Historian Jack D. Warren Jr outlines the first president's practical accomplishments: the establishment of the executive as an energetic and effective branch of government; the resolution of the new nation's financial crisis; the opening of the trans-Appalachian West; the creation of Washington DC; and the preservation of peace with the warring powers of Europe. In a time of intense partisanship, Warren explains, Washington worked constantly to strengthen the Union, gave his office a character that transcends politics, and set a standard of conduct for national leaders that has endured for more than two centuries. Washington shaped the powers of the presidency, former president George H.W. Bush says in his foreword, "yet never wavered from his promise to remain a servant of the people." This book is a much-expanded version of a paper presented in November 1996 to the first annual Mount Vernon Symposium on George Washington.