In the book, Washington: The Indispensable Man, author James Thomas
             Flexner exposes the real man behind the myths that surround George
             Washington, the father of our country. In doing so he portrays Washington
             as a man with real flaws and real strengths. This paper deals with the
             beginning of Washington's political career and answers questions about
             Washington's influence in shaping a new united nation from 13 independent
             colonies several years after its independence from Britain and the man
             George Washington was a Federalist who fervently believed in a strong
             central government, which would hold power that would pervade the 13
             colonies, which represented the Union of the late 1700s. In private
             writings, Washington wrote, "experience has taught us that men will not
             adopt and carry into execution measures the best calculated for their own
             good, without the intervention of a coercive power (198). Without this
             coercive power, Washington believed that the nation would not exist for any
             length of time. Prior to what became known as the Constitutional
             Convention, the states ignored the Continental Congress to the point that
             at any given meeting there were seldom enough delegates to form a quorum.
             It seemed that each state violated the Articles of the Confederation when
             it was beneficial to the state to do so. Flexner notes for instance that
             New York resented any authority that would weaken its own laws that milked
             other states (198). In addition, states succumbed to the whims of the
             majority, while neglecting the minorities, creating class conflict. Though
             this saddened Washington, he had no intention of intervening. After the
             Revolutionary War he had retired to Mount Vernon to experience what many
             claim were the best years of his life. Upon his retirement he had vowed not
             to return to public life. Because of this he did not plan to attend the
             ...