A Few Thoughts on Washington
On May 1, 1789, on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City, George Washington took the oath of office to become the first elected President of the United States.
Our first and last unanimously elected leader, he had six years earlier resigned as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army - keeping his promise to the American people that he would be no monarch. When told by painter Benjamin West of Washington's impending resignation, King George III was said to have exclaimed in shock: "If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world."
I have always found it remarkable - there are so many remarkable things about Washington, they make him seem impossible to relate to - did not make note of his election as president in his diary. The journal he kept - unlike so many of his peers, who were most loquacious when their topic was themselves - was a simple and brief account of, as he referred to it, "Where & How my Time is Spent." But before departing on the ten day journey from Virginia to New York for his inauguration, Washington wrote:
"About ten o'clock, I bade adieu to Mount Vernon, to private life, and to domestic felicity; and with a mind oppressed with more anxious and painful sensations than I have words to express, set out for New York in company with Mr. Thomson, and colonel [David] Humphries, with the best dispositions to render service to my country in obedience to its call, but with less hope of answering its expectations."
The man was greeted by constant celebration - the praise and honor due the national hero. But he did not relish it. Upon arriving in the city on April 23rd, he wrote:
"The display of boats which attended and joined us on this occasion, some with vocal and some with instrumental music on board; the decorations of the ships, the roar of cannon, and the loud acclamations of the people which rent the skies, as I passed along the wharves, filled my mind with sensations as painful (considering the reverse of this scene, which may be the case after all my labors to do good) as they are pleasing."
He understood the risks of this new government, and was fearful of his ability to deliver a nation worthy of its people. The hopes and dreams of so many were tied up in him. But he would do his best.
Whatever you are doing today, pause for a moment to be thankful for this man - with whose leadership the Almighty saw fit to grace us, and without whom America would not be. I have the luxury of living near Mount Vernon, on what once was Washington's own farmland; so today I count my blessings that I live a free man, and that he - and so many patriots - made it so.
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Comments:
Jul '10
Re: A Few Thoughts on Washington
Nice post.
May God bless America.
Dec '10
Re: A Few Thoughts on Washington
I second that, nice post.
There are many things that suggest Washington as a truly great man, but you've put you finger on the one I respect most: having been offered enormous power, he declined it because he thought it would not serve the best interests of his fledgling country.
Think how lucky the world of the last two centuries has been because this man was in that place at that time.
Jan '12
Re: A Few Thoughts on Washington
Thank you for reminding us how we began. Oh, how far we have fallen!
Jan '12
Re: A Few Thoughts on Washington
That thought is pretty overwhelming. No matter what happens in the future, the world was better off--at least for a little while--because of Washington, and that is something worth celebrating.
Apr '11
Re: A Few Thoughts on Washington
Those cannons that were roaring. Were they government cannons, militia cannons or privately owned cannons? They were private property of the people.
"The practice of arming merchant ships is longstanding. In colonial times, merchant ships carried cannons and weapons comparable to those found on naval vessels. Weapons were used by the crew to defend the ship and crew against attacks by pirates, privateers and enemy warships.
The fact that merchant ships could be armed without acquiring warship status was recognized in 1914 by the Department of State, provided the caliber of the guns carried did not exceed six inches, any guns and small arms carried were few in number, the quantity of ammunition was small, the vessel was manned by its usual crew, the cargo carried was not contraband and the ship was employed in normal trade routes."
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/19405554/Merchant-Navy-Naval-Armed-So
Apr '11
Re: A Few Thoughts on Washington
Goosebumps, and a lump in my throat.
Thanks, Ben. And thank you, General Washington.