Difference between revisions of "George Washington"

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George Washington (1732-1799) was the unanimously elected 1st President of the United States of America and the Commander-in-Chief in the Revolutionary War.^[1] He was also a devout Christian, with his adopted daughter once stating that "if you question Washington's faith, you may as well question whether or not he was a patriot."^[2]

Washington is perhaps the only person other than Jesus to decline such enormous worldly power by first refusing to become a military dictator or king and then by voluntarily stepping aside as the leader of a prosperous nation. His precedent was voluntarily followed for 140 years. Towards that end, he sought to emulate the model of the citizen-soldier set by the Greek leader Cincinattus, a comparison that is truly testament to Washington's greatness, and one that drew worldwide attention and acclaim, even in England, the nation he defeated.^[3] The archetype of Washington as the citizen-soldier has become part of America's collective idealization of citizenship, and is immortalized in New York city's Washington Square Arch, which depicts Washington the soldier on the left, and Washington the statesman on the right.^[4]

He was born on February 22, 1732 to Augustine and Mary Washington. ^[5]

Washington bravely led the colonists in revolt against the unjust British government, and in its place established a new government. Fighting against the vastly more powerful British army, Washington lost nearly every battle in the American Revolution until winning at Trenton and Princeton, and then lost most battles afterwards until ultimately prevailing at Yorktown with the help of a new contingent of French troops.

Washington frequently invoked Christianity in his work. As General, he commanded that chaplains be included in every regiment: "The General hopes and trusts, that every officer and man, will endeavour so to live, and act, as becomes a Christian Soldier, defending the dearest Rights and Liberties of his country."^[6]

Washington declared in his Inaugural Address: "It would be peculiarly improper to omit, in this first official act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the Universe. No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of Providential agency." Comments such as this one have led many modern scholars to conclude that Washington was in fact a deist rather than a Christian.^[7]

Washington declared in his Farewell Address: "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports." ^[8]

On November 4, 1752, Washington was initiated into Freemasonry at Fredricksburg Lodge, Fredricksburg, Virginia. He was passed and raised at the same lodge, becoming a Master Mason on August 4, 1753. He later served as Worshipful Master of Alexandria Lodge No. 22 in Alexandria, Virginia. Upon his death in 1799, he was given a Masonic funeral at his wife's request.^[9]

Parson Weems and the cherry tree story

In 1809, Mason Locke Weems (1756-1825), usually referred to as "Parson Weems," published a book entitled History of the Life and Death, Virtues and Exploits of General George Washington. This book contained many fanciful stories and half-truths, intended to present Washington as a larger-than-life figure. Perhaps the most famous passage in it is Weems' recounting of a story which he attributed to an unnamed "aged lady, who was a distant relative [of Washington], and, when a girl, spent much of her time in the [Washington] family:"

"When George," said she, "was about six years old, he was made the wealthy master of a hatchet of which, like most little boys, he was immoderately fond, and was constantly going about chopping everything that came in his way. One day, in the garden, where he often amused himself hacking his mother's pea-sticks, he unluckily tried the edge of his hatchet on the body of a beautiful young English cherry-tree, which he barked so terribly, that I don't believe the tree ever got the better of it. The next morning the old gentleman, finding out what had befallen his tree, which, by the by, was a great favourite, came into the house; and with much warmth asked for the mischievous author, declaring at the same time, that he would not have taken five guineas for his tree. Nobody could tell him anything about it. Presently George and his hatchet made their appearance. "George," said his father," do you know who killed that beautiful little cherry tree yonder in the garden?" This was a tough question; and George staggered under it for a moment; but quickly recovered himself: and looking at his father, with the sweet face of youth brightened with the inexpressible charm of all- conquering truth, he bravely cried out, "I can't tell a lie, Pa; you know I can't tell a lie. I did cut it with my hatchet."—"Run to my arms, you dearest boy," cried his father in transports, "run to my arms; glad am I, George, that you killed my tree; for you have paid me for it a thousand fold. Such an act of heroism in my son is more worth than a thousand trees, though blossomed with silver, and their fruits of purest gold."^[10][11][12]

(Notice that Weems did not represent Washington as calling it "my little hatchet;" that appears to be a "familiar misquotation.")

In a October 2000 survey of 132 prominent professors of history, law, and political science, President Washington was grouped in the "Great" group, ranked 1st, with a mean score of 4.92 out of 5.00. ^[13]

1. ↑ http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/gw1.html
2. ↑ http://www.christiananswers.net/q-wall/wal-g011.html
3. ↑ For Lord Byron's poem on the subject, hailing Washington as "the first, the last, the best, the Cincinnatus of the West," see http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/2001/byron0101.html.
4. ↑ For photographic images, see http://www.nyc-architecture.com/GV/GV046WashingtonSquareArch.htm
5. ↑ Encyclopedia of Presidents, George Washington, Zachary Kent, Children's Press, 1986.
6. ↑ http://www.amerisearch.net/index.php?date=2004-02-22&view=View
7. ↑ Id.
8. ↑ Reading of Washington's Farewell Address -- (Senate - February 22, 2000)
9. ↑ http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/biography/washington_g/washington_g.html
10. ↑ British spellings are as they appear in the original text.
11. ↑ Weems, George Mason (1918), History of the Life and Death, Virtues and Exploits of General George Washington. Chapter 2: Birth and Education, online at University of Virginia]
12. ↑ The Life of George Washington with Curious Anecdotes Equally Honourable to Himself, and Exemplary to his Young Countrymen. 1837, facsimile page images at Google Books
13. ↑ Presidential Leadership: Rating the Best and the Worst in the White House (New York, Wall Street Journal Book, 2004)