During the month of February, in honor of George Washington’s birthday, I read a unique biography about him, written by a great-great-great nephew of his, Austin Washington, who earned his masters in colonial history.
One of my favorite parts of the book was of Austin’s connections to his famed great uncle, especially of how his family still owns one of the Washington family homes.
After I purchased this book to learn more about George Washington’s book education, I soon realized this book covers a different tangent of his schooling.
In this book, Austin Washington focuses on how George Washingnton was self-educated through one particular book he purchased at the age of 15: A Panegyric to the Memory of His Grace Frederick, Late Duke of Schonberg.
With Greek origins, a panegyric uses effusive praise, in this case to share the exemplary traits of the Duke of Schonberg.
Parallelling phrases from the panegyric with George Washington’s life story, Austin argues that the panegyric was a role model to America’s 18th century hero who never obtained a classical education.
While building his case, Austin also shares the backstory of the ethos of 18th century Virginia, to whose values Washington sought to achieve.
HONESTY
…honesty in eighteenth-century Virginia was as important as your credit score today. –The Education of George Washington, p18
…a society in which people’s very livelihood depended on being able to trust each other was a society in which the virtue of truth-telling might well be published. It was recognized as the mark of a good character, the attribute of a man other men could rely on without hesitation. –The Education of George Washington, p20
Honesty would also be an important characteristic for a commander that soldiers would follow through horrific conditions to hard-won victory. This would hold equally true for a leader that a nation would choose to oversee the creation of its Constitution and elect, almost unanimously, as its first president. –The Education of George Washington, p20
Where did the ideal that George learned from his father come from? It had its precursors in the qualities of the heroes of ancient Greece and Rome – characters as popular in colonial Virginia as rock stars are today. These ancient heroes tended to have one thing in common: they stuck to their principles. –The Education of George Washington, p33
The Christian element…added to this ancient strength of character the principles of kindness, gentleness, and respect for all people, principles that were not fundamental in the ancient world…leading the Western world in the direction of “all men are created equal.”–The Education of George Washington, p33
While analyzing the characteristics of a Christian gentleman, the author lists these balanced qualities:
- humble yet a leader
- seeking greatness and goodness
- with grand yet modest taste
To decide to be a Christian gentleman was to decide to help your civilization grow and prosper. –The Education of George Washington, p36
In the 18th century there was no concept of anyone interfering in your life on your own property. –The Education of George Washington, p37
Choosing to do the right thing when no one was looking defined a Christian gentleman who held to standards and honor.
PHYSICAL STRENGTH AND MENTAL GRACE
18th century Virginia society also highly esteemed physical strength and mental grace.
Living in the wilds of untamed Virginia was a necessity born out through the daily need of transportation via walking, carriage, or horseback riding, hunting for food, and the occasional outbreak of war.
Thus, some popular entertainments entailed fox chases and dancing.
All of which George Washington attained.
He viewed his birth in Virginia not as an accident but as an act of Providence. –The Education of George Washington, p57
Proving these points, the author recounts many interesting stories from those who knew him.
And not that George Washington knew his destiny, but he knew to be ready for anything that came his way…which was a lot.
Constantly, Washington chose service to his fellow man before returning to the plow.
So work – exercise and training – seems to be a necessary component of greatness. But is it sufficient? Not for George. Providence was the vital core component, without which we never would have heard his name. –The Education of George Washington, p71
There are numerous examples of Providential protection for George Washington throughout his life recounted in this book and many other places.
George Washington did work hard, he did strive, he did have alacrity and vigour. However, beyond this, he believed he was put here for a purpose. He was great in ways specially suited to his society. What he was able to achieve made him – beyond his own society, on the world stage, across all cultures, societies, and epochs – great, full stop. –The Education of George Washington, p71
LAND INVESTMENTS
…George understood the inevitable importance of land in the equation of greatness in colonial Virginia and also understood that the way to get land and advance in life was to make the right friends. (Generally this meant people with land, who also tended to be the people with political, social, and business connections.) To make the right kind of friends, the right attitude for the up-and-coming young man was friendly but deferential – along the lines of the Duke’s “affable, candid, and obliging nature” in the Panegyrick. –The Education of George Washington, p75
His great-grandfather, John Washington, arrived in Virginia from England in 1657.
Two generations later, land holdings had grown with the family, who was established in Virginia society.
While Washington’s grandfather had served as a burgess in the Virginia legislature, his father, Augustine, was active in a well-rounded way: church, militia, and politics.
Specifically, Augustine served as justice of the peace and county sheriff before his death at the age of 49.
Augustine had three sons and one daughter with his first wife.
After her passing, Augustine married Mary Ball, to whom were born four sons and two daughters.
Augustine had planned on providing George with a classical education like his older half-brothers, however he passed away when George was eleven years old.
Close to his older half-brothers, George benefitted by their classical education at Appleby in England.
While visiting his half-brother Austin (Augustine), George was immersed in a world unlike his other day school: through conversation, formal tutorials, and reading books Austin kept in his library, George got at least a smattering of the sorts of ideas and knowledge he would have been immersed in at Appleby. –The Education of George Washington, p6
During his many visits to his other half-brother, Lawrence, at Mount Vernon, George met the wealthy Fairfax family.
Lawrence, who served as a burgess in the Virginia legislature, had married Anne Fairfax of the neighboring Belvoir Plantation (today’s Fort Belvoir).
William Fairfax, Anne’s father, took the young George on as his protege.
Meanwhile, George became best friends with Anne’s brother, George William Fairfax, who would one day inherit Belvoir from his father.
When William Fairfax’s cousin, Lord Fairfax, arrived in Virginia from England to see his five million acres for himself, William Fairfax invited 17 year old George Washington to join the survey expedition to the western part of Virginia.
Since George Washington had been studying to become a surveyor, this was a golden opportunity.
George…was living in a country in which land – the source of wealth and power in both England and Virginia – was seemingly infinite. For all practical purposes, and for the foreseeable future, there was more land than anyone could imagine ever using in America, even taking into account the five million acres locked up by Lord Fairfax. –The Education of George Washington, p81
On his first journey west, George Washington repeatedly proved he was willing to be affable and obliging not just to those who could help him amongst the elite, but also the woodsmen and Indians. –The Education of George Washington, p85
DUTY
…for George…duty was his passion, and his passion was the whole business of his life. It meant following in the path that he believed Providence had laid out before him, whether that meant neglecting all the other pressing calls on his time and attention to nurse his sick brother or giving up his loyalty to the British crown to lead a revolution. –The Education of George Washington, p98
Virginia society was set up to allow at least certain people more scope to pursue greatness. –The Education of George Washington, p98
Thus, George stepped away from his more common duties to the pressing need of the older half-brother, Lawrence, who was severely suffering from tuberculosis.
After taking his brother to the healing waters of Berkley Springs in the Allegheny Mountains of Virginia (now West Virginia), he took Lawrence to Barbados.
Too hot in Barbados, Lawrence moved on to Bermuda while George returned to Virginia.
The first thing George did when he got back to Virginia was to deliver some letters from Lawrence to Governor Dinwiddie. This is probably when George first suggested himself as a replacement for Lawrence as adjutant general of the Virginia militia. –The Education of George Washington, p104-105
The adjutant’s job was “instructing the officers and soldiers in the use and exercise of their arms…bringing the militia to a more regular discipline, besides improving the meaner people.” George had already helped Lawrence out with the militia – putting in unremunerated hours to assist his ailing brother…He was not a complete neophyte. But he had never had any official position. Still, this did not seem an impediment to the appointment in his mind. –The Education of George Washington, p105
Nor in the governor’s. –The Education of George Washington, p105
Shortly thereafter, although the post Lawrence had held was divided into four regional adjutants general, George was made a major of the militia and adjutant for the Southern District. –The Education of George Washington, p105
CONTROLLED EMOTIONS
In George Washington’s Virginia, people genuinely knew the real you. Therefore you had to be a genuinely great person to be considered a genuinely great person. –The Education of George Washington, p110
Popular character quality books like the panegyrick analyzed in The Education of George Washington were quite popular in 18th century Virginia, advocating the qualities that people who actually knew you, and knew you well, would admire and appreciate, and find useful and valuable – such as temperance. –The Education of George Washington, p110
Unlike the Prohibition Era, 18th century temperance had a more holistic meaning, having little to do with abstinence from wine, water, or anything. It basically meant having an even keel, taking things in moderation. –The Education of George Washington, p110
Being in control. –The Education of George Washington, p110
In George Washington’s day, before you handed somebody your cash…or a job or government post…or even your personal trust and friendship, you had a lot of evidence about his character. You could see whether or not he was temperate enough to be trusted and relied upon. –The Education of George Washington, p115
After all, a man without self-control can’t trust himself. Why would you rely on him? He’s not his own master. An intemperate person will be tossed to and fro by greed or bad temper. He’ll be reliable until he’s not. Temperence, on the other hand, means being master of your emotions. One way to do this is to harness your emotions to a more elevated passion, such as doing your duty. –The Education of George Washington, p115
George Washington perhaps worked the hardest at keeping a cool temper more than he did any of the other qualities, because his natural disposition was the opposite.
George’s self-control was “an acquir’d Habit, and the reward of repeated Endeavours” – endeavors, surely, to imitate the hero of the Panegyrick. It can truly be said of George, as the Panegyrick says of the Duke, that “the evenness of his Temper” is “the more to be amir’d because of his naturally “hot and strong Constitution.” –The Education of George Washington, p116
Proving his point, the author shares several examples during Washington’s experiences regarding the French prior to the French and Indian War.
When George finally made it to Williamsburg, just before Christmas, the House of Burgesses had already adjourned and its members gone home. They would be back for another session on February 14. Without the Burgesses, no money could be allocated for defense of the Ohio Valley. –The Education of George Washington, p128
George’s journey had not been in vain, though. After reading the letter that George had risked his life to bring back, the governor had an idea. What if George wrote a report to rally the government to action even if the legislators were away from the capital? –The Education of George Washington, p128
George stayed up late enough to burn through three candles. He had his report ready in the morning. It was then printed and given to members of the Governor’s Council ( twelve-person appointed committee who had to approve the laws passed by the House of Burgesses). The governor also had it sent to the burgesses in their homes. –The Education of George Washington, p129
Hoping he was not alone in seeing the French incursion as a major issue, affecting more than just the interests of Virginia or the Ohio Company, the governor also sent George’s report to the governors of the other colonies and finally to London, where it was reprinted and passed on yet again. This made George Washington known for the first time to his future rivals and allies throughout the Western world as a tough and resourceful young officer. –The Education of George Washington, p129
At this time, George Washington was 21 years old.
Towards the end of his life, George Washington wrote: I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain (what I consider the most enviable of all titles) the character of an honest man.
RECOMMENDATIONS
For more great details, I highly recommend the book.
Along with learning more of how Washington purposely instilled good character into his soul throughout his life, are several much appreciated myth busters.
The author explains the true story behind many tales we oft hear about the cherry tree and throwing a stone across the river.
Especially interesting is how the author explains how there is no evidence that Washington had any romantic interest in Sally Fairfax.
In all my reading of 18th century history and letters of the era, I would concur with the author.
The main point of disagreement I would have is the author’s confusing explanation of George Washington’s view of Providence.
Thus, I highly recommend my previous blog post, about the faith of our Founding Fathers.
Also, a few spots of adult humor made their way to the book (Austin was apparently joking when he inserted them into his manuscript but his editor kept them for the modern audience).
Despite that, I would have used this book in our homeschool high school history studies, except they graduated right before the book was published.
Thus, I have this book on our homeschool book list for their kids.
Additionally, this book is important reading for any adult to learn the untold story of George Washington, and how he rose in society when doors first seemed to shut upon him.
What a great role model George Washington is for any of us!
I know I will be reading this book again many times over, as well as referencing it for some of my blog posts.
For photos related to George Washington, check my Flickr set.
