The American Presidents: George Washington

Upon browsing the bookstore shelves I came across an intriguing series of books, entitled The American Presidents edited by Arthur Schlesinger. Based on the intriguing author list ranging from top historians (Robert Dallek, Gary Wills), political figures (Gary Hart and John Dean) to a novelist (E.L. Doctorow), I was compelled to dive in. I hope to draw some lessons regarding the qualities of character that make for both good and lesser presidents, and some insight into what to look for in the current crop of candidates for 2008. Also, I'm currently interested in the history of presidential power, as I believe our current administration is dangerously overreaching. Of course since I'm dealing with history, I'm as likely to draw the wrong lessons as the right ones, but at least I'll be able to back up my arguments and sound authoritative. It's easy enough to draw the wrong conclusions from a controlled science experiment, and history is anything but controlled.

Each volume is 150-175 pages, giving equal time to James Garfield (who served less than a year) and FDR. It looks like each volume devotes its first third or so to the pre-presidential career, with the bulk of the book being devoted to the presidency. The result is a volume that compares to a full-blown biography like a blog post compares to a real essay. At this length, getting through the entire series seems feasible, and I'm intrigued by the prospect of learning about people like Benjamin Harrison and Rutherford B. Hayes, as well getting new perspectives on the usual suspects.


The fact that I'm writing this post in the United States of America governed by pretty much the same constitution as written in 1789 is a testament to the effectiveness of George Washington as the first President. When we read the constitution, we imagine the government as it is organized today; however, a closer look shows that it doesn't really tell us that much about the executive branch. We're just mentally filling in the details with what we take for granted. Washington and his cabinet (the cabinet isn't specified in the constitution either) expertly defined the role of the executive, including the executive's supreme role in foreign policy, and leadership in proposing legislation. Washington gave the presidency enough power to be effective, but prudently did not grab the monarchical powers Americans might have granted him.

The authors, James MacGregor Burns and Susan Dunn, do a good if pedestrian job of explaining just how dicey Washington's situation was. Success for the American experiment was not assured, but Washington surrounded himself with the best and the brightest including Alexander Hamilton as Treasury Secretary, Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State, and James Madison as his point man in Congress. Rather sensibly, he preferred the vigorous debate to take place within the administration and to emerge publicly with one voice. As public debate and dissent became more rancorous and partisan, Washington found the presidency more distasteful. As a result, Washington's second unanimous election established a tradition being honored to this day, the tumultuous second term.

I came off with a favorable impression of Washington, but the authors never conveyed the empathy (which does not preclude criticism) that I find in the best biography. That may have been due to Washington's carefully crafted public image, which is difficult to penetrate. However, they did tempt me to dig into the giant biography of Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow that's sitting on my bookshelf. Instead, I started the next book in the series, John Adams , and it's already a more compelling read than the Washington biography. I look forward to reporting on it.