Book Review

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Book Review | The Journal of American History, 86.1 | The History Cooperative

The Papers of George Washington: Retirement Series. Vol. I: March-December 1797. Ed. by W. W. Abbot. (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1998. xxviii, 566 pp. $55.00, isbn 0-8139-1737-9.)

This volume is the first in a series that will chronicle George Washington's retirement years, and it makes clear from the beginning the concerns the former president faced as he returned to private life. Throughout 257 letters written to Washington, four farm reports, one address, and 189 letters written by Washington, it becomes apparent that his primary interest was, and had been, returning to and developing his Mount Vernon estate. 1

This volume begins with Washington about to depart Philadelphia for Virginia, which he did on March 9, 1797. In preparation for the trip, he indicated the specific type of draft horses he wanted and offered detailed packing instructions to minimize damage to his goods. Washington also requested new carpets and household goods for Mount Vernon and, after arriving home, acknowledged that the house needed many repairs. Perhaps most important, the volume stresses the central importance that agriculture played in Washington's life; he kept detailed records of the weather, crops, livestock, work schedules, and repairs to outbuildings and the main house; he offered thoughtful analysis and commentary about planting and crops; he tried to sell or lease land to maximize his revenues; and he found it increasingly difficult to work with his plantation manager, James Anderson. Despite his problems, Washington was content living a "peaceful retirement, making political pursuits yield to the more rational amusement of cultivating the Earth." . . .

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