His Excellency: George Washington

His Excellency: George Washington

Author	Joseph Ellis
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Biography
Publisher	Alfred A. Knopf
Publication date	2004
Media type	Print (hardcover and paperback)
Pages	320 pp (first edition)
ISBN	1-4000-4031-0 hardcover ISBN 1-4000-3253-9 paperback
OCLC	54817026
Dewey Decimal	973.4/1/092 B
LC Class	E312 .E245 2004

His Excellency: George Washington is a 2004 biography of the first President of the United States, General George Washington. It was written by Joseph Ellis, a professor of History at Mount Holyoke College, who specializes in the founding fathers and the revolutionary and federalist periods.

Content

Events and themes

In the text, Ellis focuses on three main areas of Washington's life:

military adventures during the Seven Years' War (French and Indian War)
generalship in the American Revolution
service as first President of the United States.

According to Ellis, Washington was always searching for a means to control his inner passions and his destiny. He fumed under the control that the British held over him during the Colonial America period. In particular, he was frustrated by the lack of respect offered for his military achievements to granting land claim rights in the west. As a general, he bemoaned the lack of control the fledgling Continental Congress had over the colonies which composed it. (Later as President, he supported legislation to ensure control by the federal government over the states).

As a man forced to make his own destiny, he made the theme of control central to his life. He asserted such control in his decisions at his beloved plantation, Mount Vernon.

Chapters

Preface: The Man In The Moon
Chapter One: Interior Regions
Chapter Two: The Strenuous Squire
Chapter Three: First In War
Chapter Four: Destiny's Child
Chapter Five: Introspective Interlude
Chapter Six: First In Peace
Chapter Seven: Testaments

Reviews

The historian Gordon S. Wood, who has also written about the Revolutionary and federalist periods, wrote in his review in The New Republic that "Ellis's portrait of Washington thus humanizes the man without knocking him off the pedestal where his contemporaries placed him. This Washington is all the greater because he is a real human being with both passions and principles."^[1] He also wrote, "Joseph J. Ellis ... has been a one-man historical machine... Ellis has entered the ranks of that tiny group of popular historians, including David McCullough, Walter Isaacson, and Ron Chernow, who sell copies of their books in the tens and even hundreds of thousands."^[1]

References

1 2 Wood, Gordon (16 December 2004). "His Excellency (New Republic book review)". The New Republic (carried at powells.com). Retrieved 2006-08-04.

External links

Steve Inskeep, "New Book Takes Fresh Look at George Washington", Morning Edition, NPR, 25 October 2004
Jonathan Yardley, Review: "'His Excellency, George Washington'", The Washington Post, 28 October 2004
Wood, Gordon (16 December 2004). "His Excellency (New Republic book review)". The New Republic (carried at powells.com). Retrieved 2006-08-04.
His Excellency, George Washington, collected reviews and quotes, Powell's Books

George Washington
1st President of the United States, 1789–1797 Senior Officer of the Army, 1798–1799 Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, 1775–1783 Second Continental Congress, 1775 First Continental Congress, 1774
Military career Revolutionary War	Military career French and Indian War Jumonville Glen Battle of Fort Necessity Forbes Expedition Washington and the American Revolution Commander-in-chief, Continental Army Aides-de-Camp Washington's headquarters Boston campaign Siege of Boston New York and New Jersey campaign Delaware River crossing Battle of Trenton Philadelphia campaign Battle of Brandywine Battle of Germantown Battle of White Marsh Valley Forge Battle of Monmouth Battles of Saratoga Sullivan Expedition Yorktown campaign Siege of Yorktown Culper spy ring Newburgh Conspiracy Newburgh letter Badge of Military Merit Purple Heart Horses: Nelson and Blueskin
Other U.S. founding events	1769 Virginia Association Continental Association 1774 Fairfax Resolves Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture 1785 Mount Vernon Conference Chairman, 1787 Constitutional Convention
Presidency	United States presidential election, 1788–89 1792 First inauguration inaugural bible Second inauguration Title of "Mr. President" Cabinet of the United States Secretary of State Attorney General Secretary of the Treasury Secretary of War Judiciary Act of 1789 Nonintercourse Act Whiskey Rebellion Militia Acts of 1792 Coinage Act of 1792 United States Mint Proclamation of Neutrality Neutrality Act of 1794 Jay Treaty Pinckney's Treaty Slave Trade Act of 1794 Residence Act Thanksgiving Proclamation Farewell Address State of the Union Address 1790 1791 1792 1793 1796 Cabinet Federal judicial appointments
Views and public image	Presidential library The Washington Papers Religious views Washington and slavery Town Destroyer Legacy
Life and homes	Early life Birthplace Ferry Farm boyhood home Mount Vernon Gristmill Woodlawn Plantation Samuel Osgood House, First Presidential Mansion Alexander Macomb House, Second Presidential Mansion President's House, Philadelphia Germantown White House Custis estate Potomac Company James River and Kanawha Canal Mountain Road Lottery Congressional Gold Medal Thanks of Congress President-General of the Society of the Cincinnati Washington College Washington and Lee University Electoral history of George Washington
Memorials and depictions	Washington, D.C. Washington state Washington Monument Mount Rushmore Washington's Birthday Purple Heart The Apotheosis of Washington George Washington (Houdon) George Washington (Ceracchi) Washington Crossing the Delaware General George Washington at Trenton Washington at Verplanck's Point Unfinished portrait Lansdowne portrait The Washington Family portrait Washington at Princeton painting Point of View sculpture George Washington University Washington University Washington Masonic National Memorial George Washington Memorial Parkway George Washington Bridge Washington and Jefferson National Forests Washington Monument, Baltimore Washington, D.C. statue List of memorials U.S. Postage stamps Washington-Franklin Issues 1932 bicentennial Currency Washington quarter Washington dollar Cultural depictions George Washington (1984 miniseries 1986 sequel)
Related	Bibliography Founding Fathers of the United States Republicanism Federalist Party Federalist Era Virginia dynasty Coat of arms Cherry-tree anecdote River Farm Washington's Crossing 1751 Barbados trip Category Syng inkstand General of the Armies American Philosophical Society American Revolution patriots Mount Vernon Ladies' Association
Ancestry and family	Martha Washington (wife) John Parke Custis (stepson) George Washington Parke Custis (step-grandson, adopted son) Eleanor Parke Custis (step-granddaughter, adopted daughter) Augustine Washington (father) Mary Ball (mother) Lawrence Washington (half-brother) Augustine Washington Jr. (half-brother) Betty Washington Lewis (sister) Samuel Washington (brother) John A. Washington (brother) Charles Washington (brother) Lawrence Washington (grandfather) John Washington (great-grandfather) Bushrod Washington (nephew)
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