Summary of Joseph J. Ellis's His Excellency

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 George Washington was a young messenger sent on a dangerous mission into the American wilderness in 1753. He carried a letter from the governor of Virginia to the commander of French troops in the Ohio Country. He was ordered to lead a small party over the Blue Ridge Mountains, then across the Allegheny Mountains, and deliver his message in the Name of His Britanic Majesty.

#2 When Washington visited the French commanders at Fort Le Boeuf and Presque Isle, he was told that the French king had a better claim to the Ohio Country than the English king. The French commander at Fort Le Boeuf, Jacques Le Gardner, sieur de Saint Pierre, drafted a cordial letter for Washington to carry back to Governor Dinwiddie that supported the French claim.

#3 The story of Washington’s first American adventure reveals how his personal life was caught up in larger public causes. It shows how Washington was one of the few prominent members of America’s founding generation who was born early enough to develop his basic convictions about America’s role in the British Empire within the context of the French and Indian War.

#4 George Washington was born in 1732. He was a fourth-generation Virginian. The bloodline that John Washington bequeathed to his descendants exhibited three distinct tendencies: first, a passion for acreage, the more of it the better; second, tall and physically strong males; and third, despite the physical strength, a male line that died relatively young, all before reaching fifty.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Apr 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669381969

IRB Media

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Insights on Joseph J. Ellis's His Excellency

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

George Washington was a young messenger sent on a dangerous mission into the American wilderness in 1753. He carried a letter from the governor of Virginia to the commander of French troops in the Ohio Country. He was ordered to lead a small party over the Blue Ridge Mountains, then across the Allegheny Mountains, and deliver his message in the Name of His Britanic Majesty.

#2

When Washington visited the French commanders at Fort Le Boeuf and Presque Isle, he was told that the French king had a better claim to the Ohio Country than the English king. The French commander at Fort Le Boeuf, Jacques Le Gardner, sieur de Saint Pierre, drafted a cordial letter for Washington to carry back to Governor Dinwiddie that supported the French claim.

#3

The story of Washington’s first American adventure reveals how his personal life was caught up in larger public causes. It shows how Washington was one of the few prominent members of America’s founding generation who was born early enough to develop his basic convictions about America’s role in the British Empire within the context of the French and Indian War.

#4

George Washington was born in 1732. He was a fourth-generation Virginian. The bloodline that John Washington bequeathed to his descendants exhibited three distinct tendencies: first, a passion for acreage, the more of it the better; second, tall and physically strong males; and third, despite the physical strength, a male line that died relatively young, all before reaching fifty.

#5

Washington’s early life was shaped by his half brother, Lawrence, and the Fairfax family. Lawrence became a surrogate father, responsible for managing the career options of his young protégé. He proposed that young George enlist as a midshipman in the British navy in 1746, but his mother and uncle opposed the suggestion.

#6

The Fairfax influence also had its ironies. At about the age of fifteen, Washington began to spend much of his time at Mount Vernon with Lawrence, who had married Ann Fairfax of the Fairfax dynasty. The patriarch of the clan was Lord Thomas Fairfax, an eccentric member of the English peerage who disdain for women and love for horses and hounds soon carried him across the Blue Ridge to pursue his passion for foxhunting.

#7

Washington was extremely shy and awkward in his youth, and it took him a long time to find his place in society. But when