George Washington Character Analysis in Lafayette in the Somewhat United States

George Washington was the Commander in Chief of the Patriot army, the first president of the fledgling United States, and Lafayette’s closest personal friend and father figure. Over and over again, Lafayette and his fellow generals described Washington as a “majestic figure,” poised, patient and always able to rally the Patriot army even against seemingly impossible odds. Crucially, the French were so enamored of Washington’s can-do attitude that they placed faith in him even when he suffered military losses. And perhaps most importantly, Washington’s “homebody” attitude and his devotion to his family home at Mount Vernon ensured that he left office after only two terms. This set the precedent that American presidents would always engage in a peaceful transfer of power.

George Washington Quotes in Lafayette in the Somewhat United States

The Lafayette in the Somewhat United States quotes below are all either spoken by George Washington or refer to George Washington. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Democracy, Disagreement, and Compromise Theme Icon

Who knows what happened to that particular chair. It could have been burned during the British occupation of Philadelphia in the winter of 1777-78, when firewood was scarce. But it might have been a more helpful, sobering symbolic object than that chair with the rising sun. Then perhaps citizens making pilgrimages to Independence Hall could file pass the chair Jefferson walked across an aisle to sit in, and we could all ponder the amount of respect, affection, and wishy-washy give-and-take needed to keep a house divided in reasonable repair.

Related Characters: Sarah Vowell (speaker), George Washington, Thomas Jefferson

Page Number and Citation: 15

Explanation and Analysis:

As for Washington, how could he not envy Gates? Saratoga was the turning point of the war, the most spectacular patriot victory to date. And when it went down, His Excellency was more than 200 miles away, licking his wounds from his recent setbacks.

Related Characters: Sarah Vowell (speaker), George Washington, Horatio Gates

Page Number and Citation: 130

Explanation and Analysis:

When Lafayette wrote his letter to Washington worrying that America could lose the war not at the hands of the redcoats but rather “by herself and her own sons,” he might not have been referring solely to the Conway cabal. He may have also had in mind the observable fact that the military, congressional, and state bureaucracies responsible for supplying the common soldiers with luxuries like food, water, and shoes word, to use an acronym coined by the grunts of Ike’s war, FUBAR.

Related Characters: Marquis de Lafayette (speaker), Sarah Vowell (speaker), George Washington, Thomas Conway , Dwight D. Eisenhower

Page Number and Citation: 152

Explanation and Analysis:

Washington had also been ruminating on a deeper, less obvious stumbling block than the fact that summer—and summer battle season—was coming all too soon. Namely, that the rebels under his command were not fighting to become free; they were cornered into fighting because the government of Great Britain had failed to understand that they already were. […] Yet the self-respect and self-possession that incited said people to revolt was hindering the revolution goal, independence, because functional armies required hierarchy and self-denial, orders barked and orders followed.

Related Characters: Sarah Vowell (speaker), Marquis de Lafayette, George Washington, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben

Page Number and Citation: 167

Explanation and Analysis:

De Grasse cajoled Lafayette by promising “to further your glory. Lafayette later confessed, “The temptation was great, but even if the attack had succeeded, it would necessarily have cost a great deal of blood.” Therefore he decided not to sacrifice the soldiers “entrusted to me to personal ambition.” Lafayette was growing up. Two days later he turned twenty-four.

Related Characters: Marquis de Lafayette (speaker), Sarah Vowell (speaker), George Washington, Count de Grasse

Page Number and Citation: 231

Explanation and Analysis:

Washington repeated this performance as president, leaving office after two terms rather than staying on his president for life, because he honestly wanted to live out his days, as Voltaire put it, cultivating his own garden—and painting his dining room the world’s most alarming shade of green. Washington’s homebody side tempered his ambition, staving off the lure of power.

Related Characters: Sarah Vowell (speaker), Marquis de Lafayette, George Washington

Page Number and Citation: 233

Explanation and Analysis:

The lesson of Yorktown is the value of cooperation—the lack of it among Britain’s top commanders, and the overwhelming strength of the Franco-American alliance. […] A more interesting aspect of the Franco-American collaboration was the way the French and American officers kept talking each other out of bad ideas.

Related Characters: Sarah Vowell (speaker), George Washington, Count de Grasse

Page Number and Citation: 241

Explanation and Analysis:

George Washington Character Timeline in Lafayette in the Somewhat United States

The timeline below shows where the character George Washington appears in Lafayette in the Somewhat United States. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Youthful Glory vs. Mature Leadership Theme Icon

...who traveled to Philadelphia in 1777, at the start of the American Revolution. General George Washington hired Lafayette to work in the Patriot army in part because the young aristocrat was... (full context)

...Constitution, though many retained their doubts. The tour guide in Independence Hall shows Vowell George Washington’s chair, which had a sun carved into the back of it. After the Constitution was... (full context)

...deadlock, Vowell points out, is also nothing new. In fact, she suggests that rather than Washington’s sunny chair, a more appropriate symbol for democracy might be one of Jefferson’s chairs—namely, one... (full context)

No matter what, though, Lafayette was always loyal to George Washington. Even at the beginning of the war, when many political leaders doubted him—and when many... (full context)

...breeding grounds for democratic thought on both sides of the ocean. In the colonies, both Washington and Benjamin Franklin were Masons. In France, important Enlightenment philosophers developed their theories of government... (full context)

Landscape and Historical Memory Theme Icon

In other good news, Washington had just had his first success of the war. In December of 1776, the general... (full context)

...sent high-ranking officials and engineers (including Pierre L’Enfant, who would later plan the city of Washington, D.C.). Some of these military men wanted to unseat George Washington as Commander in Chief... (full context)

...(many of them sent by Silas Deane) coming over and demanding a high-ranking office. As Washington put it, “these men have no attachments or ties to the country.” (full context)

After speaking with Congress, Lafayette met with Washington and found himself instantly amazed by the famed general. The two men became fast friends,... (full context)

...stop being a volunteer and gain an actual title, which made for some awkwardness with Washington. But the awkwardness was overcome when once Lafayette saw how outmatched the Patriots were; many... (full context)

Meanwhile, Washington was coming to terms with his troops’ inherent weakness. (“Are these the men with which... (full context)

In 2013, Vowell revisits the Brandywine countryside, the part of Pennsylvania in which Washington fought a brutal battle with General Howe. Vowell is surprised to find that the once-famous... (full context)

Though the Battle of Brandywine is famous mostly for the mistakes that both Washington and Howe made, Vowell is en route to a surprisingly festive celebration of this fateful... (full context)

...technology, Vowell has struggled to find her way through Brandywine, and she can only imagine Washington had an even harder time. Vowell wonders if the British ambush at Brandywine reminded Washington... (full context)

But Lafayette, always hungry for glory and ready for blood, nevertheless begged Washington to allow him to join the fray. The Patriots’ Fabian strategy was supposed to be... (full context)

...as the Homespun Movement. Homespun clothes then became an international symbol of America’s folksy strength; Washington eventually wore a homespun suit to his inauguration. And Ben Franklin went even further, wearing... (full context)

...it acted as a political hub, and it was therefore a crucial symbol of independence. Washington, Franklin, Lafayette and John Adams all worried that losing Philadelphia would destroy Patriot morale. (full context)

As Lafayette recovered, Washington tried to attack the British Hessian forces in Germantown, a few miles north of Philadelphia.... (full context)

Washington lost the battle in Pennsylvania, but Horatio Gates, another Patriot general, was much luckier. In... (full context)

Washington hoped to invade Philadelphia as a way of getting his own glorious moment, but his... (full context)

...narrative, but she also makes it clear that the French were just as impressed by Washington’s loss as they were by Gates’s win. After all, the Battle at Germantown showed just... (full context)

...he was ready to get back into the thick of things, so he wrote to Washington asking for increased responsibilities as a military leader. In contrast to many of the other... (full context)

...and—always “determined to be in the way of danger”—he attacked. This successful maneuver earned Lafayette Washington’s respect and command of his own army unit in Virginia. The unit was in a... (full context)

Crucially, even as Lafayette gained power, he never grew less enamored of General Washington. But in the fall of 1777, many men in Congress (John Adams included) were so... (full context)

The most involved attempt to replace Washington was known as the “Conway cabal.” Thomas Conway was a Frenchman who had wound up... (full context)

There was a silver lining in Washington’s waning popularity, however—his lack of military success humanized him and made Americans more able to... (full context)

Instead of rushing into battle, therefore, Washington decided to take the winter of 1777–1778 as a time for rebuilding American morale. The... (full context)

...wagons to transport these crops. And while the British troops were well-fed and consistently well-supplied, Washington could not even fill crucial positions in the Valley Forge supply corps. Vowell then draws... (full context)

A few months later in 1778, as Lafayette wrote home to his wife Adrienne, the anti-Washington gossip in Congress still had not quieted down. While Washington was trying to—at last—introduce military... (full context)

...Atlantic and volunteered his service. The only complication was that Steuben was (probably) gay, and Washington was simply the first of many American generals to be intensely homophobic. Thus, for his... (full context)

But though Steuben was itching to introduce some discipline into the army at Valley Forge, Washington understood that this would be more difficult in the colonies than it had been in... (full context)

...operate as a coherent unit (and it didn’t hurt that the soldiers finally got uniforms). Washington even promoted Steuben, angering Gates and Conway but pleasing Beaumarchais. Ultimately, Washington had proved himself,... (full context)

...colonists, offering to repeal some of the steepest taxes. But it was too late. As Washington put it, this far into the war, “nothing short of Independence […] can possibly do.” (full context)

...May of 1778, the British Commander-in-Chief William Howe had been replaced by Henry Clinton. As Washington debated whether to attack Clinton in New Jersey, he leaned on Greene, Steuben, Knox and... (full context)

...in the heat of the Battle at Monmouth (possibly throwing the fight to the British), Washington flew into a rage and court-martialed him. Still, the town of Fort Lee in New... (full context)

Trapped into a corner by Lee’s retreat, Washington had no choice but to stand and fight Clinton’s Redcoats. Once again, Washington’s “coolness and... (full context)

...not help the Americans with very many of their strategic objectives, but it did allow Washington to feel new faith and enthusiasm about his troops. However, the Americans were overly optimistic—even... (full context)

Vowell lives near Union Square in New York City, where there are statues of both Washington and Lafayette. Vowell reflects on the fact that though the British did eventually abandon New... (full context)

Initially, Washington had planned to use French naval reinforcements to attack New York. But when the fleet... (full context)

Instead of attacking New York, Washington had to settle for trying to reclaim British-occupied Rhode Island. Rhode Island was founded as... (full context)

...as a huge betrayal, and Lafayette felt caught in the middle. Lafayette defended d’Estaing to Washington, and Washington asked Lafayette to persuade d’Estaing to change his mind. Lafayette failed, and in... (full context)

...Franco-American alliance persevered. But when Lafayette wanted to invade Canada on behalf of the French, Washington said no, fearing that hostilities could return if the French were to regain such a... (full context)

When Lafayette returned to the colonies, Washington shed tears of joy to be reunited with his friend. But the military situation was... (full context)

...between the two Frenchmen quickly deteriorated. From then on, Rochambeau would always communicate directly with Washington. (full context)

...Arnold was revealed to be a British spy when he was caught smuggling information about Washington’s plans to the Redcoats. A panicked Washington wrote to Ben Franklin in France to persuade... (full context)

Washington could not forgive Benedict Arnold for his betrayal, so though the American troops remained poorly... (full context)

...Colonial Williamsburg, which she thinks might be “Republican Disneyland.” But instead, she finds a George Washington impersonator complaining about states’ rights and emphasizing the “great debt” all Americans owe to Lafayette.... (full context)

...eking out a minor Patriot victory (or at the very least avoiding defeat). As the Washington impersonator at Colonial Williamsburg explained to Vowell’s tour group, “Cornwallis did not make a mistake.... (full context)

Meanwhile, though Washington still wanted to attack New York, Rochambeau and de Grasse were planning to plant the... (full context)

...de Grasse sent word that his ships would arrive in Virginia by September 3, 1781. Washington needed to transport thousands of foot soldiers down to Virginia, and to incentivize this giant... (full context)

...peninsula, it would be easy for the Americans to surround the British on all sides. Washington put Lafayette in charge of encircling the Redcoats in Virginia, while other officers set up... (full context)

...September 3, de Grasse’s ships arrived in the Chesapeake Bay and the British were surrounded. Washington wanted to wait for more re-enforcements, but de Grasse wanted to attack immediately. To get... (full context)

Washington was taking his time making his way to Yorktown. On the way down, he stopped... (full context)

Before Washington could fully take a victory lap, however, he learned that the British navy had also... (full context)

...French—and particularly Lafayette—in order to win the war. Vowell is reminded of the reunion between Washington and Lafayette after Yorktown, when the Americans had emerged victorious from the naval fight: the... (full context)

...the Americans. Of particular interest to Vowell is the fact that both de Grasse and Washington were able to talk “each other out of bad ideas.” For example, de Grasse initially... (full context)

...breakdown in communication between himself and Thomas Graves, who commanded the crucial British fleet. Besides, Washington and the rest of the Patriots had fought exceptionally well: with the help of men... (full context)

Washington gave Cornwallis two hours to prepare for the surrender negotiations, which took place in a... (full context)

...at first moved to give Cornwallis’ sword to Rochambeau, but Rochambeau refused; Lincoln then approached Washington, who referred Lincoln to Washington’s own number-two general. Lafayette was giddy, but Washington remained calm,... (full context)