| The Papers of George Washington: April-December 1799 Volume 4 Contributor(s): Washington, George (Author), Abbot, W. W. (Editor) |
|
 |
ISBN: 0813918553 ISBN-13: 9780813918556 Publisher: University of Virginia Press OUR PRICE: $94.05 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: August 1999 Annotation: The four-volume Retirement Series covers the interval between Washington's retirement from the presidency on 4 March 1797 and his death on 14 December 1799. Except for a trip to Philadelphia in 1798, Washington stuck close to home, only occasionally going from Mount Vernon into Alexandria or across the river to Georgetown and the new Federal City. The management and improvement of his farms at Mount Vernon were his major concern, and the pressing need for money forced him to give particular attention to the disposition of his large landholdings in the West. As Father of His Country he found himself not only entertaining a constant stream of visitors but also responding to a steady flow of letters from friends and strangers, foreign and domestic. From the start, senators, congressmen, Adams's cabinet members, and diplomats kept him informed of political developments. Washington's absence from the public stage, never much more than a fiction, came to an end in July 1798 when his growing alarm over French policy and the bitter divisions in the body politic arising out of it led him to accept command of the army, with the promise to take the field in case of a French invasion. And in 1799 Washington for the first time became deeply involved in partisan electoral politics. In the spring of 1799, when this volume begins, the relaxation of tensions between France and the United States allowed Washington to redirect his attention to his personal affairs. He drew up a new will that summer and made arrangements for the breakup of the estate he had amassed in the course of his life; but he also kept his gaze on the future, drawing up extensive plans for farming at Mount Vernon in 1800, themanagement of which he planned to take on himself. Washington also supervised the compilation of a comprehensive list of his Mount Vernon slaves, while at the same time making plans for their eventual freedom. Washington died at Mount Vernon on 14 December, behaving with a courage that was witnessed by his friend and secretary, Tobias Lear, whose accounts of the event bring the volume to a close. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | United States - Revolutionary Period (1775-1800) |
| Dewey: 973.309 |
| LCCN: 97006770 |
| Series: Retirement |
| Physical Information: 1.69" H x 6.48" W x 9.48" (2.47 lbs) 603 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 18th Century |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: In the spring of 1799, the relaxation of tensions between France and the United States allowed Washington to redirect his attention to his personal affairs. He drew up a new will that summer and made arrangements for the breakup of the estate he had amassed in the course of his life; but he also kept his gaze on the future, drawing up extensive plans for farming at Mount Vernon in 1800, the management of which he planned to take on himself. Washington also supervised the compilation of a comprehensive list of his Mount Vernon slaves, while at the same time making plans for their eventual freedom. Washington died at Mount Vernon on 14 December, behaving with a courage that was witnessed by his friend and secretary, Tobias Lear, whose accounts of the event bring the volume to a close. |