"Larson's elegantly written dual biography reveals that the partnership of Franklin and Washington was indispensable to the success of the Revolution." āGordon S. WoodĀ
From the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian comes a masterful, first-of-its-kind dual biography of Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, illuminating their partnership's enduring importance.Ā
NATIONAL BESTSELLERĀ ā¢ Ā One of Washington Post's "10 Books to Read in February"Ā ā¢ Ā One ofĀ USA Today'sĀ "Must-Read Books" of Winter 2020Ā ā¢Ā Ā One ofĀ Publishers Weekly's "Top Ten"Ā Spring 2020 Memoirs/Biographies
Theirs was a three-decade-long bond that, more than any other pairing, would forge the United States. Vastly differentĀ men, Benjamin Franklināan abolitionist freethinker from the urban northāand George Washingtonāa slaveholdĀing general from the agrarian southāwere the indispensable authors of American independence and the two key partners in the attempt to craft a more perfect union at the Constitutional Convention, held in Franklin's Philadelphia and presided over by Washington. And yet their teamwork has been little remarked upon in the centuries since.
Illuminating Franklin and Washington's relationship with striking new detail and energy, Pulitzer Prizeāwinning historianĀ Edward J. Larson shows that theirs was truly an intimate working friendship that amplified the talents of each for collectiveĀ advancement of the American project.
After long supĀporting British rule, both Franklin and Washington became key early proponents of indeĀpendence. Their friendship gained historical significance during the American Revolution, when Franklin led America's diplomaticĀ mission in Europe (securing money and an alliance with France) and Washington commanded the Continental Army. Victory required both of these efforts to succeed, and success, in turn, required their mutual coordination and cooperation. In the 1780s, the two sought to strengthen the union, leading to the framing and ratification of the Constitution, the founding document that bears their stamp.
Franklin and Washingtonāthe two most revered figuresĀ in the early republicāstaked their lives and fortunes on the American experiment in liberty and were committed to its preservation. Today the United States is the world's great superĀpower, and yet we also wrestle with the government Franklin and Washington created more than two centuries agoāthe power of the executive branch, the principle of checks and balances, the electoral collegeāas well as the wounds of their compromiseĀ over slavery. Now, as the founding institutions appear under new stress, it is time to understand their origins through the fresh lens of Larson'sĀ Franklin & Washington,Ā a major additionĀ to the literature of the founding era.