Customer Reviews

Cincinnatus: George Washington and the Enlightenment

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In this magnificent book, Garry Wills presents a shrewd, learned analysis of the reasons for George Washington's central role in the American Revolution and the creation of the American Republic. Far better than Joseph Ellis's HIS EXCELLENCY: GEORGE WASHINGTON, this fine book examines the three critical episodes in Washington's public life -- his resignation in 1783, at the Revolution's close, as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army; his role in the framing and adoption and effectuation of the Constitution; and his decision to retire from the Presidency after two terms of office. Washington was, as Wills calls him, a virtuoso of resignation, and Wills's fine book explains why. It should be restored to print.

Very little in our high school or college histories prepares us for the Washington we encounter in these pages. The roles of revolutionary warrior and first president have been reprised often in other countries so we are now over-familiar with someone being called 'the George Washington of someplace or other'.
Wills points out that Washington, by force of his personality and integrity came to stand for the American people and republic before the existence of either was widely acknowledged. Washington was a hero, but he was a hero in times that had a very different idea of what heroism was. Wills' job in this book is to recreate the perspective of the enlightenment and then let us see Washington through that perspective in three great moments of his career. Interestingly, two of these moments-his resignation as Commander of the Army and surrender of the presidency in his farewell address involve the relinquishment of power. The third, his lending his name and prestige to the Constitutional Convention involved the risk of ruining his reputation.
How the Age of the Enlightenment set the stage and how Washington and his contemporaries used that stage is a story that's both fascinating and humbling.

On a less elevated note, both my copy and one at the Philadelphia Free Library are missing pages 183-198. I hope that when this book is reprinted, they will be restored.

Lynn Hoffman, author of bang BANG: A Novel and New Short Course in Wine,The

The title of this book, Cincinattus, refers of course to the similarities between that noble Roman who came out of retirement to be the temporary dictator of the Roman republic, but then who, upon completion of that task, resigned and went back to farming, as it seemed to all true of George Washington also.

The theme of the book is found on p. xxvi: "...the resignation of his commission as Commander in Chief [of the Revolutionary Army], his sponsorshop of the new Constitution in 1787, and his surrender of the presidency by a farewell address. It was in the performance of these acts that Wahington became 'larger than life . . ." Wills largely succeeds in this goal.

The main weakness of this book is that the author allows his ideological bias towards liberalism to be objective enough about his topic. For instance, on p. 21, Wills equates the Alien and Sediction Acts under the more conservative, Federalist party, to the [Senator Joseph] McCarthy period of the 1950's. There almost can be a worse, ideologically driven description from the Left. On p. 109, Wills lauds Presidents John Kennedy and F.D. Roosevelt, both of whom are acknowledge to be from left of center. In a similar way, on p. 165 Wills favor of the slightly more liberal Pope Paul VI to the much more conservative Pope John Paul II.

One interesting anecdote, found on p. 60, was that in certain Colonial-era paintings, Adam is painted as stepping forward on his left foot, and taking the apple with his left hand, supposedly signifying that Adam was doing something evil. On pp. 104-105, Wills states that George Washington "had a theatricatal feel for the gesture . . ." and i would add this was one of strengths of President Ronald Reagan, the former Hollywood actor.

On p. 109, Wills opines that "hero worship is elitist, . . ., "but it should be noted that the oppostion to hero worshop is itself elitist." Thus some historians condescendingly look down on Washington and Reagan, neither an academic scholar, but both with certain and sure basic principles.

One of the best physical features of Cincinattus is the ample selection of prints from the Colonial era.

Another contradiction: Wills on p. 196, he states that" "Washington, too, was man fo the Enlightenment, a promoter of science and religion, . . .:, whereas in other parts of the book that Wills notes that Washington was never against the whole Christian belief, and that he specifically adhered to the Christian doctrine on Origial Sin, the doctrine against which all Enlightenment thinkers were repelled.

All in all, Will's book helps the reader to understand the intellectual currents in face of the then upcoming showdown with Parliament and King George III.