable, big picture introduction to “The Foundingest Father of them all”. Ellis doesn’t shy away from the rough edges of Washington’s personality, nor does he attempt to psychoanalyze him. He sticks to the written record and constructs a portrait of a self-educated man who furthered himself through challenging experiences, powerful friendships, marriage, and luck.Ellis delights in knocking down popular myths. He asserts that Washington was no military genius, having lost more battles than he won. He narrowly avoids the complete destruction of the Continental Army in New York, and it takes much convincing by subordinate officers to adopt a “Cincinnatus Strategy” which ultimately wins the war. But Washinton’s failures and missteps never weaken his resolve. His leadership is rarely questioned, and his character reaches legendary status when he willingly resigns his commission at the end of the war rather than seizing power for himself.His Excellency is the perfect read for someone who is interested in the life of George Washington, but might be intimidated by the length of other biographies. It is a great place to start the exploration of a complex character who is shrouded in myth.