Publishers Weekly
★ 08/09/2021
Ragsdale (A Planters’ Republic), former director of the Federal Judicial History Office, offers a fascinating and richly informative portrait of George Washington focused on how “agricultural improvement and the work of nation building were firmly joined in mind.” Drawing on Washington’s ledger and account books and the weekly work reports he created to measure the value of enslaved labor, Ragsdale meticulously traces the founding father’s agricultural pursuits from the late 1750s to his death in 1799. Washington’s experimental methods at his Mount Vernon estate included switching from tobacco and corn to wheat, digging ditches and planting hedgerows, and the introduction of crop rotation and fodder crops. He struck up correspondence with influential English and Scots agriculturalists, and closely followed the “latest models of British husbandry” in instituting reforms. Ragsdale shows how these improvement efforts increased the complexity of operations at Mount Vernon and “imposed a far more demanding work regimen” on the enslaved people there, which eventually led to Washington’s recognition that the “ideal of a balanced order rooted in nature and improved by human endeavor” was “in conflict with the system of enslaved labor.” Ragsdale’s lucid explanations of agricultural and financial matters and excellent usage of underexamined primary sources make this a must-read for fans of early American history. Illus. (Oct.)
Agricultural History Review - James MacKay
In his engagingly written study of Washington as the ‘founding farmer,’ Bruce A. Ragsdale reveals that although the American Revolutionary War and the presidency would take Washington away from Virginia, the cultivation of the plantations at Mount Vernon were never far from his mind. Ragsdale convincingly argues that the ‘story of Washington’s life as a farmer fundamentally reshapes the familiar biography of the general and president.’
Richard L. Bushman
An excellent book, clearly written and argued. What is most impressive is how far-reaching it is: Ragsdale helps us realize that agriculture tells us so much about Washington’s thought and character, from his plans for the political economy of the new nation to his view of slavery. Washington tried every device he could to make slavery work before eventually deciding the slave system was hopelessly flawed and must be abandoned. Better than anyone, Ragsdale explains Washington’s complicated decision to free his slaves in his will.
Bloomberg
George Washington is typically known as the first U.S. president and a general. But for most of his life he was a farmer, and the implications of this agrarian background are, Ragsdale argues, far-reaching. Washington’s understanding of nation-building was inextricably linked to the concept of land cultivation, and his attempt to modernize farming techniques led him to reconsider, and ultimately reject, slave labor.
Daily Beast - Nicolaus Mills
Washington played a cautious, often contradictory role with respect to slavery. Why he did so is the subject of [this] timely new book…A portrait of Washington deeply rooted in the culture and politics of his era.
H-Net Reviews - Camille Davis
Ragsdale does a masterful job presenting the quandary that slavery created for the first president…[This book] adeptly uses the lenses of agricultural development and slavery to present a multidimensional representation of America’s first—and arguably most revered—president. Both scholars and lay readers will find Ragsdale’s account a strong contribution to the historiography of Washington as a landowner, a public leader, and a private citizen.
François Furstenberg
A landmark work that both deepens and complicates our understanding of George Washington. Ragsdale’s focus on farming—the subject the general and president cared most about—casts new light on nearly every other aspect of his life, not least the vexed issue of slavery. This fascinating book has done more to change my views on Washington than anything I have read in a long time.
North Carolina Historical Review - Lynn Price Robbins
Bruce Ragsdale’s excellent work advances the scholarship of Washington and slavery using the rich resources Washington left behind…The flowing prose and readability make this book accessible to scholars and a general audience looking for a unique perspective on George Washington the farmer.
Mark G. Spencer
Delightfully instructive…In this reliable and thorough rendering of ‘the most celebrated farmer of the age,’ Ragsdale undeniably casts new light on Washington on the question of slavery. By bringing to life Washington’s farming world, he does more than that. Washington at the Plow reminds us of the importance of agriculture and its enlightened improvement to America’s founding. In doing so, it illuminates much for early-American specialists and general readers alike.
Richard Brookhiser Richard Brookhiser
Ragsdale depicts a wealthy white man in a slave society aspiring to be an enlightened farmer and a republican icon. Washington at the Plow is detailed, discerning, judicious.
Flora Fraser
This absorbing study of Washington as citizen farmer makes for compelling reading. Ragsdale is an authoritative guide to the famed Virginian’s embrace of agricultural innovations, then being pioneered in Britain, and to his attempts to make the enslaved workforce at Mount Vernon more productive, leading to his subsequent disillusionment with forced labor. He sheds new light on the African American communities on the Washington farms and the former president’s decision to emancipate his slaves after his death.
Richard Brookhiser
Ragsdale depicts a wealthy white man in a slave society aspiring to be an enlightened farmer and a republican icon. Washington at the Plow is detailed, discerning, judicious.
François Furstenberg
A landmark work that both deepens and complicates our understanding of George Washington. Ragsdale’s focus on farming—the subject the general and president cared most about—casts new light on nearly every other aspect of his life, not least the vexed issue of slavery. This fascinating book has done more to change my views on Washington than anything I have read in a long time.
