Life of Washington, Volume 5

Volume five chronicles Washington's second presidential term and his revolutionary decision to walk away from power. After eight years at the helm of a fragile young republic, Washington chose not to seek a third term, establishing a precedent that would become sacred to American democracy. This volume captures the tensions of the era: the emerging partisan divide between Federalists and Republicans, the bitter aftermath of the Jay Treaty, and the Quasi-War with France that threatened to drag the young nation into European conflict. Most significantly, it follows Washington to Mount Vernon, where he composed his Farewell Address, that strange and prophetic document warning against foreign entanglements and political faction. Marshall traces how the man who could have become king instead demonstrated that republican government could mean peaceful transitions of power. The volume culminates in the election of John Adams and Washington's retirement, closing the book on the Revolutionary generation's last great figure.