Product Description
There is properly no history; only biography, wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. If that is true of the general run of mankind, it is particularly true of George Washington. The story of his life is the story of the founding of America. His was the dominant personality in three of the most critical events in that founding: the Revolutionary War, the Constitutional Convention, and the first national administration. Had he not served as America's leader in those three events, all three would likely have failed. And America as we know it today would not exist.

Why, after two centuries, does George Washington remain one of the most beloved figures in our history? The Real George Washington answers that question by giving us a close look at this man who became the "father of our country" and the first American President. But rather than focus on the interpretations of historians, the books tells much of his exciting story in his own words.

In Part I you'll meet a man who —

• lost his father at age 11 and nearly joined the British navy at 15.
• was ambushed in the French and Indian War, receiving bullets through his coat and hat but escaping without injury.
• held together a destitute army through the long and terrible winter at Valley Forge.
• resisted plans to make him king and an army plot to take over the government.
• made the Constitutional Convention credible by his presence and helped win ratification of the Constitution by his support.
• sacrificed his desire for a quiet retirement to serve as the first President, and, while serving, set a valuable precedent of constitutional governance.

Part II of the book brings together the most important and insightful passages from Washington's writings, conveniently arranged in alphabetical order by subject matter.

About the Series
This volume is part of a series being published by the National Center for Constitutional Studies, a nonprofit educational foundation dedicated to restoring Constitutional principles in the tradition of America's Founding Fathers. The AMERICAN CLASSIC SERIES is designed to revive an intelligent appreciation of the Founders and the remarkable system of free government which they gave us. The nation these men built is now in the throes of a political, economic, social, and spiritual crisis that has driven many to an almost frantic search for modern solutions. The truth is that the solutions have been available for a long time — in fact, for nearly two hundred years — in the writings of our Founding Fathers!

An honest examination of twentieth-century American history reveals that virtually every serious problem which has developed in our society can be traced to an ill-conceived departure from the sound principles taught by these great men. The citizen of today who turns back to the Founders' writings is often surprised by their timeless relevance, and perhaps equally dismayed that we have permitted ourselves to stray so far from such obvious truths.

It is our earnest hope that the AMERICAN CLASSIC SERIES will help the American people recapture the Founding Fathers' sense of direction and manifest destiny. If this generation will relearn and reapply their original success formula for freedom and prosperity, the United States of America may once again become a "beacon on the hill" to light the way of liberty for all mankind.

On the Web: www.nccs.net.