First in the Hearts of His Countrymen - 9780762772711

The dramatic story of George Washington's last days, his visionary death-bed act, and America's first national tragedy

For more than thirty hours, his larynx slowly closed. Three doctors tried valiantly to save his life, but succeeded only in draining half his body's blood. At 10:00 p.m. on December 14, 1799, George Washington felt his own pulse and spoke his last words: ?'Tis well.” Minutes later he died. On his death, his will freed all his slaves, and Washington thereby took sides in the embroilment that slavery would create in America in the coming decades. Surrounding him at Mount Vernon were Martha, his wife of forty years; Tobias Lear, his personal secretary, who held the general's hand as he died; and three doctors, who were following the standard medical procedures of the day. As word spread, the fledgling nation plunged into grief. Mock funerals took place in every major city and town, and thousands donned mourning clothes for months.

First in the Hearts of His Countrymen takes the death of the nation's first president as a finely polished lens through which to view the stories of key figures in Washington's life and then examines the social and political issues and events of this critical period in America's history.