I just finished reading a biography of George Washington, a two-volume set written by Henry Cabot Lodge and published in 1899. Volume I is an in-depth account of Washington's early years, up through the Revolutionary War; while Volume II covers his life from the time he resigned his military commission until his death.
These two books, unlike contemporary history books, offer an imposing amount of detail, all of which is richly significant, while blazing a wide swath of new insights to ponder, and seemingly leaving “no stone unturned.” When I finished reading volume II, I found I was filled with the notion that, after George Washington left office, America has yet to elect a bona fide president.
It was Washington and the congress who initially set up the office of President of the United States; and in so doing, drew-up the blueprint for how the policies and affairs of the office were to be addressed. It was Washington’s nature to be efficient and thorough in all aspects of his life; and he set the bar high as to just principles and strict standards of morality. In a letter to Timothy Pickering he wrote: "The Executive has a plain road to pursue, namely, to fulfill all the engagements which duty requires; be influenced beyond this by none of the contending parties; maintain a strict neutrality unless obliged by imperious circumstances to depart from it; do justice to all, and never forget that we are Americans ."
Washington was the only president to serve before the “two-party” system became an accepted reality; although, during his two terms in office, Thomas Jefferson was busy building the leftist Democratic Party, which troubled Washington deeply, and about which he expressed many warnings. But, sadly, his successors being blinded by their ego nurturing and divisive party schemes, paid no heed to the conventions, methods and standards that he had so clearly laid-out; and none followed. Thank God he has been spared our reality.
As a man, Washington embodied everything that is American, and he was single minded on the issue of immigration: people who came to live within the United States and make it their home, should become and then be true Americans. He made this point clear in a letter to John Adams: "My opinion with respect to emigration is that except of useful mechanics, and some particular descriptions of men or professions, there is no need of encouragement; while the policy or advantage of its taking place in a body (I mean the settling of them in a body) may be much questioned; for by so doing they retain the language, habits, and principles, good or bad, which they bring with them. Whereas by an intermixture with our people, they or their descendants get assimilated to our customs, measures, and laws; in a word, soon become one people."
So, at the end of two terms, and from the heights of great achievement, he said farewell to the people he had so greatly served. Every word expressed the purest and wisest patriotism: "Be united," he said; "be Americans. The name which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must exalt the just pride of patriotism more than any appellation derived from local discriminations. Let there be no sectionalism, no North, South, East or West; you are all dependent one on another, and should be one in union. Beware of attacks, open or covert, upon the Constitution. Beware of the baneful effects of party spirit and of the ruin to which its extremes must lead. Do not encourage party spirit, but use every effort to mitigate and assuage it. Keep the departments of government separate, promote education, cherish the public credit, avoid debt. Observe justice and good faith toward all nations; have neither passionate hatreds nor passionate attachments to any; and be independent politically of all. In one word, be a nation, be Americans, and be true to yourselves."
In those times when America was forming itself into the nation of United States of America, the people were truly blessed to have had such a great and capable statesman as George Washington in their midst, ready to accept the honor and responsibility to serve the people as our first president; it was truly a divine miracle.
I wish every American, especially presidential candidates, would read volume II of this set of books so they can understand and appreciate how the President of the United States should serve the American people.
By a slow evolution we have well-nigh discarded from
the lives of our greatest men of the past all human
faults and feelings; have enclosed their greatness in
glass of the clearest crystal, and hung up a sign,
" Do not touch."(PAUL LEICESTER FORD)
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