The Indispensable Man
George Washington is unique in our history. The historian James Thomas Flexner called him “The Indispensable Man.” Thomas Jefferson said he had a character “of which the history of the world furnishes no other example.” In fact, without George Washington, there would be no United States of America. Washington was the only man who could have guided the Continental Army through a long and difficult war, repeatedly defying failure by sheer force of will. For eight years, he held the Army together through very slim hopes. Washington was perhaps the only man who, after winning that war, would have resigned his commission, ignored calls to become king, and returned home to his farm, Mount Vernon. [to make his beloved moonshine] King George III, told of Washington’s plan, commented that if true it “placed him in a light the most distinguished of any man living” and made him “the greatest character of the age.” Washington was the only man who could have been elected unanimously to serve as our first president. And he was one of the few who would have restrained himself to two terms, setting a precedent for the presidency that held until the mid-20th Century. His presence in his time and place was truly Providential. On Monday we will celebrate President’s Day, and one week from today, we will celebrate George Washington’s 281st birthday. In honor of this occasion, I will be teaching an online course about George Washington from Mount Vernon on his birthday. You can join us online at 2:00 pm on Friday, February 22nd to learn what every American should know about George Washington, the Indispensable Man. Click here to register now. There was a time when almost every public school displayed a portrait of President Washington. In fact, Congress passed a law requiring it in 1932, on the 200th anniversary of his birth, in order to ensure each new generation of Americans would grow up appreciating his legacy, which still touches our lives today. Unfortunately, Washington has by now been pushed out of far too many modern classrooms -- both his portrait, and more importantly, the lessons of his life. No one in American history had the combination of courage, perseverance, self-discipline, and judgement that Washington exemplified throughout his years of service. He is a model of citizenship, for his contemporaries and for us today. Join us online at Newt University next Friday, February 22 at 2:00 pm to learn why George Washington was considered by all “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” Your Friend, |