When he died in 1799, George Washington was eulogized as “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” As commander in chief of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, president of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, and the nation’s first president from 1789 to 1797, Washington emerged not only as the United States’ leading statesman and foremost Founding Father, but as the living symbol of the American Revolution. The strength of his character enabled him to triumph over challenges no other American has faced and to resist temptations few other historical figures have refused. His name and his image are now so ubiquitous, his legacy and his legend so much larger than life, that it may seem like he was destined to defeat the world’s most powerful empire and unify a sprawling new nation.

George Washington: Citizen, Soldier, Statesman is a timely reminder that contrary to his grand visage on Mount Rushmore, Washington was not born to greatness—he earned it. The third son in a family of middle-class farmers, young George was left with inferior lands and no prospect of receiving a formal education when his father died while he was just a boy. Knowing that he would have to make his own way in the world, Washington worked to better himself, built a vast personal fortune, dedicated his life to public service, and seized opportunities few others would have dared to embrace. Author Gary L. Gregg II highlights the crucial moments of Washington’s career to demonstrate that he was not just a great man, but a good one, who set an example worthy of emulation.

George Washington: Citizen, Soldier, Statesman is the second book in the South Dakota Biography Series: Faces of Mount Rushmore, which highlights the presidents depicted on the national memorial and other figures connected with its history.