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    Washington: How Slaves, Idealists, and Scoundrels Created the Nation's Capital
    Unavailable
    Washington: How Slaves, Idealists, and Scoundrels Created the Nation's Capital
    Unavailable
    Washington: How Slaves, Idealists, and Scoundrels Created the Nation's Capital
    Ebook582 pages11 hours

    Washington: How Slaves, Idealists, and Scoundrels Created the Nation's Capital

    By Fergus Bordewich

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Washington, D.C., is home to the most influential power brokers in the world. But how did we come to call D.C.—a place once described as a mere swamp "producing nothing except myriads of toads and frogs (of enormous size)," and which was strategically indefensible, captive to the politics of slavery, and the target of unbridled land speculation—our nation's capital? In Washington, acclaimed, award-winning author Fergus M. Bordewich turns to the backroom deal-making and shifting alliances among our Founding Fathers to find out, and in doing so pulls back the curtain on the lives of the slaves who actually built the city. The answers revealed in this eye-opening book are not only surprising but also illuminate a story of unexpected triumph over a multitude of political and financial obstacles, including fraudulent real estate deals, overextended financiers, and management more apt for a banana republic than an emerging world power.

    In a page-turning work that reveals the hidden and unsavory side to the nation's beginnings, Bordewich once again brings his novelist's eye to a little-known chapter of American history.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateMar 17, 2009
    ISBN9780061755545
    Author

    Fergus Bordewich

    Fergus M. Bordewich is the author of several books, including Bound for Canaan, Killing the White Man's Indian, and My Mother's Ghost, a memoir. The son of a national civil rights leader for Native Americans, he was introduced early in life to racial politics. As a journalist, he has written widely on political and cultural subjects in Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Smithsonian, American Heritage, Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, Reader's Digest, and many other publications. He was born in New York City, and now lives in New York's Hudson River Valley with his wife and daughter.

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    Reviews for Washington

    4/5

    33 ratings4 reviews

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    • 3/5
      In this book Fergus M. Bordewich chronicles the early history of the nation's capital of the U.S.A., highlighting the political struggles, sectional rivalry, backroom dealing, and big money that led to the 1790 establishment of Washington, D.C. The author discusses the people involved in the city's construction, including engineer Peter L'Enfant, African American surveyor Benjamin Banneker, and he does write about the slaves who did a majority of the heavy labor. If it was the author's intent to just write about the original choice of placement, the difficulties and corruption that took place to give the U.S.A. the capital they have now he did a good introduction and that is what I rated it on. As to the actual construction and completion of the nation's capital this book is just a look at the beginning with mention of how the completion came to be. It is a shame that the author's polemics could not have been left out of this writing.
    • 5/5
      Great Book Makes you think twice abut how our nations capitol was conceived and who is responsible for the greedy dream to be reality
    • 3/5
      If you've ever wondered how and why some very improbable and unwelcoming terrain on the Potomac came to be chosen in 1790 as the site for the nation's capital, this is the book for you. I approached the reading of this book with a lot of enthusiasm. I was honestly interested in learning more about the capital and how it came to be. I can't say I was disappointed with the information I received. The book is full of interesting pieces of history that paint a sometimes bleak and pessimistic canvas of our nation's founders. I was disappointed to learn some things about some of our founders. I was surprised at other times. But I was never disappointed.I was, however, slightly disappointed with the narrative itself. It wasn't bad but it also wasn't as engaging as some books I've read (1776 comes to mind). The information was there and the stories were there but I felt like I was working when I read about them. It wasn't an easy read.Still, though, I do recommend this book to anyone with a real interest in the American Revolutionary period as this book contains a lot of little tidbits you aren't likely to find anywhere else.
    • 4/5
      I had a particular interest in this book because I was born and raised in Washington. I expected some discussion of Pierre L'Enfant's design (and L'Enfant comes off very badly herein). To my surprise, This book lays bare the disgraceful fact that slavery was a huge reason behind the placement of the capital, and that information alone is worth the read. Apparently the famous statement that "all men are created equal" (from the Declaration of Independence) did not truly apply to all men, as George Orwell pointed out in Animal Farm ("All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others"). This is a very dense read, but I feel that it is worth the effort for every American who wants to learn more about their country's history.