George Washington: America’s hero

Ritam Banati

I have diligently sought the public welfare; and have endeavoured to inculcate the same principles in all that are under me. These reflections will be cordial to my mind as long as I am able to distinguish between Good & Evil. Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master :George Washington George Washington, a gallant military man and a self-effacing politician, was the only US President to be unanimously elected; was the only President inaugurated in two cities: New York and Philadelphia; was the best spymaster in American history; was the 1st Congressional Gold Medal recipient; was the only US President who did not live in the White House; and did not attend college. George Washington was not enamoured by politics. He is reported to have said, "My movements to the chair of government will be accompanied by feeling not unlike those of a culprit, who is going to the place of his execution." It was solely his patriotic feeling that made him take up the office and in the process ensured his attainment of the pinnacle of political glory. Early career George Washington was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia on Feb 22, 1732. He was the eldest son of Augustine Washington and his second wife, Mary Ball Washington. His parents belonged to the prosperous Virginian gentry of English descent. Washington could not get married to the woman he loved, as she happened to be the wife of one of his close friends. He married a wealthy widow Martha Dandridge who was very devoted to him. In 1775 when the American Revolution broke out, 43-year-old Washington accepted the mantle of the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. It was indeed laudable that he accepted the post without any adequate financial compensation except reimbursement of his expenses. Washington’s love for his country and his leadership qualities came to the fore when a bankrupt Congress contemplated cutting off soldiers’ pay completely. This greatly annoyed him. He himself had silently accepted not being paid for six long years, but he could not accept a cut in the soldiers’ pay. The soldiers were so thoroughly discontented that they planned a military coup d’etat against the Congress. At the time the war with Great Britain was still on. It was Washington who used his influence with the soldiers to nip this unpatriotic rebellion in the bud. In his address to the soldiers he stated, “….this dreadful alternative, of either deserting our country in the extremest hour of her distress, or turning our arms against it,….has something so shocking in it that humanity revolts from the idea,…I spurn it,…” Then he picked up a Congressman’s letter addressing the soldiers’ grievances. For this he had to wear glasses. With a touch of humour that was soaked with patriotic fervour, the commander said, “Gentlemen, you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for I have not only grown gray but almost blind in the service of my country.” This selflessness melted the hearts of the soldiers and America was protected from a rebellion by its own Army. After refusing to take any rewards for his services as the military commander, he modestly remarked, “It is said that every man has his portion of ambition. I may have mine I suppose as well as the rest; but….my only ambition is to do my duty.” On getting to know this, British King George III stated that if this were indeed true, then Washington was “the greatest man in the world”. A fitting tribute to a great leader. He signed the American Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, when the US was still defending itself against imperialist Britain. This day is now celebrated as the American Independence Day. And it goes to Washington’s credit that he and his battalion remained on the battlefield even in the face of imminent defeat. Their mere presence made the signing of the declaration possible. Years later Washington, accepted the invitation to attend the Philadelphia Convention in which the Constitution of America was drafted. He was one of its foremost contributors. The present “checks and balances” system of American politics owes its origins to this Constitution. Presidency Then, on April 30, 1789 the much-deserving American took his oath of office as the country’s first President. He was re-elected to the office in 1792. The popular President was offered a third term which he humbly refused, thus laying the precedent for a two-term Presidency in US. In his farewell speech, justifying his decision, he said, “….I have the consolation to believe, that, while choice and prudence invite me to quit the political scene, patriotism does not forbid it”. Washington was quite careful in his conduct as President. When a war broke out between France and Britain, he chose to remain neutral, and issued a proclamation to that effect. He shunned the pomp and grandeur of political office and refused to behave like a King, though he could have easily done so. He was guided in his conduct by the consideration that future Presidents will be steered by the precedent set by him. United States of America’s “greatest” President breathed his last in 1799. He was suffering from a throat infection. He was 67 at the time of his death. He is among the few American leaders whose service to his nation was not based on power but on genuine concern for his country’s prosperity. No wonder then that Congressman Henry Lee’s tribute to Washington: "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen," rings true to this day.