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George Washington: A Collection is an important addition to the literature on the American Revolution. The book provides a splendid introduction to Washington and his political beliefs, to the events of the Revolution through which he lived, and to the eighteenth-century world.

—Pauline Maier, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

George Washington speaks for himself on behalf of liberty and the emerging American republic in this handsome book, the only one-volume compilation in print of his vast writings.

While every American recognizes Washington as a military leader and the great symbolic figure of the early republic, many fail to appreciate the full measure of Washington's contributions to the country. In these selections, his political ideas and judgments stand out with remarkable clarity. His writings are replete with sustained, thoughtful commentary. Washington must now be acknowledged as a man of keen political insight as well as a national hero.

Drawing extensively on his correspondence, this volume also includes all of his presidential addresses, various public proclamations, his last will and testament, and the most comprehensive recompilation of the "discarded first inaugural" ever printed.

SKETCH OF A PLAN OF AMERICAN FINANCE

[October ? 1789]

Preliminary. Consider all requisitions heretofore made by Congress on the states, as if they had never been made. This gets rid of the adjustment of quotas for the past. The contributions in money, provisions &ca. made by each State to the Union, become a debt from the Union to the respective State, deduct from this all monies advanced to that State by the Union; the balance will constitute the debt of the Union to the State. Let that debt bear an interest of 6 pr Ct. With that interest each state may pay annually the interest of the debts they owe, and the annual expences of their Government. They will then have no occasion for Taxes and consequently may abandon all the subjects of taxation to the Union.

George Washington

George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799) was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1797, leading the American victory over Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander in chief of the Continental Army, 1775–1783, and presiding over the writing of the Constitution in 1787. As the unanimous choice to serve as the first President of the United States (1789–1797), he developed the forms and rituals of government that have been used ever since, such as using a cabinet system and delivering an inaugural address. The president built a strong, well-financed national government that avoided war, suppressed rebellion and won acceptance among Americans of all types. Acclaimed ever since as the "Father of his country", Washington, along with Abraham Lincoln, has become a central icon of republican values, self sacrifice in the name of the nation, American nationalism and the ideal union of civic and military leadership.