The Invention of George Washington / Edition 1

by Paul K. Longmore

Overview

BY TRACING George Washington's deliberate development from colonial planter and soldier to republican icon, Paul Longmore answers the riddle of Washington's simultaneous fame and aloofness, arriving at a portrait of Washington as a self-fashioning representative of his turbulent time. As a young Virginia planter, Washington aspired to virtues associated with the colonial gentry, but as the British system of patronage threatened his own ambitions, he adopted the radical Whig patriotism that would lead him to take up arms. As a national hero of the Revolutionary War, and in accepting the presidency, Washington defended civilian control of the military and other ideals of republican government because his own image was inextricably tied to their success. The Invention of George Washington, first published in hardcover in 1988, explores the character of our first president in modern terms, but as Longmore shows, Washington's assiduous cultivation of his own public image does not ultimately diminish his extraordinary achievements as general and statesman.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813918723
Publisher:	University of Virginia Press
Publication date:	02/08/1999
Edition description:	Paperback Edition
Pages:	337
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Paul K. Longmore is Professor of History at San Francisco State University.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Paul Longmore has examined the origins of the national image of George Washington, an image that still seems to hide the man. (How could anyone have been that good?) It was not, Longmore shows, the work of Washington's admirers, nor yet of any 18th-century equivalent of the press agent. Washington deliberately created his image himself.

The New Republic

Paul Longmore has examined the origins of the national image of George Washington, an image that still seems to hide the man. (How could anyone have been that good?) It was not, Longmore shows, the work of Washington's admirers, nor yet of any 18th-century equivalent of the press agent. Washington deliberately created his image himself.

Editorial Reviews

Paul Longmore has examined the origins of the national image of George Washington, an image that still seems to hide the man. (How could anyone have been that good?) It was not, Longmore shows, the work of Washington's admirers, nor yet of any 18th-century equivalent of the press agent. Washington deliberately created his image himself.

The New Republic

"Paul Longmore has examined the origins of the national image of George Washington, an image that still seems to hide the man. (How could anyone have been that good?) It was not, Longmore shows, the work of Washington's admirers, nor yet of any 18th-century equivalent of the press agent. Washington deliberately created his image himself. "——The New Republic

From the Publisher

This is a paper edition reprint of study originally published in 1988 by the U. of California Press. The title refers to the historical process by which Washington was made into a heroic myth by the American people, and also to discussion of Washington's own active role in the process<-->evidence of his strong talent, often overlooked, as a political actor. The author is a historian affiliated with San Francisco State University. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknew.com)

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