Ellis recalls his early relationship with Washington, which began as a child growing up in Alexandria, Virginia in the 1950s. There, Washington’s birthday was the occasion for a major parade, and the author frequently took field trips with his Catholic school class to see Mount Vernon. To Ellis, Washington seemed an omnipresent yet distant figure, like the Man in the Moon. Ellis’ purpose in his book will be to bring Washington closer to us, and to replace the exaggerated hero/villain images with a more balanced view. His book will paint a more intimate portrait than the grandiose Washington biographies of the past and will make use of more recent scholarship, especially on the topics of slavery and the fate of Native Americans. Ellis hopes to resolve the “Patriarchal Problem” our society has with Washington—our inability to see the “Father of our Country” as he really was. 

Washington is born on February 22, 1732, near the banks of the Potomac River in Virginia, the descendent of a family that has been in the colony since 1657. His father dies when George is 11, and George is subsequently raised by his half-brother Lawrence. Lawrence’s marriage into the aristocratic Fairfax family will influence George in several ways.