“George Washington’s Rules of Civility” by Moncure D. Conway, first published in 1890, is a study of the history of the 110 principles or maxims which were written out by hand by George Washington as a young man and preserved in the Washington archives. These principles, fully titled “Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation”, were copied by Washington in 1745, presumably as a school exercise in penmanship. These were guidelines by which proper and decent people should abide and include instruction on proper dress, how to behave in pleasant company, general manners and courtesies, and how to act in formal situations. Washington was deeply influenced by these rules and his character throughout his adult life was defined by their insistence on proper decorum and courtesy. Conway traces the history of these guidelines and in his exhaustive research finds their origin in a French treatise published in 1595. The maxims were then translated into Latin and eventually published in English in 1640. The author researches Washington’s early education and posits how and by whom the future leader may have been introduced to these influential and formative principles. Conway’s “George Washington’s Rules of Civility” provides an important historical context to the influences that shaped the character of America’s first president.
