Mariner Books
384 Pages
The impact of George Washington on the success of our nation in its earliest days cannot be understated. Lately, political correctness has diminished his accomplishments against the specter of slavery. At the same time, the nineteenth and early twentieth century tendency to deify the man and hide him behind a pedestal of immortality, has been chipped away to find the true man. Bret Baier in his latest work, To Rescue the Constitution strips away both pieces to walk down the center of the road to find the truth behind a murky time in our history.
George Washington first preserved the union with his victory at Yorktown. After the war was one, the Articles of Confederation were put into place under which the new United States would operate. It was the law of the land for eight years before it was replaced by our current Constitution. It was rather quickly apparent that the Articles would not be sufficient as the centerpiece to the American government. By 1787, a new Constitutional Convention was convened to either amend the Articles into a more significant document, or to scrap it and rewrite it entirely. Washington once again stepped up and took leadership at the convention, saving the union.
A new Constitution was written after much wrangling, which set up the government as we know it today. Who would lead the country through these trying times? Again George Washington stepped forward with feigned resignation. That decision and the decisions he made during his time in the presidency helped to forge the new nation and set the “rules” for the president going forward. The impact of George Washington on the early years of the United States cannot be understated.
Bret Baier, as you may know, is an anchor on FOX News. He graduated from DePauw University with a BA in political science and English. He understands the political history of what the early republic was struggling with and is able to relay that information to the written page. His experience as a news anchor gives him the ability to transcend the overly scholarly language to deliver a book that anyone can read, understand and enjoy.
I have read one other book by Baier, Three Days in Moscow: Ronald Reagan & the Fall of the Soviet Empire. Much like that book, I felt that To Rescue the Constitution was extraordinarily interesting and easy to read. Even the most casual of history readers will find much to like with this book. Baier writes with succinctness. His research is easy to follow, and he delivers the news so that anyone can understand.
To Rescue the Constitution fits quite nicely into my Presidential Reading Project. It fits much more than the last few books I’ve reviewed. (I am reviewing them in the order that I read them.) It delves deeply into the life of Washington as he makes decisions about the Constitution and his place in that government. This gives a more intimate look at Washington during this time than some of the other books I’ve read. Baier puts Washington’s decisions into their historical context. When he brings in modern comparisons, he clearly denotes it. This is the way it should be done even if it is unpopular to do.
I would definitely add To Rescue the Constitution by Bret Baier to any reading list you may develop to learn about the presidents. It is a great piece to add to some of the more thorough biographies that are out there. It gives a more intense focus on a couple handfuls of years in Washington’s life, some of the most impactful years in his life. It was an intriguing look inside the mind of George Washington.
Craig Bacon has less than five books left to the George Washington part of the project. Soon, you’ll be hearing about John Adams.
NEXT UP: Washington’s Crossing by David Hackett Fischer