To Rescue the Constitution: George Washington and the Fragile American Experiment

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From the #1 New York Times bestselling author and Fox News Channels Chief Political Correspondent, a blockbuster new biography of George Washington, centering on his return from retirement to lead the Constitutional Convention and secure the future of the United States.

George Washington rescued the nation and the Constitution three times: first by winning the Revolutionary War, second by presiding over the Constitutional Convention and ushering the Constitution through a fractious ratification process, and third by leading the nation as president in its first years. There is no doubt that the struggling new nation needed to be rescued.

After the victorious war, when a spirit of unity and patriotism might have been expected, instead the nation was broken. The states were no more than a loosely knit and contentious confederation, with no strong central union. They were in constant conflict. A frustrated Washington wrote to James Madison, We are either a united people, or we are not... If we are not, let us no longer act a farce by pretending to it... It was an urgent matter, and led to the calling of a Constitutional Convention.

Setting aside his plan to retire to Mount Vernon, where he had a happy family life and was fully engaged in his farming enterprises, Washington agreed to be a delegate at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. There he was unanimously elected president of the convention. After successfully bringing the Constitution into being, Washington then sacrificed any hope of returning to private life by accepting the unanimous election to be the nations first president. Washington was not known for brilliant oratory or prose, but his quiet, steady leadership gave life to the Constitution by showing how it should be enacted. He not only helped write the nations blueprint; he lived it.

In this colorful and moving portrait of Americas early struggles, when the fight for survival was constant, Baier captures the dramatic moments when Washingtons leadership brought the nation from the brink of collapse. Baier exposes an early America that is grittier and far more divided than it is often portrayedone we can see reflected in todays conflicts.

Reviews

"A terrific account of the famous Civil War general turned 18th president. ... Bret Baier has done it again, producing another presidential history that will last as long as there are presidential history books." American Spectator on To Rescue the Republic A thoroughly researched account of the Civil War generals life and work. Baier grippingly portrays the crisis Grant faced at the end of his presidency, when the election produced no clear successor, and the painful compromise that settled ita historical moment ripe for examination today. New York Post on To Rescue the Republic Bret BaiersTo Rescue the Republicis narrativehistory at its absolute finest.With great verve and a fair-and-balanced ethic, Baier brilliantly recounts the heroiclife of UlyssesS. Grantas Civil War general, U.S. President, Reconstruction Era leader and beloved national icon.His dramatic retelling of the election of 1876 which pitted Samuel J. Tilden against Rutherford B. Hayes is stupendous. A fast-paced, thrilling and enormously important book.Highly recommended. Douglas Brinkley, KatherineTsanoff Brown Chair in Humanities and Professor of History at Rice University and author ofAmerican Moonshot

Author Bio

Bret Baier is the Chief Political Anchor for Fox News Channel and the Anchor and Executive Editor of Special Report with Bret Baier, seen five days a week on Fox News Channel. He has previously served Fox News as Chief White House Correspondent, and as National Security Correspondent based at the Pentagon. He has reported from seventy-four countries, and has reported from Iraq twelve times and Afghanistan thirteen times. He is also the author of the New York Times bestseller Special Heart: A Journey of Faith, Hope, Courage and Love. He lives with his family in Washington, D.C.