"Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Edward J. Larson recovers a crucially important--yet almost always overlooked--chapter of George Washington's life, revealing how Washington saved the United States by coming out of retirement to lead the Constitutional Convention and serve as our first president. After leading the Continental Army to victory in the Revolutionary War, George Washington shocked the world: he retired. In December 1783, General Washington,...

As his second term as president drew to an end in 1796, George Washington bid the country farewell and offered his advice for its future. He did so in an address that was published in a Philadelphia newspaper. This volume introduces young readers to the key themes in the open letter and liberally cites the words of that primary document. It is a great way to introduce elementary-school students to the importance and challenges of going back to an...

"In this remarkable new portrait, award-winning historian David O. Stewart unveils the political education that made Washington a master politician--and America's most essential leader. From Virginia's House of Burgesses, where Washington learned the craft and timing of a practicing politician, to his management of local government as a justice of the Fairfax County Court to his eventual role in the Second Continental Congress and his grueling generalship...