'Tis Well: George Washington's Final Journey

What happens when the most essential leader tries to step away? George Washington spent his final years discovering that leaving power might be harder than wielding it.

Join host Michael Bahr as he explores Jonathan Horn's "Washington's End," revealing how the father of our country spent his last two and a half years fighting to hold a fracturing nation together—even from retirement. From managing Mount Vernon's enslaved workforce to navigating the toxic partisan warfare between Hamilton and Jefferson, Washington faced crises that threatened everything he'd built.

This episode connects to today's debates about presidential power, partisan division, and the peaceful transfer of authority. At 65, worn down and desperate for privacy, Washington was pulled back into political warfare, forced to restrain Hamilton's military ambitions while the country teetered on the edge of disunion. His struggle with slavery, his horror at emerging political parties, and his final service to democracy reveal a more complex—and more human—founding father.

How do you leave when everyone believes only you can save the republic? Washington's answer would determine whether American democracy could survive its first generation.

Next Episode: Herbert Hoover and the Ordeal of the Presidency

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