The Papers of George Washington, ConfederationSeries

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Volume 1, January-July 1784
Volume 2, July 1784-May 1785
Volume 3, May 1785-March 1786
Volume 4, April 1786-January 1787
Volume 5, February-December 1787
Volume 6, January-Spetember 1788
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THE PAPERS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON
Philander D. Chase, Editor

The Papers of George Washington
Confederation Series

The six-volume Confederation Series (1784-1788) chronicles Washington's years at Mount Vernon after leaving the army and before becoming president, a time during which he developed his plantation at Mount Vernon and became increasingly involved in the political life of the new nation.

Volume 1: January-July 1784

This is the first volume of an eight-volume edition of Washington's papers in the Confederation period. Unlike the series devoted to Washington's Revolutionary War and presidential papers, the Confederation Series is composed almost entirely of personal letters and includes very few official documemts.
Documents printed in volume 1 reflect Washington's main concerns during the first months of peace. Many letters relate directly to his resumption of the management not only of his house and farms at Mount Vernon, as well as of his tenanted land in Frederick and Berkeley counties in Pennsylvania, but also of his vast holdings on the banks of the Great Kanawha and Ohio. Other letters deal with such things as the settlement of his military accounts, his activities as both president and determined reformer of the Society of the Cincinnati, and his preliminary notions about making the Potomac the connecting link between the East and the transmontane West.

Volume 2: July 1784-May 1785

Volume 2 documents Washington's emergence as the extraordinarily active leader of the move to open the upper reaches of the Potomac to navigation and to use it to tie the fast-settling West to the seaboard states. Besides documents relating to Washington's presidency of the Potomac River Company and to the routine management of his private affairs, there are letters dealing with such things as the famous Spanish jacks, the plight of both Patrick Henry and Nathanael Greene, histories by Jeremy Belknap and William Gordon, Lafayette's visit, William Byrd's letters, and David Humphreys's poetry.

Volume 3: May 1785-March 1786

Volume Three of the Confederation Series of The Papers of George Washington spans the year between May 1785 and April 1786, described by Washington's biographer Douglas Southall Freeman as a year of "drought and distraction." Washington spent most of these months at Mount Vernon, continuing to wrestle with the problems of restoring the plantation and his personal fortune after years of neglect while serving as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army -- efforts hampered by a long summer drought. During these months Washington was distracted by national affairs, particularly the impotence of the Confederation government, and by a constant stream of visitors. His principal concerns, however, were close to home.

Volume 4: April 1786-January 1787

Volume Four spans the critical period between April 1786 and January 1787. Washington spent all of this period at home at Mount Vernon, managing and improving his estate. Yet he remained a keen observer of the national scene, receiving a steady stream of reports on political developments from correspondents all over the new nation.

Volume 5: February-December 1787

The extensive correspondence regarding Shays' Rebellion and widespread alarm over the state of the Union continues in this volume, and there are the usual letters numbering in the hundreds which deal with his more personal concerns: farm and family, slave and tenant, tradesman and artisan. But the main focus of this volume is the Federal Convention in the summer of 1787 and the fight for ratification of the Constitution beginning in the fall of 1787. About these and other matters of importance Washington wrote to and heard from such Americans as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, George Mason, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, George Clinton, Gouverneur and Robert Morris, John Rutledge, William Moultrie, Christopher Gadsden, Noah Webster, Ezra Stiles, Charles Wilson Peale, and John Paul Jones; to and from such Europeans as Lafayette, Catherine Sawbridge, Macaulay Graham, Chastellux, Gardoqui, and La Luzerne. Of particular importance are Washington's exchanges regarding agricultural matters with Arthur Young, Thomas Peters, and a number of his fellow Virginia planters.

Volume 6: January-September 1788

Beginning with the decision made early in 1787 to attend the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in the summer, Washington's papers in volume 6 of the series reveal him as once again a public figure no longer standing outside and above the fray as he had been seeking to do with some success since leaving the army at the end of 1783. In the first nine months of this year Washington continued to give meticulous attention to his personal affairs at Mount Vernon as he had done before, but his correspondence, particularly that with James Madison, makes it clear that his overriding concern had become the ratification of the new Federal Constitution and that his mind was turning to the role he should, and must, play in establishing the new government.

Related Links

The Papers of George Washington

Mount Vernon

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The Papers of George Washington Confederation Series Volumes 1-6 (complete)
Volume 1 • ISBN 0-8139-1348-9 • $85.00
Volume 2 • ISBN 0-8139-1349-7 • $85.00
Volume 3 • ISBN 0-8139-1506-6 • $85.00
Volume 4 • ISBN 0-8139-1560-0 • $85.00
Volume 5 • ISBN 0-8139-1672-0 • $85.00
Volume 6 • ISBN 0-8139-1684-4 • $85.00

http://www.upress.virginia.edu/books/pgw_confederation.html

Revised 8/30/06

Related Links Volume 1, January-July 1784 Volume 2, July 1784-May 1785 Volume 3, May 1785-March 1786 Volume 4, April 1786-January 1787 Volume 5, February-December 1787 Volume 6, January-Spetember 1788 Order a Washington Papers Volume		THE PAPERS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON Philander D. Chase, Editor The Papers of George Washington Confederation Series
		The six-volume Confederation Series (1784-1788) chronicles Washington's years at Mount Vernon after leaving the army and before becoming president, a time during which he developed his plantation at Mount Vernon and became increasingly involved in the political life of the new nation.

		Volume 1: January-July 1784
		This is the first volume of an eight-volume edition of Washington's papers in the Confederation period. Unlike the series devoted to Washington's Revolutionary War and presidential papers, the Confederation Series is composed almost entirely of personal letters and includes very few official documemts. Documents printed in volume 1 reflect Washington's main concerns during the first months of peace. Many letters relate directly to his resumption of the management not only of his house and farms at Mount Vernon, as well as of his tenanted land in Frederick and Berkeley counties in Pennsylvania, but also of his vast holdings on the banks of the Great Kanawha and Ohio. Other letters deal with such things as the settlement of his military accounts, his activities as both president and determined reformer of the Society of the Cincinnati, and his preliminary notions about making the Potomac the connecting link between the East and the transmontane West.
		Volume 2: July 1784-May 1785
		Volume 2 documents Washington's emergence as the extraordinarily active leader of the move to open the upper reaches of the Potomac to navigation and to use it to tie the fast-settling West to the seaboard states. Besides documents relating to Washington's presidency of the Potomac River Company and to the routine management of his private affairs, there are letters dealing with such things as the famous Spanish jacks, the plight of both Patrick Henry and Nathanael Greene, histories by Jeremy Belknap and William Gordon, Lafayette's visit, William Byrd's letters, and David Humphreys's poetry.
		Volume 3: May 1785-March 1786
		Volume Three of the Confederation Series of The Papers of George Washington spans the year between May 1785 and April 1786, described by Washington's biographer Douglas Southall Freeman as a year of "drought and distraction." Washington spent most of these months at Mount Vernon, continuing to wrestle with the problems of restoring the plantation and his personal fortune after years of neglect while serving as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army -- efforts hampered by a long summer drought. During these months Washington was distracted by national affairs, particularly the impotence of the Confederation government, and by a constant stream of visitors. His principal concerns, however, were close to home.
		Volume 4: April 1786-January 1787
		Volume Four spans the critical period between April 1786 and January 1787. Washington spent all of this period at home at Mount Vernon, managing and improving his estate. Yet he remained a keen observer of the national scene, receiving a steady stream of reports on political developments from correspondents all over the new nation.
		Volume 5: February-December 1787
		The extensive correspondence regarding Shays' Rebellion and widespread alarm over the state of the Union continues in this volume, and there are the usual letters numbering in the hundreds which deal with his more personal concerns: farm and family, slave and tenant, tradesman and artisan. But the main focus of this volume is the Federal Convention in the summer of 1787 and the fight for ratification of the Constitution beginning in the fall of 1787. About these and other matters of importance Washington wrote to and heard from such Americans as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, George Mason, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, George Clinton, Gouverneur and Robert Morris, John Rutledge, William Moultrie, Christopher Gadsden, Noah Webster, Ezra Stiles, Charles Wilson Peale, and John Paul Jones; to and from such Europeans as Lafayette, Catherine Sawbridge, Macaulay Graham, Chastellux, Gardoqui, and La Luzerne. Of particular importance are Washington's exchanges regarding agricultural matters with Arthur Young, Thomas Peters, and a number of his fellow Virginia planters.
		Volume 6: January-September 1788
		Beginning with the decision made early in 1787 to attend the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in the summer, Washington's papers in volume 6 of the series reveal him as once again a public figure no longer standing outside and above the fray as he had been seeking to do with some success since leaving the army at the end of 1783. In the first nine months of this year Washington continued to give meticulous attention to his personal affairs at Mount Vernon as he had done before, but his correspondence, particularly that with James Madison, makes it clear that his overriding concern had become the ratification of the new Federal Constitution and that his mind was turning to the role he should, and must, play in establishing the new government.
		Related Links
		The Papers of George Washington Mount Vernon
		Order Now
		The Papers of George Washington Confederation Series Volumes 1-6 (complete) Volume 1 • ISBN 0-8139-1348-9 • $85.00 Volume 2 • ISBN 0-8139-1349-7 • $85.00 Volume 3 • ISBN 0-8139-1506-6 • $85.00 Volume 4 • ISBN 0-8139-1560-0 • $85.00 Volume 5 • ISBN 0-8139-1672-0 • $85.00 Volume 6 • ISBN 0-8139-1684-4 • $85.00
		http://www.upress.virginia.edu/books/pgw_confederation.html
		Revised 8/30/06