Description
Washington's Government shows how George Washington's administration the subject of remarkably little previous study was both more dynamic and more uncertain than previously thought. Rather than simply following a blueprint laid out by the Constitution, Washington and his advisors constructed over time a series of possible mechanisms for doing the nation's business. The results were successful in some cases, disastrous in others. Yet at the end of Washington's second term, there was no denying that the federal government had achieved remarkable results. As Americans debate the nature of good national governance two and a half centuries after the founding, this volume's insights appear timelier than ever.
About the Author
Max M. Edling is Reader in Early American History at King's College London and author of Perfecting the Union: National and State Authority in the US Constitution.
Reviews
George Washington in 1783 saw a nation desperately in need of "a supreme power to regulate and govern the general concerns of the confederated Republic," a need that was met-on paper-with the Constitution of 1787. This important and insightful volume explores how those paper powers came to be transformed into a functioning federal government, one that could take on the many challenges facing the new American nation." -Kevin Butterfield, Washington Library at Mount Vernon, author of The Making of Tocqueville's America: Law and Association in the Early United States
"Washington's Government brings together original scholarship on the Washington administration-an important yet oddly neglected topic. The scholarship is fresh and imaginative, and the writing is clear and accessible." -Richard R. John, Columbia University, author of Network Nation: Inventing American Telecommunications
Book Information
ISBN 9780813946139
Author Max Edling
Format Hardback
Page Count 290
Imprint University of Virginia Press
Publisher University of Virginia Press
Weight(grams) 525g
About the Author
Max M. Edling is Reader in Early American History at King's College London and author of Perfecting the Union: National and State Authority in the US Constitution.
Peter J. Kastor is Samuel K. Eddy Professor of History at Washington University in St. Louis and author of William Clark's World: Describing America in an Age of Unknowns.
Reviews
George Washington in 1783 saw a nation desperately in need of "a supreme power to regulate and govern the general concerns of the confederated Republic," a need that was met-on paper-with the Constitution of 1787. This important and insightful volume explores how those paper powers came to be transformed into a functioning federal government, one that could take on the many challenges facing the new American nation." -Kevin Butterfield, Washington Library at Mount Vernon, author of The Making of Tocqueville's America: Law and Association in the Early United States
"Washington's Government brings together original scholarship on the Washington administration-an important yet oddly neglected topic. The scholarship is fresh and imaginative, and the writing is clear and accessible." -Richard R. John, Columbia University, author of Network Nation: Inventing American Telecommunications
Book Information
ISBN 9780813946139
Author Max Edling
Format Hardback
Page Count 290
Imprint University of Virginia Press
Publisher University of Virginia Press
Weight(grams) 525g
