Washington's Circle

George Washington was a singular, often aloof man who sought out the counsel of a few, trusted men to help him share his task of governing a new nation. In Washington's Circle, David and Jeanne Heidler introduce not just the president but the group of extraordinary men who advised him. The familiar names are here like the often irked and occasionally irksome John Adams, the scheming Alexander Hamilton, and the prodigiously talented James "Jemmy" Madison, but so are the lesser known Edmund Randolph, John Jay, and Gouverneur Morris. Washington's choices of who to listen to, for better and sometimes worse, were as consequential as the advice his cabinet gave. It is a story of give and take between Washington and Congress, these men confronted the questions, including the limits of executive power, that continue to raise debates today.