904 pages, Penguin Press, ISBN-13: 978-1594202667
Washington: A Life is the third Ron Chernow biography that I have read, the other two being Grant (reviewed on July 18th, 2018) and Alexander Hamilton (reviewed on September 11th, 2018). Obviously, there’s a reason I keep coming back for more. With the benefit of a couple of centuries of hindsight, it is evident that Washington was a rather insecure man who nevertheless pursued fame like a rottweiler chasing a poodle. He was also something of a moody cuss given to dark thoughts and angry outbursts, especially towards those who questioned his intentions; nothing was more likely to provoke his legendary rage than accusations that he was guided by base motives.
His education left something to be desired, a fact he was continuously all-too-aware of, and so he compensated mightily by studying rules of etiquette, mimicking successful older men and cultivating the loyalty of younger men, though always displaying an extraordinary sensitivity to what others thought of him, especially his intelligence. Yup, like with most Great Men – and I use the term unironically – Washington wasn’t easy to know or get along with and yet, somehow, he managed to forge and lead a ragtag mongrel fighting force that defeated the world’s greatest army, become his nation’s first President and steer the new nation through the shoals of global chaos before leaving it all behind like a modern Cincinnatus to live the life of a private gentleman.
Washington’s contemporaries observed that he seemed to be blessed by Divine Providence – or dumb luck; take your pick. How else to explain the many bullets that whizzed around but never struck him? Or his emergence from a string of catastrophic military disasters in the French and Indian War and the War for Independence with a reputation enhanced rather than ruined? Even Washington’s rivals (who deeply resented him) were at odds trying to explain how this tall target on his magnificent horse could avoid even a scratch in every battle he participated in, whether to his person or his reputation.
The past two centuries have seen scholars detailing rather more prosaic explanations of Washington’s “unparalleled rise and elevation”, including his acquisition of thousands of acres through fortuitous inheritance and relentless speculation; his marriage to the wealthy widow Martha Dandridge Custis; his connection with members of the powerful Fairfax family who became important early patrons; his struggle to master his body and his passions within the language and conventions of 18th Century Anglo-American republicanism; and, most recently, his creative conflation of his personal ambition with the cause of the Republic. Luck can only explain so much; one must also equate Washington’s rise to determination and speculation as he did anything and everything to get ahead in life. Your prototypical American, I would argue.
It can be hard for us moderns to admire George Washington, as public displays of patriotism are met with suspicions of closeted racism, and praising the first (slave-owning) President of the United States can earn one scorn and derision, if you’re lucky. I believe that Chernow took a rather sage and nuanced approach to slavery in the early republic, his decision to address the topic throughout the book – indeed, as Washington struggled with the subject throughout his life – being both necessary and forthright. Unknown to me until I read this biography, Washington found holding other humans in bondage to be repugnant, yet couldn’t see his way through to emancipate his slaves (although he did free all those he owned upon his death, having no control over “dower” slaves under his roof). He was also alone among the Founding Fathers to advocate for manumission of slaves, a position that did not endear him to his Southern compatriots (would that he had been successful or, better yet, had led by example). At the same time, he was a strict taskmaster – never cruel, but certainly shortsighted when it came to the likely feelings of his slaves. This is a topic that we as Americans must address, but not in its current state, with the Left using slavery as a cudgel against the generations of Americans who have been born centuries after it was expunged from our nation when “the blood drawn with the lash [was] paid by another drawn with the sword”.
Washington: A Life is an admirable addition to anyone’s library on American history and solidifies Ron Chernow’s place as one of our greatest biographers, past and present. The myths, legends and smears on this great man are dispatched or explained in the context of historical record, with the biggest takeaway being, perhaps, the fact that our country has never worked in harmony and has always been divided. The American Experiment has and will (hopefully) continue to be a work in progress, having been tested so often
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