Washington's Circle
The Creation of the President
David S. Heidler ; Jeanne T. Heidler
- History
- enthusiasts
- and
- admirers
- of
- Team
- of
- Rivals
- will
- rejoice
- in
- this
- magisterial
- account
- of
- the
- extraordinary
- Americans
- who
- served
- the
- nation’s
- first
- chief
- executive:
- Together,
- they
- created
- the
- presidency
- for
- a
- country
- disgusted
- by
- crowns
- and
- the
- people
- who
- would
- wear
- them.In
- 1789,
- as
- George
- Washington
- became
- the
- first
- president
- of
- the
- United
- States,
- the
- world
- was
- all
- but
- certain
- that
- the
- American
- experiment
- in
- liberty
- and
- representative
- government
- would
- founder.
- More
- than
- a
- few
- Americans
- feared
- that
- the
- world
- was
- right.
- In
- Washington’s
- Circle,
- we
- see
- how
- Washington
- and
- his
- trusted
- advisers,
- close
- friends,
- and
- devoted
- family
- defied
- the
- doomsayers
- to
- lay
- the
- foundation
- for
- an
- enduring
- constitutional
- republic.
- This
- is
- a
- fresh
- look
- at
- an
- aloof
- man
- whose
- service
- in
- the
- Revolutionary
- War
- had
- already
- earned
- him
- the
- acclaim
- of
- fellow
- citizens.
- Washington
- was
- easy
- to
- revere,
- if
- difficult
- to
- know.David
- S.
- Heidler
- and
- Jeanne
- T.
- Heidler
- reveal
- Washington’s
- character
- through
- his
- relationship
- with
- his
- inner
- circle,
- showing
- how
- this
- unlikely
- group
- created
- the
- office
- of
- the
- presidency.
- Here
- is
- a
- story
- of
- cooperation,
- confrontation,
- triumph,
- and
- disappointment,
- as
- the
- president,
- Congress,
- and
- the
- courts
- sorted
- out
- the
- limits
- of
- executive
- power,
- quarreled
- over
- funding
- the
- government,
- coped
- with
- domestic
- strife,
- and
- faced
- a
- world
- at
- war
- while
- trying
- to
- keep
- their
- country
- at
- peace.Even
- more,
- it
- is
- a
- story
- of
- remarkable
- people
- striving
- for
- extraordinary
- achievements.
- Many
- of
- these
- characters
- are
- familiar
- as
- historic
- icons,
- but
- in
- these
- pages
- they
- act
- and
- speak
- as
- living
- individuals:
- the
- often
- irked
- and
- frequently
- irksome
- John
- Adams,
- in
- the
- vice
- presidency;
- the
- mercurial
- Alexander
- Hamilton,
- leading
- the
- Treasury
- Department;
- the
- brilliant,
- deceptively
- cunning
- Thomas
- Jefferson,
- as
- secretary
- of
- state;
- James
- Madison,
- who
- was
- Washington’s
- advocate—and
- his
- eyes
- and
- ears—in
- Congress;
- and
- Washington’s
- old
- friend
- and
- former
- brother-in-arms
- Henry
- Knox,
- at
- the
- administration’s
- beleaguered
- War
- Department.
- Their
- stories
- mingle
- with
- those
- of
- Edmund
- Randolph,
- John
- Jay,
- Gouverneur
- Morris,
- and
- the
- others
- who
- stood
- with
- a
- self-educated
- Virginia
- farmer
- to
- forge
- the
- presidency
- into
- an
- institution
- protective
- of
- its
- privileges
- but
- respectful
- of
- congressional
- prerogatives.Written
- with
- energy,
- wit,
- and
- an
- eye
- for
- vivid
- detail,
- Washington’s
- Circle
- is
- the
- fascinating
- account
- of
- the
- people
- who
- met
- the
- most
- formidable
- challenges
- of
- the
- government’s
- earliest
- hours
- with
- pluck,
- ability,
- and
- enviable
- resourcefulness.
- When
- the
- world
- said
- they
- would
- fail,
- they
- rolled
- up
- their
- sleeves.
- This
- is
- their
- story.Praise
- for
- Washington’s
- Circle“A
- fine,
- readable
- history
- of
- the
- first
- presidency
- .
- .
- .
- [David
- and
- Jeanne
- Heidler]
- provide
- not
- only
- a
- lively
- history
- but
- a
- group
- portrait
- of
- Washington
- and
- the
- various
- figures
- vying
- to
- influence
- him.”—The
- Wall
- Street
- Journal“Washington’s
- Circle
- positively
- glows
- with
- narrative
- exuberance.
- This
- is
- a
- book
- that
- will
- make
- even
- the
- most
- jaded
- student
- of
- the
- American
- Revolution
- bark
- little
- laughs
- of
- pure
- delight
- while
- reading.”—Open
- Letters
- Monthly“Traditional
- accounts
- portray
- Washington
- as
- a
- solitary
- actor
- in
- the
- drama
- of
- American
- nationhood,
- as
- chilly
- and
- featureless
- as
- the
- marble
- shaft
- that
- dominates
- his
- namesake
- capitol.
- In
- fact,
- he
- was
- the
- intensely
- human
- lead
- in
- one
- of
- history’s
- most
- colorful,
- and
- contentious,
- ensembles.
- David
- S.
- Heidler
- and
- Jeanne
- T.
- Heidler
- bring
- the
- whole
- cast
- to
- unforgettable
- life
- in
- this
- character
- study–cum–group
- portrait–cum–old-fashioned
- page-turner.”—Richard
- Norton
- Smith,
- author
- of
- On
- His
- Own Terms
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