This is part of a series which begins on 1 January 1784 with the hero of the American Revolution back at Mount Vernon under his own ""fig tree and vine"", and ends in September 1788 on the eve of his return to public life as president under the new Constitution. The Confederation Series is composed almost entirely of personal letters and includes very few official documents. Documents printed in Volume 1 reflect Washington's main concerns during the first months of peace. Many letters related directly to his resumption of the management not only of his house and farms at Mount Vernon, as well as of his tenanted land in Frederick and Berkeley counties and in Pennsylvania, but also of his vast holdings on the banks of the Great Kanawha and Ohio. Other letters deal with such things as the settlement of his military accounts, his activities as both president and determined reformer of the Society of the Cincinnati, and his preliminary notions about making the Potomac the connecting link between the East and the transmontane West.

Volume 3 covers the final months of the siege of Boston. It opens with General Washington proclaiming the commencement of the remodeled Continental army on New Year's Day 1776 and closes at the end of March as he prepares to depart for New York in the wake of the British evacuation of Boston.

Washington's correspondence and orders for this period reveal an uncompromising attitude toward reconciliation with Britain and a single-minded determination to engage the enemy forces in Boston before the end of the winter. Washington's bold proposal to attack Boston across the frozen back bay in the middle of February was rejected as too risky by a council of war, but the council did approve occupying the strategic Dorchester Heights overlooking the city and harbor. During the last weeks of February and the first days of March, Washington devoted himself to mobilizing artillery and gunpowder for a massive cannonade of Boston and assembling materials for portable fortifications to be erected on the frozen soil of Dorchester Heights. The successful execution of this operation on the night of 4 March failedto provoke General William Howe into assaulting the American lines and thereby open the way to counterattack on the city as Washington hoped it would. It did, however, compel the British to withdraw from Boston in haste a few days later, giving Washington and his army a spirit of confidence with which to embark on the New York campaign. The volume also includes a number of documents relating to Washington's private affairs in Virginia, the most important of which are eight letters from his Mount Vernon manager Lund Washington.

This is the sixth and final volume of Washington's papers in the Confederation period. The series begins on I January 1784 with the hero of the American Revolution back at Mount Vernon under his own "vine and fig tree". It ends in September 1788 on the eve of his return to public life as president under the new Constitution. Unlike the series devoted to Washington's Revolutionary War and presidential papers, the Confederation Series is composed almost entirely of personal letters and includes very few official documents.

Beginning with the decision made early in 1787 to attend the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in the summer, Washington's papers in volume 6 of the series reveal him as once again a public figure no longer standing outside and above the fray as he had been seeking to do with some success since leaving the army at the end of 1783. In the first nine months of this year Washington continued to give meticulous attention to his personal affairs at Mount Vernon as he had done before, but his correspondence, particularly that with James Madison, makes it clear that his overriding concern had become the ratification of the new Federal Constitution and that his mind was turning to the role he should, and must, play in establishing the new government. The next volume of the Papers, volume 1 of the Presidential Series, which has been in print since 1987, traces the path to the presidency that Washington followed from September 1788 until his departure for New York in the spring of 1789.

The ten-volume Colonial Series, covering the years 1748-1775, takes the young Washington through his command of the Virginia Regiment during the French and Indian War and then focuses on his political and business activities as a Virginia planter during the fifteen years before the American Revolution.

The extensive correspondence regarding Shays' Rebellion and widespread alarm over the state of the Union continues in this volume, and there are the usual letters numbering in the hundreds which deal with his more personal concerns: farm and family, slave and tenant, tradesman and artisan. But the main focus of this volume is the Federal Convention in the summer of 1787 and the fight for ratification of the Constitution beginning in the fall of 1787. About these and other matters of importance Washington wrote to and heard from such Americans as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, George Mason, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, George Clinton, Gouverneur and Robert Morris, John Rutledge, William Moultrie, Christopher Gadsden, Noah Webster, Ezra Stiles, Charles Wilson Peale, and John Paul Jones; to and from such Europeans as Lafayette, Catherine Sawbridge, Macaulay Graham, Chastellux, Gardoqui, and La Luzerne. Of particular importance are Washington's exchanges regarding agricultural matters with Arthur Young, Thomas Peters, and a number of his fellow Virginia planters.

Volume 5 covers the first half of 1790 and focuses on Washington's continued concentration on the problems facing the new government. North Carolina had ratified the Constitution in late 1789, and Rhode Island held its ratifying convention in early 1790. Many documents in this volume reflect the president's concern with the establishment of ties to the federal government in both states, especially in the matter of appointments to the federal civil service. Also treated in detail in the volume are Washington's near-fatal illness in May 1790 and his difficult recovery. The heavy incoming correspondence concerns matters as diverse as the administratin's attempts to deal with escalation of Indian hostilities on the northern frontier, negotiations concerning military medals issued for achievement during the Revolutionary War, establishment of a coinage system for the young nation, petitions from Quakers concerning abolition, events surrounding the arrival of American vessels on the coast of Oregon, Gouverneur Morris's diplomatic mission to London, and the formation of the Scioto Company.

In the late 1760s and early 1770s, George Washington more and more was drawn from affairs of home and hearth by involvement in colonial resistance to British policy and by the lure of western lands. This correspondence documents the evolution of Washington's ideas about economic and political relationships within the empire, and helps to explain how he came to hold his particular vision of the West, both things that were to figure largely in his view of the new nation that he helped to create. Most of the correspondence from these four years, however, has to do with matters both more personal and more local: the acquiring of new farms to enlarge the plantation of Mount Vernon, the management of the complex affairs within the plantation and the sale of its products, the construction of a house in Alexandria, a mill on Dogue Run, and a new church at Pohick, moving Mary Washington into Fredericksburg, arranging for the schooling of John Parke Custis, coping with the Colvill estate's complexities, Mrs Savage's mistreatment, John Posey's fecklessness, Benjamin Moore's bankruptcy, and with the revival of the Dunbar suit, and taking the lead in a movement to improve navigation of the Potomac. The two final volumes in the Colonial Series will trace the emergence of Washington as a revolutionary leader and a major figure in western expansion.

The ten-volume Colonial Series, covering the years 1748-1775, takes the young Washington through his command of the Virginia Regiment during the French and Indian War and then focuses on his political and business activities as a Virginia planter during the fifteen years before the American Revolution.

The ten-volume Colonial Series, covering the years 1748-1775, takes the young Washington through his command of the Virginia Regiment during the French and Indian War and then focuses on his political and business activities as a Virginia planter during the fifteen years before the American Revolution.

The political history of Georgia--the youngest and smallest of the thirteen colonies--condenses into a relatively short span much of the colonial history of America. Abbot's study of the colony of Georgia, from the time it came under the administration of the Crown in 1754 until the beginning of the American Revolution, tells the story of unprecedented expansion and growth against a backdrop of fast-developing crisis throughout the Empire. Originally published in 1959. A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

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 fall of 1798, when this volume opens, Washington was immersed in the business of creating a military force to deal with the threat of an all-out war with France. A clash over Alexander Hamilton's rank in the army led Washington to contemplate resignation of his own post as commander in chief of the army, and the resolution of this affair brought no opportunity for rest as Washington engaged in the tedious task offinding officers for the new military formations. Despite all of this he still found time in the months that followed to build houses on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., seek the funds to put his financial affairs in order, oversee the marriage of Nelly Custis to Lawrence Lewis, and lament the divided state of American politics.

The ten-volume Colonial Series, covering the years 1748-1775, takes the young Washington through his command of the Virginia Regiment during the French and Indian War and then focuses on his political and business activities as a Virginia planter during the fifteen years before the American Revolution.

Volume Four spans the critical period between April 1786 and January 1787. Washington spent all of this period at home at Mount Vernon, managing and improving his estate. Yet he remained a keen observer of the national scene, receiving a steady stream of reports on political developments from correspondents all over the new nation.

Volume 5 covers the preliminary phase of the New York campaign, the period from mid-June to mid-August 1776 when the stage was set for Washington's greatest challenge yet as commander in chief of the Continental army. As the summer weeks passed, the British concentrated a massive military force in New York Harbor, bringing in thousands of Redcoats and German mercenaries backed by the guns of a large fleet. "The Powers of Despotism," Washington wrote in August, "are all combined against America], and ready to strike their most decisive Stroke." Not knowing exactly where the stroke would fall, Washington wrote urgently to Congress and the states seeking reinforcements for the extensive lines that he was obliged to defend, while vigorously pushing forward construction of fortifcations and efforts to obstruct the Hudson River. At every opportunity he sought and read any piece of intelligence regarding the enemy force and its intentions.

Washington could not focus his thoughts solely on the defense of New York City, however, for letters from the north informed him of the disastrous American retreat from Canada. That alarming situation elicited from Washington detailed consideration of the strategy to be pursued in defensing the upper end of the vital Hudson River-Lake Champlain corridor. Other correspondence concerned threats from internal enemies, conspiracies allegedly fomented by disaffected persons to undermine the American cause through subversion and sabotage. Such reports resulted in the execution of Thomas Hickey, a soldier in Washington's personal guard, for treachery in late June and the forced removal of many suspicious persons from New York City a short time later. Although the reading of the Declaration of Independence to the Continental army in early July boosted its morale, Washington continued his unrelenting efforts to check disorder and discord at all levels and to overcome the spirit of disunity that threatened the American cause as much as did British arms. "Let all distinctions of Nations, Countries, and Provinces," he told his men on 1 August, "be lost in the generous contest, who shall behave with the most Courage against the enemy, and the most kindness and good humor to each other." Washington's roles as miltary commander and political leader cannot be separated.

Volume 2 is concerned largely with Washington's inaugural jouney to New York and his initial activites as president upon his arrival. The documents, with annotations, chronicle the public adulation and the elaborate receptions and public addresses that the new president encountered along his route to the capital. His correspondence with friends and acquaintances at home and abroad concerns a wide range of subjects from politics to agricultural methods. His personal letters confirm his continuing need for money, his continued involvement in the affairs of family members, and his concern with his land interest in Virginia and on the frontier. As the volume closes Washington begins to gather information for his new administration in correspondence with major officers of government on matters affecting their departments.

Volume 1 of the Presidential Series covers the months immediately before Washinton's election. Opening in September 1788, at the point when it was certain that the Constitution would be ratified, the documents trace the mounting public pressure upon Washington to agree to accept the presidency. His letters reveal poignantly his own misgivings about leaving Mount Vernon to return to public life. Well before he was offered the presidency he was deluged with applications for public offices. These letters are singularly revealing of economic and social disruption in the aftermath of the Revolution and of the political and social assumptions of Americans at the beginning of the new nation. Letters written to Washington during these months from all over the country report the gradual acceptance of the new government and the progress of the first federal elections in the states. His correspondence with foreign admirers is also extensive.

This volume covers the middle months of the siege of Boston when George Washington faced the delicate task of disbanding one army and recruiting another, all within musket shot of the British forces. Throughout the fall of 1775, assisted and sometimes thwarted by congressmen, New England officials, and fellow officers, Washington laid plans not merely to keep a besieging force around Boston and provide his men with winter necessities but also to remodel the army to make it more efficient and truly continental, intermixing officers and men without regard to their colonial identity. The numerous official letters Washington wrote and received during this period, his daily general orders, the records of his councils of war, and the minutes of his important October conference reveal a competent military administrator and a committed patriot attempting to create a professional American army which would transcend the narrow localism of the colonial past well in advance of the Declaration of Independence.

Unwilling to risk an attack on the main British army in Boston during the fall of 1775, Washington encouraged and monitored two major offensive efforts elsewhere: the outfitting of a small fleet of armed vessels to disrupt the flow of British supplies by sea to Boston and Canada and the two-pronged invasion of Canada led by Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold. Washington also dealt with the treasonous intrigues of Benjamin Church and John Connolly and with the burning of the seaport of Falmouth. He also received several unsolicited schemes for attacking the British fleet in Boston harbor, a steady stream of personal pleadings for discharges, and a laudatory verse written by the black poet Phillis Wheatley.

Substantial portions of Washington's correspondence for this period concern his personal business and family affairs. Most notable are the fourteen letters from his Mount Vernon manager, Lund Washington. They offer rare views into the daily operations of the plantation as well as into Washington's finances and land dealings. They provide valuable information about plans for remodeling the mansion house, proposals for defending it against British attack, and Martha Washington's travels culminating in her journey to join her husband at Cambridge.

This is the first volume of the four-volume Retirement Series, covering 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 state, 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.

During the first ten months of his retirement, with which this volume deals, Washington was, as he said, busier than ever before, breaking in a new farm manager, repairing and refurbishing long-neglected buildings, hiring new overseers and a new gardener from Britain, and most difficult, and perhaps most important of all, getting a proper cook for Mrs. Washington.

The ten-volume Colonial Series, covering the years 1748-1775, takes the young Washington through his command of the Virginia Regiment during the French and Indian War and then focuses on his political and business activities as a Virginia planter during the fifteen years before the American Revolution.

Volume Three of the Confederation Series of The Papers of George Washington spans the year between May 1785 and April 1786, described by Washington's biographer Douglas Southall Freeman as a year of "drought and distraction." Washington spent most of these months at Mount Vernon, continuing to wrestle with the problems of restoring the plantation and his personal fortune after years of neglect while serving as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army -- efforts hampered by a long summer drought. During these months Washington was distracted by national affairs, particularly the impotence of the Confederation government, and by a constant stream of visitors. His principal concerns, however, were close to home.

The ten-volume Colonial Series, covering the years 1748-1775, takes the young Washington through his command of the Virginia Regiment during the French and Indian War and then focuses on his political and business activities as a Virginia planter during the fifteen years before the American Revolution.

The ten-volume Colonial Series, covering the years 1748-1775, takes the young Washington through his command of the Virginia Regiment during the French and Indian War and then focuses on his political and business activities as a Virginia planter during the fifteen years before the American Revolution.

The ten-volume Colonial Series, covering the years 1748-1775, takes the young Washington through his command of the Virginia Regiment during the French and Indian War and then focuses on his political and business activities as a Virginia planter during the fifteen years before the American Revolution.

Volume 4 of the ""Presidential Series"" continues the fourth chronological series of ""The Papers of George Washington"". The ""Presidential Series"", when complete, will cover the eight precedent-setting years of Washington's presidency and his brief retirement at Mount Vernon until his death in 1799. These volumes deal with the public papers either written by Washington or presented to him during both of his administrations. Among the documents are Washington's messages to Congress, addresses to him from public and private bodies, applications for public office, and documents concerned with diplomatic and Indian affairs as well as Washington's private papers, which include family letters, farm reports, political letters from friends and acquaintances, and documents relating to the administration of Mount Vernon plantation. Volume 4 covers the fall and early winter of 1789-90 and focuses on the problems facing the new administration. Many documents in this volume deal with the difficulties Washington encountered in his attempt to staff the federal judiciary and his fears that failure to attract viable candidates for the Supreme Court and the federal courts would damage the reputation of the new government. There is extensive correspondence dealing with the administration's unsuccessful attempt to negotiate a treaty with the Creek chief Alexander McGillivray and with the growing threat from Indian tribes in the Northwest. Applications for office continued to pour in, often illustrating the private difficulties and public aspirations of the Revolutionary generation. Letters to Washington come from a cross section of Americans and foreign dignitaries and present a rich resource on such diverse topics as foreign affairs, overseas trade and public attitudes toward the new government. In October 1789, Washington undertook a trip through the New England states to attract support for his administration. His triumphal journey is richly documented by the numerous letters of private and public support. Private letters deal with topics ranging from his attempts to furnish his new greenhouse at Mount Vernon with exotic plants and his acquisition of mares to stock the plantation's paddocks to the settlement of the financial affairs of his stepson's estate and his gift of a bit of chintz to the young daughters of a Connecticut innkeeper.

Volume three of the Presidential Series continues the fourth chronological series of ""The Papers of George Washington"". The Presidential Series when complete, will aim to cover the eight precedent-setting years of Washington's presidency and his brief retirement at Mount Vernon until his death in 1799. These volumes deal with the public papers either written by Washington or presented to him during both of his administrations. Among the documents are Washington's messages to Congress, addresses to him from public office and documents concerned with diplomatic and Indian affairs as well as Washington's private papers which include family letters, farm reports, political letters from friends and acquaintances, and documents relating to the administration of the Mount Vernon plantation. Volume three covers most of the summer of 1789 and focuses primarily on the problems facing the new administration. Because of the president's serious illness during this period, a larger proportion of the documents than previously are letters and papers sent to Washington, including massive reports from the Board of Treasury describing the financial status of the new nation, detailed descriptions of Indian and military affairs from Henry Knox, and a plethora of applications for public office. The letters to Washington come from a cross section of Americans and present a resource on such diverse topics as foreign affairs, overseas trade and public attitudes toward the new government. Washington in these months was establishing the great departments of the federal government, and he devoted a considerable amount of his time to appointments and to the staffing of the new civil service.