How George Washington forged a bunch of bickering states into a federation

So you think you know the story of the American nation's founding, do you? Unless you've read historian Edward J. Larson's 2014 bestseller The Return of George Washington: Uniting the States, 1783-1789 or heard his talks with John Batchelor, first broadcast on John's radio show in 2018 and again during this year's Independence Day holiday, it's a good bet you have an unclear idea of how it happened -- and what you do know most probably has large gaps.

The truth is that after winning the Revolutionary War, the Americans hadn't the foggiest idea of how to make a nation out of their victory. General George Washington didn't know, either, but he tasked himself with finding out and then with the Herculean task of making the impossible work. He didn't do it alone, of course, but without him, the British would've been right: not without creating a monarchy could an American nation-building project have succeeded.

Larson's history is stuffed with important lessons for today's peoples, no matter where they reside. And given that Batchelor is a great raconteur and interviewer, he and Larson make the telling of the history into a whale of a tale. 

All right. Now it's time to listen and learn.

"The Return of George Washington" - John Batchelor Show podcasts at Audioboom: 

Part 1 of 4

Part 2 

Part 3

Part 4

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