Dr. Sevier

by George Washington

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. This text refers to the Bibliobazaar edition.

480 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1882

About the author

George Washington was an American military leader, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first President of the United States. He is often referred to as the "Father of His Country" for the central role he played in the founding and early development of the nation.
Born into a family of Virginia planters, Washington grew up on the family's estates and received limited formal education. As a young man, he became a land surveyor, which provided him valuable knowledge of the American frontier. He began his military career in the Virginia militia during the French and Indian War, gaining experience that would later serve him during the American Revolution.
In 1775, with tensions between the American colonies and Great Britain reaching a breaking point, Washington was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army by the Second Continental Congress. Leading a force that was often underfunded, poorly equipped, and inexperienced, Washington faced a series of challenges. Despite suffering early defeats, he demonstrated resilience and strategic skill, securing important victories at Trenton and Princeton. His leadership at the Siege of Yorktown led to the surrender of British forces and ultimately secured American independence.
Following the Revolutionary War, Washington voluntarily resigned his commission and returned to private life at Mount Vernon, a move that reinforced the principle of civilian control of the military. However, the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation soon became evident, and Washington returned to public service as the presiding officer at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. His steady leadership helped facilitate the drafting and ratification of the United States Constitution.
Unanimously elected as the first President, Washington took office in 1789 and served two terms. During his presidency, he set many important precedents that would shape the role of the executive branch, including the creation of a Cabinet and the peaceful transfer of power. His leadership style emphasized unity and national identity at a time when political divisions threatened the stability of the new republic.
Washington's foreign policy was characterized by neutrality, particularly during the conflicts arising from the French Revolution. He promoted peaceful relations with foreign powers, most notably through the Jay Treaty with Great Britain. Domestically, he dealt with challenges such as the Whiskey Rebellion, asserting the authority of the federal government to maintain order.
Although a wealthy plantation owner who held enslaved people throughout his life, Washington's views on slavery evolved over time. In his will, he made arrangements to free the individuals he directly owned, setting a precedent among the Founding Fathers and reflecting his personal conflict over the institution.
After completing two terms, Washington declined to seek a third, emphasizing the importance of term limits and setting a lasting example. In his Farewell Address, he warned against the dangers of political factions and entanglements in foreign affairs, advice that influenced American political thought for generations.
George Washington's legacy endures in American culture, politics, and national identity. His name and image have been commemorated in countless ways, from the capital city of Washington, D.C., to monuments, currency, and public institutions. Admired for his leadership, character, and devotion to republican ideals, Washington remains one of the most respected figures in United States history.

Reviews

[Perry Whitford · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the years immediately before the American Civil War, a widowed doctor of New Orleans takes an interest in a struggling couple with a secret past. They call themselves John and Mary Richlin and claim to come from Milwaukee, but Dr Sevier isn't fooled by that.

John Richlin, obviously a gentleman in disguise, finds it hard to find work, dragging his young wife down with him into poverty. The doctor feels sorry for them and lends assistance, though his pity is of an exasperated and testy kind, all 'frowning good intention'.

George Washington Cable was a friend of Mark Twain and had similarly liberal views towards the race question for his time and place, so much so that he had to up sticks and move to the North to avoid persecution. Today he is considered one of the original leading lights of southern realist fiction.

As idiosyncratic and enjoyable as Dr. Sevier was in places, I can only imagine that it is not considered amongst his best works. A meandering, almost plotless tale of poverty and charity, the multiracial support cast are lively but the leads are rather dull and uninteresting.

Those superior secondary characters include a comedy creole called Narcisse, an enterprising Italian and a stolid German baker, all three with outrageous English accents which Cable has a lot of fun interpreting into print, but that you might find something of a challenge to decipher!

The Civil War does finally intrude into the novel's final stages, but only as a backdrop.

[Humphrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dr. Sevier is a curious book; it does have moments when it is interesting, but unfortunately these don't really come until the second half of the novel. The first half traces the continual failure of its protagonist to obtain stable work befitting of his gentility. Imagine the apartment search at the beginning of Howells' A Hazard of New Fortunes, but twice as long, half as descriptive, and half as interesting. From about the 2/5ths point onward, the novel becomes more explicitly about the question of charity and benevolence: how can it be done effectively, what kind of interpersonal / societal relationships does it require or promote, and what role does it play in the health of one's soul? To this end, there are sequences involving prison (though to say the novel is "about" prison reform, as some odd summaries online suggest, is way off), the breakout of a deadly fever, and finally the Civil War. The last fifth or so of the novel takes place during the war and features several scenes that are interesting historically (early-war excitement, war conditions on the home front, the fall of New Orleans) or aesthetically (as Cable attempts to navigate a balance between pro-South and pro-Union positions, historical revision and historical accuracy, nostalgia and present-mindedness). The unfortunate thing remains that the novel takes 200 pages of my 470 page edition to get started, and much of this initial material feels redundant.

[Jim Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a strange novel about life in New Orleans just before and during the Civil War. While the title is “Dr. Sevier” it is really about a gentle, loving couple that he helps—John and Mary Richling. One has rebelled against his rich, slave-owning family and the other is a simple, sweet girl from Milwaukee. The couple move to the city in 1858 to make their way. John is not a practical or highly-skilled man and struggles with finding steady work, to the point of near starvation, saved only by the generosity of the Dr. Sevier. The couple are separated just before the war, and, once the war begins, Mary finds out her husband is sick and struggles to get back to him through checkpoints and battlefields. Cable’s plot is paper-thin, and the book is altogether too long for the action it contains (although the prison and war sections are compelling). What he is really interested in is creating a snapshot of a city with colorful characters and dialogue. He tries his hand at creating Dickensian Irish, German, Italian, and Creole characters who ultimately have little impact on the main plot. While the book is mostly entertaining and well written, it is more valuable today as a remarkable document of the city in the 1850’s and 60’s.