W. W. Abbot – författare

The political history of Georgia--the youngest and smallest of the thirteen colonies--condenses into a relatively short span much of the colonial history of America. Abbot's study of the colony of Georgia, from the time it came under the administration of the Crown in 1754 until the beginning of the American Revolution, tells the story of unprecedented expansion and growth against a backdrop of fast-developing crisis throughout the Empire.Originally published in 1959.A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

Volume 3 covers the final months of the siege of Boston. It opens with General Washington proclaiming the commencement of the remodeled Continental army on New Year's Day 1776 and closes at the end of March as he prepares to depart for New York in the wake of the British evacuation of Boston.Washington's correspondence and orders for this period reveal an uncompromising attitude toward reconciliation with Britain and a single-minded determination to engage the enemy forces in Boston before the end of the winter. Washington's bold proposal to attack Boston across the frozen back bay in the middle of February was rejected as too risky by a council of war, but the council did approve occupying the strategic Dorchester Heights overlooking the city and harbor. During the last weeks of February and the first days of March, Washington devoted himself to mobilizing artillery and gunpowder for a massive cannonade of Boston and assembling materials for portable fortifications to be erected on the frozen soil of Dorchester Heights. The successful execution of this operation on the night of 4 March failedto provoke General William Howe into assaulting the American lines and thereby open the way to counterattack on the city as Washington hoped it would. It did, however, compel the British to withdraw from Boston in haste a few days later, giving Washington and his army a spirit of confidence with which to embark on the New York campaign. The volume also includes a number of documents relating to Washington's private affairs in Virginia, the most important of which are eight letters from his Mount Vernon manager Lund Washington.

Volume three of the Presidential Series continues the fourth chronological series of ""The Papers of George Washington"". The Presidential Series when complete, will aim to cover the eight precedent-setting years of Washington's presidency and his brief retirement at Mount Vernon until his death in 1799. These volumes deal with the public papers either written by Washington or presented to him during both of his administrations. Among the documents are Washington's messages to Congress, addresses to him from public office and documents concerned with diplomatic and Indian affairs as well as Washington's private papers which include family letters, farm reports, political letters from friends and acquaintances, and documents relating to the administration of the Mount Vernon plantation. Volume three covers most of the summer of 1789 and focuses primarily on the problems facing the new administration. Because of the president's serious illness during this period, a larger proportion of the documents than previously are letters and papers sent to Washington, including massive reports from the Board of Treasury describing the financial status of the new nation, detailed descriptions of Indian and military affairs from Henry Knox, and a plethora of applications for public office. The letters to Washington come from a cross section of Americans and present a resource on such diverse topics as foreign affairs, overseas trade and public attitudes toward the new government. Washington in these months was establishing the great departments of the federal government, and he devoted a considerable amount of his time to appointments and to the staffing of the new civil service.

Volume Four of the ""Revolutionary War Series"" completes the documentary record of Washington's first year as commander in chief of the Continental army. It opens with this final preparations to leave Cambridge following the successful siege of Boston and concludes with news that General William Howe's British army was soon to arrive at New York, an event which would mark the beginning of the New York campaign. In the interim between campaigns, Washington established his headquarters as New York and began wrestling with the perplexing problems of defending the strategically important corridor between New York and Canada formed by the Hudson River and Lake Champlain. In addition to Washington's activities as commander in chief of the Continental army, the volume includes documents and notes concerning the medal that Congress awarded him for the liberation of Boston, Washington's efforts to terminate his long and successful administration of the Custis estate, and details of his travels from Cambridge to New York and between New York and Philadelphia. As in earlier volumes of the ""Revolutionary War Series"", Washington's writings show him to be unwavering in his advocacy of American independence and in his commitment to the subordination of the military to civil authority.

In the two-year span covered by this volume, Washington continues to be concerned with personal and local matters - the expansion of his Mount Vernon acreage, the development of the flour and fishing industries there, and his promotion of schemes for the navigation of the Potomac River.