Establishing the Capital and the Rise of Political Division — Nathaniel Philbrick — Washington selected the Potomac River as the location for the new national capital, believing it would economically connect Western and Eastern commercial interests, despite claims of obvious self-interest regarding Mount Vernon's proximity. As Washington worked deliberately to unite the fractured nation through personal tours and diplomatic engagement, political divisions paradoxically hardened and crystallized; Thomas Jefferson and James Madison organized systematic opposition during a "northern tour," strategically recruiting Philip Freneau to attack the Washington administration. Philbrick notes the historical irony that James Monroe , formerly a critic of Washington , later adopted Washington's touring methodology to heal national divisions during his own presidency. Philbrick concludes that despite Washington's profound contradictions as a slaveholder and politician, his aspirational effort to create a functioning American Union remains his enduring historical legacy. 1700
