The focus of this seminar will be on the "Success of George Washington." The contents of the material will stress Washington's understanding of the goals, conditions, and means of founding free government. Departing from his understanding that "private morality is the foundation of national happiness," we will inquire how, in an age of moral skepticism and low expectations, Washington was able to imbue American society with a sense of noble accomplishment and worthy ambition. We will be sure to review the background resources that prepared Washington for his rule, as well as the historical deeds that compare with his own. The guiding purpose of the seminar will be to demonstrate how certainly the statesman moves from principle to policy.
William B. Allen is professor of political science at Michigan State University. Formerly, he served as Director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) and Dean and Professor at James Madison College, Michigan State University. Dr. Allen has served as a member and chair of the United States Commission on Civil Rights and was appointed to the National Council for the Humanities by President Reagan. He published Let the Advice Be Good: A Defense of Madison's Democratic Nationalism in 1993. He has edited several collections, including George Washington: A Collection, The Works of Fisher Ames, and the Essential Antifederalist.
Readings
Selections from George Washington, W.B. Allen, ed., George Washington: A Collection (Indianapolis: Liberty Classics, 1988):
Chapter Five: Washington's Knowledge of Himself and His Army, 1872-1783
- To Colonel Lewis Nicola, May 22, 1782
- To the Secretary at War, October 2, 1782
- To Joseph Jones, December 14, 1782
- To Major General Nathanael Greene, February 6, 1783
- General Orders, February 15, 1783
Chapter Six: Washington's Knowledge of His Countrymen
- To Joseph Jones, March 18, 1783
- To Major General Nathanael Green, March 31, 1783
- To Alexander Hamilton, March 31, 1783
- To Theodorick Bland, April 4, 1783
- To Marquis de LaFayette, April 5, 1783
- General Orders, April 18, 1783
- To Lieutenant Colonel Tench Tilghman, April 24, 1783
- Circular to the States, June 14, 1783
Chapter Seven: The General Resigns, 1783
- To John Augustine Washington, June 15, 1783
- To Reverend William Gordon, July 8, 1783
- To James Duane, September 7, 1783
- Farewell Orders to the Armies of the United States, November 2, 1783
- To the Ministers, Elders, Deacons, and Members of the Reformed German Congregation of New York, November 27, 1783
- To the Merchants of Philadelphia, December 9, 1783
- Address to Congress on Resigning his Commission, December 23, 1783
Chapter Eight: The Citizen Stirs, 1784-1786
- To Jonathan Trumbull, Jr., January 5, 1784
- To Governor Benjamin Harrison, January 18, 1784
- To Marquis de LaFayette, February 1, 1784
- To Dr. James Craik, March 25, 1784
- To Thomas Jefferson, March 29, 1784
- To James Madison, June 12, 1784
- To Governor Benjamin Harrison, October 10, 1784
- To Thomas Johnson, October 15, 1784
- To Benjamin Harrison, January 22, 1785
- To the President of Congress, February 8, 1785
- To William Grayson, June 22, 1785
- To David Humphreys, July 25, 1785
- To Marquis de LaFayette, July 25, 1785
- To Edmund Randolph, July 30, 1785
- To James McHenry, August 22, 1785
- To George Mason, October 3, 1785
- To James Warren, October 7, 1785
- To James Madison, November 30, 1785
- To Henry Lee, April 5, 1786
- To Robert Morris, April 12, 1786
- To Marquis de LaFayette, May 10, 1786
- To the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, May 18, 1786
- To Marquis de LaFayette, August 15, 1786
Chapter Nine: Making a Constitution, 1786-1788
- To John Jay, August 15, 1786
- To Bushrod Washington, September 30, 1786
- To Henry Lee, October 31, 1786
- To James Madison, November 5, 1786
- To Bushrod Washington, November 15, 1786
- To James Madison, November 18, 1786
- To James Madison, December 16, 1786
- To Governor Edmund Randolph, December 21, 1786
- To Henry Knox, December 26, 1786
- To David Humphreys, December 26, 1786
- To Henry Knox, February 3, 1787
- To Henry Knox, March 8, 1787
- To the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, March 10, 1787
- To Governor Edmund Randolph, March 28, 1787
- To James Madison, March 31, 1787
- To Henry Knox, April 2, 1787
- Summary of Letters from Jay, Knox, and Madison, Spring 1787
- To Alexander Hamilton, July 10, 1787
- To Patrick Henry, September 24, 1787
- To Alexander Hamilton, November 10, 1787
- To Bushrod Washington, November 10, 1787
- To David Stuart, November 30, 1787
- To James Madison, December 7, 1787
- To Governor Edmund Randolph, January 7, 1788
- To James Madison, January 10, 1788
- To James Madison, February 5, 1788
- To Marquis de LaFayette, February 7, 1788
- To James Madison, March 2, 1788
- To John Armstrong, April 25, 1788
- To Marquis de LaFayette, April 28, 1788
- To Marquis de Chastellux, April 25 [-May 1], 1788
- To Reverend Francis Adrian Vanderkemp, May 28, 1788
- To Marquis de LaFayette, May 28, 1788
- To Henry Knox, June 17, 1788
- To Marquis de LaFayette, June 19, 1788
- To Benjamin Lincoln, June 29, 1788
Chapter Ten: The Drama of Founding, 1788-1789
- To the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, July 18, 1788
- To Jonathan Trumbull, July 20, 1788
- To Noah Webster, Esq., July 31, 1788
- To Benjamin Lincoln, August 28, 1788
- To Alexander Hamilton, August 28, 1788
- To Thomas Jefferson, August 31, 1788
- To Alexander Hamilton, October 3, 1788
- To Benjamin Lincoln, October 26, 1788
- To Marquis de LaFayette, January 29, 1789
- To Benjamin Lincoln, January 31, 1789
- To Francis Hopkinson, February 5, 1789
- To George Steptoe Washington, March 23, 1789
- To James Madison, March 30, 1789
- To the Mayor, Corporation, and Citizens of Alexandria, April 16, 1789
Chapter Eleven: Presidential Address, 1789-1796
- Fragments of the Discarded First Inaugural Address, April 1789
- The First Inaugural Speech, April 30, 1789
- First Annual Message, January 8, 1790
- Second Annual Message, December 8, 1790
- Third Annual Message, October 25, 1791
- Fourth Annual Message, November 6, 1792
- The Second Inaugural Speech, March 4, 1793
- Fifth Annual Message, December 3, 1793
- Sixth Annual Message, November 19, 1794
- Seventh Annual Message, December 8, 1795
- Eighth Annual Message, December 7, 1796
- Farewell Address, September 19, 1796
Chapter Twelve: Washington the President, 1789-1791
- To James Madison, May 5, 1789
- To the United Baptist Churches in Virginia, May 10, 1789
- To the General Assembly of Presbyterian Churches, May 1789
- To the Annual Meeting of Quakers, September 1789
- Thanksgiving Proclamation, October 3, 1789
- Sketch of a Plan of American Finance, October 1789
- To Catherine Macaulay Graham, January 9, 1790
- To David Stuart, March 28, 1790
- To David Stuart, June 15, 1790
- To the Hebrew Congregations, January 1790
- To the Roman Catholics, March 1790
- To the Hebrew Congregations in Newport, August 7, 1790
- To the Hebrew Congregations of the City of Savannah Georgia (undated)
- To the Chiefs and Counselors of the Seneca Nation, December 29, 1790
- To Marquis de LaFayette, July 28, 1791
- To Gouverneur Morris, July 28, 1791
- To Arthur Young, December 5, 1791
Epilogue
- To Governor Jonathan Trumball, August 30, 1799
- Last Will and Testament, July 9, 1799