The Political Philosophy of George Washington.

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Date: 22 March 2011
• Author: Romance, Joseph

The Political Philosophy of George Washington

Jeffry Morrison

Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009, 226 pp.

In many ways, George Washington represents the most difficult of the Founders to approach. His importance in the American Revolution and the central role he played in the formation of the Republic is beyond dispute. Yet, as so many have pointed out, he becomes more the marble statue than a real man. Thus, it may not be surprising that the most recent spurt of scholarship and popular history concerning the American Founders tends to focus on reinterpretations of the agreed-upon intellectual greats (Jefferson, Madison, and Hamilton) and a rediscovery of neglected Founders (Mason, Morris, and Pickney). Alas, what are we to do with Washington beyond revere?

In The Political Philosophy of George Washington, Jeffry Morrison provides us with a sympathetic mad thoughtful accounting of the thinkers and intellectual traditions that most influenced our greatest Founder. Morrison attempts to shove just how Washington absorbed and then reflected back to the world the most important political beliefs of his day.

Morrison's strongest point, and one deserving of praise, is to remind us of the complex intellectual milieu in which Washington operated. Today, much scholarly firepower is devoted to untangling the various strands of political thought that tied our Founders together. In what sense were they republicans? Were they liberals? What was the status of Christianity and religion in general among...