George Washington

by Fishman, Ethan

• ISBN13: 9780275968687
• ISBN10: 0275968685
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-09-30
• Publisher: Praeger Pub Text

Summary

Fishman, Pederson, Rozell, and their contributors examine the legacy of Washingtons presidency. Leading political scientists and historians describe and evaluate the impact of Washington's leadership on the institution of the presidency and on those who have since occupied the Oval Office. In the contemporary era of almost endless speculation about the role of character in presidential leadership, an analysis of Washington's character and the model he established is especially germane. The chapters provide diverse interpretations of the value of understanding Washington's leadership and the character of the modern presidency. Some of the scholars conclude that Washington indeed laid the foundation for good character and strong leadership in the presidency. Others take a more critical approach and see Washington, like many of his successors, as a fallible human being who possessed both character strengths and weaknesses. The lasting value of this analysis for political scientists, historians, and other students of the American presidency is that it demonstrates the continued vibrant debate over Washington's authentic legacy to the office.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Part I: Evaluating Washington's Leadership and Character	1	(162)
The President as Moral Leader: George Washington in Contemporary Perspective	3	(16)
Glenn A. Phelps
The Command of Its Own Fortunes: Reconsidering Washington's Farewell Address	19	(14)
Matthew Spalding
Washington as Cincinnatus: A Model of Leadership	33	(20)
Jason S. Lantzer
George Washington: Can Aristotle Recapture What His Countrymen Have Forgotten?	53	(18)
Colleen J. Shogan
Duty, Honor, Country: Parallels in the Leadership of George Washington and Dwight David Eisenhower	71	(28)
Phillip G. Henderson
The Foreign Policy of Republicanism: A Free Society in an Unfree World	99	(26)
William B. Allen
Washington's Leadership: Prudence and the American Presidency	125	(18)
Ethan Fishman
America's Presidential Triumvirate: Quantitative Measures of Character	143	(20)
William D. Pederson
Frank J. Williams
Part II: The Origins of Washington's Leadership and Character	163	(66)
The Young Washington: An Interpretive Essay	165	(18)
Mostafa Rejai
Kay Phillips
The Nature and Development of George Washington's Statesmanship: 1753-1783	183	(10)
Kent A. Kirwan
Washington and the Specter of Cromwell	193	(16)
Jim Piecuch
``A Compleat Gentleman'': Congress's ``Partiallity'' for George Washington in 1775	209	(10)
William Guthrie Sayen
George Washington, Popular Sovereignty, and the Legitimacy of Revolution	219	(10)
Ricardo A. Herrera
Selected Bibliography	229	(4)
Index	233	(6)
About the Contributors	239