George Washington rescued the nation and the Constitution three times: first by winning the Revolutionary War, second by presiding over the Constitutional Convention and ushering the Constitution through a fractious ratification process, and third by leading the nation as president in its first years. There is no doubt that the struggling new nation needed to be rescued. After the victorious war, when a spirit of unity and patriotism might have been expected, instead the nation was broken. After successfully bringing the Constitution into being, Washington then sacrificed any hope of returning to private life by accepting the unanimous election to be the nation’s first president. Baier captures the dramatic moments when Washington’s leadership brought the nation from the brink of collapse. Baier exposes an early America that is grittier and far more divided than it is often portrayed—one we can see reflected in today’s conflicts.