Patriot Presidents: From George Washington to John Quincy Adams (William E. Leuchtenburg)

In Patriot Presidents: From George Washington to John Quincy Adams, author William E. Leuchtenburg highlights the first six presidents of the United States, each of whom charted a critical role and course in America's history as well as the office they were elected to. Leuchtenburg crafts his research into an effective narrative showing how the Presidency evolved over the first 40 years of the office after the Constitutional Convention in 1787.

The first six presidents were deeply involved in the American Revolution and sought to preserve its ideals. While they all had a different vision on how America should evolve, they each gradually changed the scope of how the president should function. However, each held strongly to the ideals of the Constitution without giving them too much executive power.

Patriot Presidents is an important read in discovering how America's executive branch changed over the early decades of America's history and how far the Office of the President has evolved since its formation in the late 18th Century.

MY RATING: 4

Travels with George (Nathaniel Philbrick)

Nathaniel Philbrick recreates the 1789-1791 journeys of George Washington through America’s original 13 states in Travels with George. Washington’s journeys through America were done as part of a discovery tour into learning the different customs and insights of the newly constituted republic but also to help unite the residents of these states into one country. 

Travels with George is a play on John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley, which was written in the 1960’s about Steinbeck’s travels with his dog. Philbrick brings his wife and dog along for these trips with the intent of seeing what America has become 230 years after Washington’s travels, but he also addresses Washington’s legacy then vs. now.  Philbrick stops at various places Washington slept, dined, or spoke at and discusses the changing interpretations of history over time and how historians and tour guides have changed narratives based on new evidence, views, and perceptions.

I felt at times that some themes were drilled in and beat upon much harder by the author than necessary. Additionally, the one theme I wish Philbrick had spent more time on is the idea of the President as unifier, especially in today’s era when candidates of both parties have disparaged large chunks of the population while campaigning. Many of the divisions that have plagued us throughout our nation’s history were themes in the 1790’s, and whether it be based on race, geography, economic class, or philosophy on government, Washington felt it his obligation as president to bring the country together. Unfortunately, that ship has long sailed.

MY RATING - 3.5

The First Congress (Fergus M. Bordewich)

Fergus M. Bordewich’s The First Congress details the initial two year period of American government after the ratification of the Constitution in 1788.  The book is rapidly paced and chronicles the work that The Founding Fathers undertook in creating, framing, and shaping the three branches of American government.

Given the political gridlock that dominates 2016’s politick, the amount of legislation and debate that the 95 Senators and Representatives undertook is breathtaking -- establishing a national capital city, a national bank, and the judiciary; approving George Washington’s first cabinet appointments; and developing a framework to repay debts incurred during the American Revolution.  This was all accomplished in an era without political parties, with some of the legislators undertaking their own political evolutions during the first two years in response to their shifting thinking or adjusting to the will of their constituents.

Bordewich gives considerable depth to the emerging relationship between Congress and the Presidency and the internal debates that made up the First Congress.  Many of those debates are still raging today with regards to the role of the federal government versus that of the states and various other interpretations of the Constitution.  He also spends time discussing the role of the first lobbyists and how their “taking up petitions” created the divisions that would ultimately lead to partisanship and increasing divides in our country in subsequent decades.

Any civics student, historian, or aspiring politician should read this book as it hearkens back to an era where our elected officials were able to accomplish much in a short amount of time.

MY RATING - 4