40 pages • 1 hour read
Joseph J. EllisHis Excellency: George Washington
Nonfiction | Biography | Adult | Published in 2004A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapter 2Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 2 Summary: “The Strenuous Squire”
Washington’s marriage to Martha Custis is one of the decisive events of his life, bringing him stability and allowing him to enter the “top tier of Virginia’s planter class” (40) as master of Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon is a series of loosely connected farms, each with its own distinct workforce. Washington busies himself overseeing his property, but enjoys more leisure activities, including foxhunting, after his distant cousin Lund becomes the main manager of the estate. Although accepting of the institution of slavery, viewing it primarily in economic terms, Washington sees to it that his slaves are well cared for and refuses to break up their families through sale. The issue of slavery will become important for Washington, and American society at large, in later years.
Like many other Virginia planters, Washington “consigns” his tobacco crop to a London mercantile house, Cary & Company. This allows the Washington family to have access to English consumer goods, which they avidly buy, to the detriment of their finances. In time, Washington becomes entrapped in a “chronic condition of indebtedness” (50) and dependence on a remote businessman in London. Washington suspects Robert Cary of taking advantage of him financially in their business deals. These experiences predispose Washington in 1765 to side with the colonists in their reaction over the Stamp Act, Britain’s “effort to impose a direct tax on the colonies in order to help defray the costs of managing its expanding empire” (52). Washington also decides to discontinue tobacco planting in favor of wheat and fish, which he sells locally and abroad. This way, he is able gradually to free himself from dependency on Cary.
During this period and later, Washington sees America’s future as tied in with the Western frontier—a conviction that includes the belief that the Potomac River can provide access to America’s interior waterways. Following up on this “Potomac Fever,” (54) Washington acquires tracts of land in the Ohio territory at a time when British policy and American Indian claims on the area frequently conflict. Washington takes a great interest in raising his two stepchildren, Jackie and Patsy, giving them many of the advantages that he did not enjoy. However, both come to unhappy ends. Jackie becomes spoiled by his many privileges, failing as a student and farmer and dying an early death. Patsy suffers from poor health and dies of a seizure at the age of 17.
As tension mounts between the colonies and Britain in the wake of the Stamp Act, Washington increasingly comes to be viewed as a “stalwart, cool-headed leader of the protest movement in Virginia” (64). Although seeing war with Britain as a last resort, he is prepared for the eventuality. By May, 1775, Washington leaves Mount Vernon for Philadelphia with his military uniform, and during sessions of the Continental Congress is selected to lead an American army in war against Great Britain.
Chapter 2 Analysis
This chapter sees Washington establishing the cornerstones of his personal life—marriage with Martha and the building of Mount Vernon—and ends with the heated lead-up to the Revolutionary War. Ellis emphasizes that even before the war, Washington is “already in personal rebellion against the slavish seductions of the British Empire” (53). This is especially seen in his experiences with Robert Cary, whom he sees as a dishonest, predatory businessman taking advantage of an “unsophisticated” American. Indeed, Washington’s resentment of the British goes back even further, to his frustrated dealings with his military superiors in the French and Indian War. In Ellis’ view, this reflects Washington’s practical and empirical nature; he is influenced not by books or theories, but by personal experience of the “imperiousness of the British Empire” (64). At the same time, his ideas are enriched by contacts with such revolution-minded thinkers as George Mason, who push him steadily toward a conviction that war with Britain is inevitable.
Washington’s acceptance of the position of commander of the Continental Army is the next crucial step of his life, after his marriage to Martha. It is the decision that would seal his glory and fame forever. Ellis singles out the late spring of 1775 as a “crowded moment” when “a great deal of history happened quickly” (67) in the lead-up to the war. Washington at first regards war as a last resort, but eventually, as Britain becomes more aggressive and brutal in asserting its power in the colonies, he comes to view it as a necessity. Washington emphasizes that he is saddened to have to take up arms but is morally compelled to do so. This is crucial, as it establishes that Washington is not a “war monger” and that America has no choice but to take up arms:
Unhappy it is though to reflect, that a Brother’s Sword has been sheathed in a Brother’s breast, and that, the once happy and peaceful plains of America are either to be drenched with Blood, or Inhabited by Slaves. Sad alternative! But can a virtuous Man hesitate in his choice? (68)
Ellis describes Washington’s attitude toward the nomination as “postured reticence,” a quality he will also display when he is put forward as a candidate for president. This is part of the essential quality of a Virginia gentleman, who is not supposed to tout himself or his accomplishments in an ostentatious manner.
Related Titles
By Joseph J. Ellis
