Washington: A Life

Washington: A Life (2010) is a biography of the United States’ first president by Ron Chernow. Drawing on the full breadth of the Washington Papers—including thousands of letters and overlooked documents—Chernow reveals Washington’s internal struggles, emotional complexities, and moral contradictions throughout his life and political career. Themes such as The Construction and Control of Public Image, Enslavement and Moral Evolution in the Early Republic, and Strategic Restraint as a Form of Power define the narrative arc.

Chernow is a historian and journalist known for his portrayals of important American figures. His previous works include Alexander Hamilton, Grant, Mark Twain, and Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. Washington: A Life won the Pulitzer Prize.

This guide uses the 2011 Penguin Press eBook edition.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide include discussions of enslavement, war, and 18th-century attitudes toward race and class, which include language and prejudices that were common to the period but which are now recognized as disturbing or offensive.

Summary

The book covers George Washington’s life, spanning from his colonial Virginia childhood to his death at Mount Vernon in 1799. The biography opens not with a battle or political triumph, but with a telling encounter: The 1793 portrait sittings with artist Gilbert Stuart, who found the president guarded, emotionally contained, and physically imposing. This early image sums up Chernow’s Washington—an enigmatic leader who deliberately cultivated dignity, self-command, and symbolic presence.

Washington’s early life unfolds under the guidance of his ambitious but short-lived father and his domineering mother, Mary Ball Washington. Denied a formal education and a Royal Navy appointment, Washington instead became a frontier surveyor and gained influence through his half-brother Lawrence and the powerful Fairfax family. His early military career, including the fateful ambush that triggered the French and Indian War and his subsequent defeat at Fort Necessity, taught him painful lessons about humility, logistics, and command.

Washington’s wartime experiences under General Braddock, his leadership of the Virginia Regiment, and his early foray into plantation life shaped his evolving identity. His 1759 marriage to the wealthy widow Martha Custis brought him status, land, and enslaved laborers, allowing him to focus on agriculture, public service, and quiet social advancement. In the pre-Revolutionary years, Washington became increasingly disillusioned with British restrictions on land and trade, aligning himself with Virginia’s resistance leaders and transitioning from loyal subject to colonial dissenter.

As tensions escalated, Washington joined the First and then the Second Continental Congress, ultimately accepting command of the Continental Army in 1775. Chernow traces his wartime leadership across setbacks and retreats—particularly the harrowing losses in New York and New Jersey—culminating in the daring winter victories at Trenton and Princeton. Despite ongoing struggles with supplies, manpower, mutinies, and rival generals, Washington preserved the army, earning trust through discipline and moral authority rather than military genius alone.

The postwar period brought new challenges. Washington resisted calls for monarchy, defused the Newburgh Conspiracy, and relinquished power in 1783—actions that cemented his legacy. However, the weak federal structure under The Articles of Confederation compelled him to return to public life. As president of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, he lent credibility to the formation of the US Constitution and, by unanimous electoral vote, became the nation’s first president.

Washington’s two terms in office were fraught with precedent-setting decisions and rising partisanship. He oversaw the creation of a national financial system under Alexander Hamilton, navigated fierce cabinet feuds with Thomas Jefferson, and asserted executive authority in foreign policy through the Neutrality Proclamation. His administration also faced crises such as the Whiskey Rebellion and the fallout from the controversial Jay Treaty, both of which tested Washington’s commitment to law, order, and diplomacy.

Though widely revered, Washington also endured attacks from an emerging partisan press, as well as personal grief, including the deaths of his stepson Jacky Custis and granddaughter Patsy. His relationship with enslavement grew more conflicted, especially as he privately supported gradual emancipation while publicly evading abolitionist pressure. In his will, he became the only Founding Father to free all enslaved individuals he personally owned, signaling a partial but meaningful moral shift.

Washington retired after drafting his “Farewell Address” with Hamilton’s help, warning against factionalism and foreign entanglements. He returned to Mount Vernon, where he focused on agricultural reform, debt management, and family matters. Briefly drawn back into national service during the Quasi-War with France, he accepted command of a provisional army but delegated operations to Hamilton. He died in 1799 after falling ill during a stormy horseback ride. His death sparked national mourning and the rapid growth of political mythology—much of which Chernow’s biography works to interrogate and refine.