George Washington and the Revolutionary Era

Revisit the American Revolution and its indispensable leader, George Washington. Look at the real George Washington—behind the myths that were created to strengthen his position as President and to secure the stability of a struggling republic.

Download this list (RTF).

Books for Adult Readers

Alden, John R. George Washington: A Biography. Louisiana State University Press, 1984.

Bailyn, Bernard. Faces of Revolution: Personalities and Themes in the Struggle for American Independence. Vintage Books, 1992.

Bobrick, Benson. Angel in the Whirlwind: The Triumph of the American Revolution. Penguin USA, 1998.

Brookhiser, Richard. Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington. The Free Press, 1996.

Clark, Harrison. All Cloudless Glory (The Life of George Washington). Vols. 1 and 2. Regnery Publications, 1998.

Cook, Don. The Long Fuse: How England Lost the American Colonies. Atlantic Monthly Press, 1996.

Cunliffe, Marcus. George Washington: Man and Monument. Little, Brown, 1954.

Dalzall, Robert F. and Lee Baldwin Dalzell. George Washington’s Mount Vernon: At Home in Revolutionary America. Oxford University Press, 1998.

DePauw, Linda G. Founding Mothers: Women of America in the Revolutionary Era. Houghton Mifflin, 1975.

Ferling, John E. The First of Men: A Life of George Washington. University of Tennessee Press, 1988.

Fleming, Thomas. Duel: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr and the Future of America. Perseus Books, 1999.

Flexner, James Thomas. George Washington. (4 vols.) Little, Brown, 1965–72. (Also one-volume abridgment, Washington: The Indispensable Man, 1969).

Freeman, Douglas Southall. George Washington. (7 vols.) Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1949–57.

———. Washington. Simon and Schuster, 1995 (an abridged version of the seven-volume biography above).

Greenberg, Allan. George Washington, Architect. Andreas Papadakis Publications, 1999.

Hannaford, Peter D., ed. The Essential George Washington: Two Hundred Years of Observations on the Man, the Myth, the Patriot. Images from the Past, 1999.

Higginbotham, Don. George Washington and the American Military Tradition. University of Georgia Press, 1985.

Holton, Woody. Forced Founders: Indians, Debtors, Slaves, and the Making of the American Revolution in Virginia. University of North Carolina Press, 1999.

Martin, William. Citizen Washington: A Novel. Warner Books, 1999.

McDonald, Forrest. The Presidency of George Washington. University Press of Kansas, 1974, 1988.

Miles, Ellen Gross. George and Martha Washington: Portraits from the Presidential Years. In conjunction with the National Portrait Gallery. University Press of Virginia, 1999.

Morgan, Edmund S. The Genius of George Washington. W.W. Norton, 1982.

———. The Meaning of Independence: John Adams, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson. University Press of Virginia, 1976.

Quarles, Benjamin. The Negro in the American Revolution. University of North Carolina Press, 1996.

Randall, Willard Sterne. George Washington: A Life. Henry Holt & Co., 1997.

Rhodehamel, John, ed. George Washington, Writings. Library of America, 1997.

Smith, Norton and Richard Norton. Patriarch: George Washington and the New American Nation. Houghton Mifflin, 1997.

Washington, George. Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation. Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, 1989.

Wood, W.J. Battles of the Revolutionary War, 1775–1781 (Major Battles and Campaigns; 3). Da Capo Press, 1995.

Films and Videos

Following are synopses from the Internet on a general list of films/videocassettes. This is not a comprehensive list, nor is it a previewed or recommended list.

1776. “America’s first Congress in struggle for independence from Britain provides framework for this unique musical by Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone. Almost all of the original Broadway cast remain, with William Daniels as John Adams and Howard da Silva as Benjamin Franklin leading the pack.”—Leonard Maltin

The Devil’s Disciple. Starring Laurence Olivier, Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas. “Sparkling adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s satire, set during American Revolution, with standout performances by star trio (notably Olivier as General Burgoyne, who serves as Shaw’s mouthpiece). Shows how, in Shaw’s view, the bumbling British managed to lose their colonies.”—Leonard Maltin

Johnny Tremain. “Excellent Disney film, from Esther Forbes’ novel about a young boy who gets involved in the Revolutionary War; sprinkles fiction with fact to bring history to life.”—Leonard Maltin

Websites

www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/exhibPast00List.asp?id=Washington. The Pierpont Morgan Library site for the “The Great Experiment” exhibition.

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gwhtml/gwhome.html. George Washington papers from the Library of Congress

http://edsitement.neh.gov/search?query=george+washington. ESITEment’s list of lesson plans on George Washington.

www.virginia.edu/gwpapers. An interesting site with many external links to articles about Washington.

www.mountvernon.org. The Mount Vernon home page features useful educational resources (many helpful to teachers).

www.history.org. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation website. Search on “George Washington” for many articles and links.

www.ushistory.org/valleyforge. The Valley Forge historical site, with a large section on George Washington and many links to other sites.