Bibliography of George Washington
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This bibliography of George Washington is a selected list of written and published works about
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
(1732–1799). A recent count has estimated the number of books about George Washington at some nine hundred; add scholarly articles with Washington's name in the title and the count climbs to six thousand. It covers his life in general or in part and includes primary sources containing Washington's works, letters, records, diaries, etc. The literature on Washington is immense, his biographers and editors having lived in four separate centuries. Many of the publications listed here lend themselves to Washington in a biographical capacity, while many cover specific events and other topics where Washington is the central or an important figure. Publications covering subjects such as 'The Winter at Valley Forge', 'The Battle of Brooklyn' and Washington's farewell address are well placed and can be found in this bibliography. Washington was diligent about keeping records, maintained many diaries throughout his adult life, and corresponded with many prominent figures, family members and friends. At this late date nearly all of Washington's writings have been studied, transcribed, organized, edited and published by a large number of historians over the years, providing the basis by which the many biographical accounts of Washington's life have been written.


Washington overview

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
(February 22, 1732 .S. February 11, 1731nbsp;– December 14, 1799) was the first president of the United States (1789–1797), the commander-in-chief of the
Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
during the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, and one of the
Founding Fathers The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...
of the United States. He presided over the convention that drafted the current United States Constitution and during his lifetime was called the "father of his country", and widely considered so by many historians today. Washington left volumes of letters, diaries and other documents that historians continue to draw on for insight into Washington's life and early American history overall.


Evolution of Washington biographies

Biographies of George Washington number nearly as many as those for all other major figures in the American Revolution combined, and comprise only a portion of the literature of Washington altogether. The first biographer of George Washington was
Mason Weems Mason Locke Weems (October 11, 1759 – May 23, 1825), usually referred to as Parson Weems, was an American minister, evangelical bookseller and author who wrote (and rewrote and republished) the first biography of George Washington immediately a ...
, famous for his anecdote of the young Washington chopping down a cherry tree, i.e."I cannot tell a lie...", who first published his ''The Life of George Washington'' in 1800 and subsequently in 1804–1807 setting the tone for many popular biographies that eventually followed. Washington was so central to the story of the American Revolution and the government after 1787 that virtually all the early histories celebrated him as the model American and president. They were handicapped however by lack of access to his private papers and by haphazard availability of his official papers as general and president. A number of years after Washington's death passed before much of the finer and more intimate biographical information on Washington began to emerge, as this information could only be found in Washington's letters and diaries, most of which were still in the hands of family members and other private individuals. The greater public only had access to accounts from newspapers and various official documents. It was not until 1833 that a more comprehensive account of Washington's personal life became known. The first such account was authored by Jared Sparks, considered the best informed man on Washington in his day and the first biographer who was given access to Washington's many letters by Washington's nephew Bushrod Washington. Sparks published ''The Writings of George Washington'', published in twelve volumes between 1833 and 1837, and ''The Life of George Washington'' in 1839. Sparks was sometimes criticized for editing Washington's spelling, grammar and various phrases. Chief Justice
John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...
, an ardent
Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...
from Virginia, greatly admired Washington, and between 1804 and 1807 published a highly detailed five-volume biography. It greatly shaped the scholarly image of Washington for the 19th century. Marshall's ''Life of Washington'' was based on records and papers also provided to him by the Washington family and reflected Marshall's Federalist principles. His revised and condensed two-volume ''Life of Washington'' was published in 1832. Historians have often praised its accuracy and well-reasoned judgments, while noting Marshall's frequent paraphrases of published sources such as William Gordon's 1801 history of the Revolution and the British ''Annual Register.'' In the 20th century, by far the most comprehensive biography was written by Douglas Southall Freeman in seven volumes, 1948–1957. A recent evaluation of its 3582 pages concludes, "Although a few specific interpretations have been supplanted, this remains the most comprehensive study of Washington and the best place to check for specific activities, military movements, and decisions." Freeman's research was thorough, and the story is told from Washington's own viewpoint. Freeman wrote, "the great big thing stamped across that man is character." By character, says
David Hackett Fischer David Hackett Fischer (born December 2, 1935) is University Professor of History Emeritus at Brandeis University. Fischer's major works have covered topics ranging from large macroeconomic and cultural trends (''Albion's Seed,'' ''The Great Wave ( ...
"Freeman meant integrity, self-discipline, courage, absolute honesty, resolve, and decision, but also forbearance, decency, and respect for others." Freeman posthumously won a
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
in 1958 for his work, and James T. Flexner's, ''George Washington: The Indispensable Man'', in four volumes (1965–1972), also won the Pulitzer Prize in 2005. Joseph J. Ellis, ''His Excellency: George Washington'' (2005) has frequently been praised as an interpretive essay. David Hackett Fischer's long, intense, microscopic study of the December 1775 campaign ''Washington's Crossing'' (2004) likewise won a Pulitzer Prize in 2005. ''Washington: A Life'' (2010), written by historian Ron Chernow, won Chernow a Pulitzer Prize in 2011. '' You Never Forget Your First'' (2020), written by historian Alexis Coe, is the third complete biography of Washington written by a female author. In her book, Coe chronicles Washington's life and seeks to deconstruct conclusions that have been reached about him, particularly those drawn by male historians and biographers.


Primary sources and documents

After Washington died the huge volumes of his writings and documents were bequeathed to his nephew, Bushrod Washington. Not long after Washington's death Bushrod prevailed upon several authors to write Washington's biography. He first approached Washington's old friend and compatriot
John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...
to write a biography, offering all of Washington's letters, manuscripts and diaries to help in the effort, to which Marshall agreed, subsequently producing his five-volume biography of George Washington, first published between 1804 and 1807. With its many references to various letters and documents, Marshall's five-volume work became the sole comprehensive source for Washington and his life that served advanced readers for several decades. Finally in 1833 Bushrod also allowed Jared Sparks access to Washington's letters, and in 1839 Sparks published his two-volume, ''The Life of George Washington'', which drew on the same abundance of primary sources. He also produced a large 12-volume work outlining Washington's writings, published between 1833 and 1837. Sparks was sometimes criticized for silently editing Washington's spelling, grammar and various phrases. Another major compilation of Washington's writings was published from 1889 to 1893 by historian Worthington Chauncey Ford in a fourteen-volume set of ''The Writings of George Washington.'' The next major compilation did not appear until
John Clement Fitzpatrick John Clement Fitzpatrick (August 10, 1876 – February 10, 1940) was an archivist and an early American historian, widely regarded as an authority on George Washington. He was noted for his groundbreaking work editing Washington's diaries and many ...
compiled and edited a thirty-nine volume work, also entitled, ''The Writings of George Washington'', (1931–1944), using much of the same original manuscript sources as Sparks and Ford. Historian Donald Jackson and Dorothy Twohig in 1984 published what is now considered by historian John R. Alden the best edition of Washington's diaries, in six volumes. The
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
has a comprehensive bibliography, as well as online scans of diaries, letterbooks, financial papers and military papers.


Biographical

*  (eBook) * *  (eBook) * * * (eBook) * (eBook} * (eBook) *  (eBook) * * * * * * * * * * * *  (eBook) * * * * WP article * * WP article * * (eBook) *  (eBook) * * * * * * Juvenile audience * , Wikipedia article on book * * * * * WP article for Pulitzer Prize–winning book * * * * * * * * *  (eBook) * * Pulitzer Prize–winning book * * * * Harless, Richard. ''George Washington and Native Americans: "Learn Our Arts and Ways of Life"'' (Fairfax: George Mason University Press, 2018. 300 pp
online review
* * {eBook) * * * * Henriques, Peter. "The Final Struggle between George Washington and the Grim King: Washington's Attitude toward Death and an Afterlife." ''Virginia Magazine of History and Biography'' 107#1 (1999): 73–97. * * * * * *  (eBook) * *  (eBook) :*  (eBook) :*  (eBook) :*  (eBook) :*  (eBook) * * * (eBook) * (eBook) * * * * * * * * * * , 1187 pages *  (eBook) *  (eBook) * * *  (eBook) :*  (eBook) :*  (eBook) :*  (eBook) :*  (eBook) ::*Foran, William A. "John Marshall as a Historian" ''American Historical Review'' 43#1 (1937) pp. 51–6
online
* *  (eBook) * * (Excerpt: the revolution from General Washington's perspective) * * *  (eBook) * * * Novak, Michael. ''Washington's God: Religion, Liberty, and the Father of Our Country'' (Basic Books, 2007). * * O'Connell, Robert L. ''Revolutionary: George Washington at War'' (Random House, 2019)
excerpt
* O'Keefe, Kieran J. "Faith before Creed: The Private and Public Religion of George Washington." ''Journal of Religious History'' 43.3 (2019): 400–418. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9809.12607 * * (eBook) * (eBook) * * * *  (eBook) * * * * * *  (eBook) * * *  (eBook) *  (eBook) * * * * * *  (eBook)


Events, government and ideas

* * * * * * * * * * (eBook) * * * * * * * * * * (eBook) * * * * * * * * the leading scholarly history of the 1790s * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Revised and excerpted as "George Washington and the Patience of Power." ''Modern Age: A Quarterly Review'' 57, no. 4 (Fall 2015): 35–43. * * * * * (Washington was president of the Society) * (eBook) * (eBook) * * * * * * * * * * Lender, Mark Edward, and Garry Wheeler Stone. ''Fatal Sunday: George Washington, the Monmouth Campaign, and the Politics of Battle'' (University of Oklahoma Press, 2016). * Loss, Richard. "The Political Thought of President George Washington." ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' 19#3 (1989): 471–490
online
* (eBook) * (eBook) * (eBook) * * * * WP article: 1776 * * * * * * * * * (eBook) * * * * * * * * (eBook)


Espionage

* Allen, Thomas B. ''George Washington, Spymaster: How the Americans Outspied the British and Won the Revolutionary War'' (2004) * Harty, Jared B. "George Washington: Spymaster and General Who Saved the American Revolution" (Staff paper, No. ATZL-SWV. Army Command And General Staff College Fort Leavenworth, School Of Advanced Military Studies, 2012
online
* Kaplan, Roger. "The Hidden War: British Intelligence Operations during the American Revolution." ''William and Mary Quarterly'' (1990) 47#1: 115–138.
online
* Kilmeade, Brian, and Don Yaeger. ''George Washington's Secret Six: The Spy Ring that Saved the American Revolution'' (Penguin, 2016). * Mahoney, Harry Thayer, and Marjorie Locke Mahoney. ''Gallantry in action: A biographic dictionary of espionage in the American revolutionary war'' (University Press of America, 1999). * Misencik, Paul R. ''Sally Townsend, George Washington's Teenage Spy'' (McFarland, 2015). * O'Toole, George J.A. ''Honorable Treachery: A History of US Intelligence, Espionage, and Covert Action from the American Revolution to the CIA'' (2nd ed. 2014). * * Van Doren, Carl. ''Secret History of the American Revolution: An Account of the Conspiracies of Benedict Arnold and Numerous Others Drawn from the Secret Service'' (1941
online free


Slavery

* * Furstenberg, François. "Atlantic Slavery, Atlantic Freedom: George Washington, Slavery, and Transatlantic Abolitionist Networks." ''William and Mary Quarterly'' 68.2 (2011): 247–286
online
* * Morgan, Kenneth. "George Washington and the Problem of Slavery." ''Journal of American Studies'' 34#2 (2000): 279–301. * Morgan, Philip D. "'To Get Quit of Negroes': George Washington and Slavery." ''Journal of American Studies'' 39#3 (2005): 403–429. * * Thomas, Ebony Elizabeth, James Joshua Coleman, and Lindsay R. Cicchino. "George Washington and Slavery." ''Social Education'' 82.3 (2018): 143–148
online
* Thompson, Mary V. '' "The Only Unavoidable Subject of Regret": George Washington, Slavery and the Enslaved Community at Mount Vernon''. 2019. University of Virginia Press. *


Historiography and memory

* Brandt, Lydia Mattice. ''First in the Homes of His Countrymen: George Washington's Mount Vernon in the American Imagination'' (U of Virginia Press, 2016). xii, 284 pp * * Cavitch, Max. "The Man That Was Used Up: Poetry, Particularity, and the Politics of Remembering George Washington'' ''American Literature'' 75#2 (2003)
online
* Chinard, Gilbert, ed. ''George Washington as the French Knew Him: A Collection of Texts'' (Princeton UP, 1940). * Cohen, Sheldon S. "Monuments to Greatness: George Dance, Charles Polhill, and Benjamin West's Design for a Memorial to George Washington." ''Virginia Magazine of History and Biography'' 99#2 (1991), pp. 187–203
online
* Drozdowski, Marian Marek, Ludwik Krzyzanowski, And Gerard T. Kapolka. "George Washington In Polish Historiography And Historical Periodicals." ''The Polish Review'' (1989): 127–172
online
* Galke, Laura J. "Who’s the bomb? George’s mom! haunting biographies of George Washington." ''International Journal of Heritage Studies'' 25.7 (2019): 689–707. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527258.2018.1542332 * * * Hay, Robert. "George Washington: American Moses," ''American Quarterly'' 21#4 (1969): 780–79
online
* Knox, Amanda. "Imagining George Washington: A Historiography of George Washington in Historical Memory." ''North Alabama Historical Review'' 5.1 (2015): 7+
online
* Lengel, Edward G. ''Inventing George Washington: America's founder, in myth and memory'' (Harper Collins, 2011)
excerpt
* * Longmore, Paul K. ''The Invention of George Washington'' (Univ. of Virginia Press, 1999). * (eBook) * Marling, Karal Ann. ''George Washington Slept Here: Colonial Revivals and American Culture, 1876–1986'' (Harvard University Press, 1988). * Olszewski, George J. ''A History of the Washington Monument, 1844–1968, Washington, D.C.'' (National Park Service, 1971). * * Savage, Kirk. ''Monument Wars: Washington, D.C., the National Mall, and the Transformation of the Memorial Landscape'' (2009). * Schwartz, Barry. "Social change and collective memory: The democratization of George Washington." ''American Sociological Review'' (1991): 221–236
online
* Schwartz, Barry. "George Washington and the Whig Conception of Heroic Leadership," ''American Sociological Review '' 48#1 (1983) : 18–33. * *
"George Washington in Popular Culture"
''Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington'' (2020)


Primary sources

The greater volume of George Washington's known letters were first edited and published in the 19th century by several prominent historians. These works form the basis of all other such publications that followed. * * * * * * * * * * ; LC Call Number: E312.7 1931   39 volume biographical listing ::* ::* ::* ::* * :* :* :* :* * :*  (eBook) :*  (eBook) :*  (eBook) :*  (eBook) :*  (eBook) * * *   (eBook download options)
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Jared Sparks

Jared Sparks was given access to Washington's personal writings and other documents by Bushrod Washington who had inherited them from his uncle George Washington upon his death. After a several year effort Sparks produced his twelve volume ''The Writings of George Washington'', published from 1833 to 1839. Sparks was widely praised for his great effort but was sometimes criticized for his editing of Washington's spelling, grammar and various phrases.
* * * * * * * Topics : Letters, 1780. Numerous letters to President of Continental Congress; Several letters to Lafayette, Generals Howe, Greene, Clinton, Arnold; Letters to Major Henry Lee, statesmen, etc. * * * *
download eBook
* ---- * * * *


Worthington C. Ford

Worthington C. Ford Worthington Chauncey Ford (February 15, 1858 – March 7, 1941) was an American historian, archivist and editor of a number of collections of documents from early American history. He served in a variety of government positions: first, as the ch ...
published a 14 volume work, also entitled, ''The Writings of George Washington'', in 1889–1890. Ford draws on much of the same material as did Sparks in 1834 and Fitzpatrick in 1931. In his Preface to volume 1, Ford, while praising Sparks' enormous volume of works, offers some sharp criticism about his sometimes questionable editorship of Washington's writings as Sparks would sometimes edit spelling, grammar, change or leave out phrases, etc. Ford made clear of his position here, that his editorship of Washington's writings would not be conducted in the same expedient manner that his predecessor sometimes employed.
*  – Topics: 1748–1757: Numerous letters to Gov. Dinwiddie, and military officers. Letters to William Fairfax; Notes on journey to Boston, etc. * * * – Topics: Numerous letters to ''The President of Congress'' and ''The Committee of Safety''; To Joseph Reed, Governor Trumbull, Cousin Lund Washington, Richard Henry Lee; To Generals Howe, Putnam, Ward, Sullivan, Schyler, etc. * * * * * * * * * *


John Clement Fitzpatrick

John Clement Fitzpatrick John Clement Fitzpatrick (August 10, 1876 – February 10, 1940) was an archivist and an early American historian, widely regarded as an authority on George Washington. He was noted for his groundbreaking work editing Washington's diaries and many ...
was commissioned by the ''George Washington Bicentennial Commission'' in 1931 to transcribe, edit and publish Washington's writings in what became a 39 volume work entitled ''The Writings of George Washington''. The Commission was created to commemorate the coming 200th anniversary of Washington's birth in 1932, and to promote education in Revolutionary War era history overall. This massive work, taken from Washington's letters, military records, diaries, etc., was edited and compiled under the direction of
John Clement Fitzpatrick John Clement Fitzpatrick (August 10, 1876 – February 10, 1940) was an archivist and an early American historian, widely regarded as an authority on George Washington. He was noted for his groundbreaking work editing Washington's diaries and many ...
, and sponsored and prepared by the ''Commission'', under the authority of U.S. Congress, 1931, taking several years to complete. The commission conducted a thorough investigation of all available books, pamphlets reports, and other material relating to the life and times of George Washington. Because the field was very broad, members of the commission found it necessary to study the requirements of selecting source material while making sure they didn't exclude any essential data, a process that Fitzpatrick oversaw for eight years until his death in 1940 before all the volumes had been published. History of the Bicentennial Commission, 1932, p. v


See also

*
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
*
George Washington and religion The religious views of George Washington have long been debated. While some of the other Founding Fathers of the United States, such as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Patrick Henry, were noted for writing about religion, Washington rar ...
* George Washington in the American Revolution *
George Washington in the French and Indian War George Washington's military experience began in the French and Indian War with a commission as a major in the militia of the British Province of Virginia. In 1753 Washington was sent as an ambassador from the British crown to the French offic ...
* George Washington's Farewell Address *
George Washington and slavery The history of George Washington and slavery reflects George Washington, Washington's changing attitude toward slavery, enslavement. The preeminent Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States and a inheritance, ...
*
Legacy of George Washington George Washington (1732–1799) commanded the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and was the first president of the United States, from 1789 to 1797. In terms of personality, leading Washington biographer Douglas Southall Freeman concluded ...
*
Military career of George Washington The military career of George Washington spanned over forty years of service (1752–1799). Washington's service can be broken into three periods, French and Indian War, American Revolutionary War, and the Quasi-War with France, with service ...
*
Presidency of George Washington The presidency of George Washington began on April 30, 1789, when Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the United States, and ended on March 4, 1797. Washington took office after the 1788–1789 presidential election, the na ...
*
The Papers of George Washington The Washington Papers, also known as The Papers of George Washington'','' is a project dedicated to the publication of comprehensive letterpress and digital editions of George and Martha Washington’s papers. Founded at the University of Virginia ...
* George Washington Birthplace National Monument * Valley Forge *
Washington family The Washington family is an American family of English origins that was part of both the British landed gentry and the American gentry. It was prominent in colonial America and rose to great economic and political eminence especially in the Col ...
*
Bibliography of the American Revolutionary War The following bibliography includes notable books concerning the American Revolutionary War. These books are listed in the bibliographies of books by prominent historians as shown in the footnotes. General references and surveys * Alden, John R. ' ...
*
Speeches by George Washington This list of speeches includes those that have gained notability in English or in English translation. The earliest listings may be approximate dates. Before the 1st century *c.570 BC : Gautama Buddha gives his first sermon at Sarnath *43 ...
*
List of George Washington articles The following is a list of articles about (and largely involving) George Washington. Ancestry and childhood * Augustine Washington and Mary Ball Washington – father and mother of George Washington * Lawrence Washington (1718–1752) – ...


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * A condense
version is 754 pages long.
* * (Document No. 28859 – Release Date May 18, 2009) Also see
V. 1V. 2
* *


External links

*


Part one of C-SPAN ''Q&A'' interview with Ron Chernow on ''Washington: A Life'', October 3, 2010

Part two of C-SPAN ''Q&A'' interview with Ron Chernow on ''Washington: A Life'', October 10, 2010
{{Bibliographies of U.S. Presidents
Bibliography Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliography ...
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