THE NEW AGE--ARTICLE--FEBRUARY 1990--ARTPEAR.FEB

              George Washington: A Legend in His Time

        DR. FRED LAMAR PEARSON, JR., 32, K...C...C...H...
 Professor of History, Valdosta State College, Valdosta, GA 31698


     There are many Americans who deserve our respect, but no
American is more entitled to enduring honor than our first
President, George Washington.  Recognized in his own lifetime as
a great man, Washington's prestige has increased steadily with the
passage of time, and his public life has served effectively as a
yardstick of comparison for all those who would enter public
service or hold elected office.
     Each February we honor this great American by celebrating his
birth as a national holiday.  Accordingly, it is proper to inquire
as to what kind of person he was in the private as well as the
public sector.  And we can safely say that in both areas his
conduct withstands the closest scrutiny.  He was not a perfect man,
but he was indeed an honorable one.
     George Washington was born a Virginian.  He acquired the
rudiments of an education while he developed a physical body of
heroic proportions for the time.  He learned in particular how to
survey land, a valuable ability then as well as now.  Washington
inherited from his brother, Lawrence, the beautiful estate Mt.
Vernon.  Through  his marriage to the widowed Martha Custis, he
added substantially to his holdings.  He managed his properties
wisely and, ultimately, acquired substantial wealth.  Childless
himself, he developed a fond regard for his stepchildren.
     Our Brother participated in the French and Indian War where
he began to learn something about the art of military science.  He
served ably in the House of Burgesses in Virginia, and, early in
life, he became a Mason.  Doubtless he soon observed the
deterioration in relations between England and her colonies after
1763, and the American Revolution had begun by 1775 when the Second
Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia.  This Congress chose
Brother George Washington to serve as Commander of the Army
resisting the British in Massachusetts.  And thus Washington
embarked on an eight-year ordeal in which he placed life and
fortune on the line.  Had the colonials lost, the British, no
doubt, would have made an example of him.
     Washington had few resources with which to wage a war.  There
was no navy, no professional army, a poor financial base and no
industrial system to support the war effort.  Further, the
Revolution was a decidedly minority effort.  Probably no more than
one-third of the colonists actively supported revolt.  And of this
percentage there were precious few General Washington could count
on for long-term enlistments.  Too many wanted to get crops plowed
for the final time, serve only in the summer months, and then
hasten home for the harvest and a snug winter by the domestic
hearth.
     Foreigners, notably the French, came to the rescue with loans,
officers, a naval force on occasion and troops.  Without this
assistance independence could easily have been postponed.  The
names of Lafayette, Von Steuben, DeKalb and Pulaski stand out among
those who came to help.  DeKalb and Pulaski paid a dear price,
their lives, in the cause of freedom.  Lafayette, DeKalb and Von
Steuben were definitely Masons and Pulaski may well have been. 
Von Steuben, in particular, during the terrible winter spent at
Valley Forge, taught the Continental Army how to use bayonets.  The
troops who emerged from that ordeal were professionals indeed.
     Washington defeated Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1781, the last
decisive battle of the Revolution, thereby setting in motion a
process which resulted in the Treaty of Paris (1783).  This treaty
ended the war and gave us independence.  We were a weak nation
governed by the Articles of Confederation, an arrangement which
allowed the states large amounts of independence and which made it
very difficult for the national government to raise taxes.  The
result was woefully inadequate services.  States began to erect
commercial barriers against the products of other states;
navigational disputes occurred and a host of other problems.
     Washington, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and others knew
something had to be done.  Otherwise the gains of the 1775-1783
experience might be undone.  There was confusion in the land; some
feared chaos was not far distant.  Conferences at Annapolis and Mt.
Vernon did not attract the desired attendance, but a mood emerged
that a conference of state delegates to amend the Articles of
Confederation was needed.
     In 1787 some fifty-five delegates from the several states went
to Philadelphia.  Washington was among them.  He had not wanted to
go; he wanted to live out his life at Mt. Vernon.  However, friends
prevailed upon him to attend, and he did.  The delegates elected
him President of the Convention, and he presided with that
determined fairness that characterized his public and private
actions.  Meeting behind closed doors and windows and in hot
weather (May to September), the delegates sometimes saw tempers
flare.  Through it all Washington steered the assemblage forward. 
The result was our Constitution.
     Washington, who wanted very much to quit public life, did not
get the chance.  He was elected President of the infant republic
and had to make arrangements to live in New York City.  He was
elected a second term, and no doubt he is the most beloved
President ever to serve the Nation.
     Washington had experienced difficult times prior to 1789, but
an incredible series of hardships now confronted him.  He was
painfully aware of the obstacles before him, and he knew that the
survival of the Nation probably depended on the stewardship he and
the Congress would provide for the electorate.  Future generations
would study his every action and these actions would provide
standards of measurement and comparison for future administrations. 
Washington, himself, had nothing against which to compare.
     It is here that the truly sterling qualities of the man
increasingly emerge.  He had a reputation for integrity already;
men knew he had leadership ability; now these characteristics were
displayed quickly and consistently and not for one but two terms
of office.  So sound was his judgement that the decisions have
stood well the test of time.
     First, President Washington dealt with the awesome question
of finances.  The foreign and national debts were huge, and there
were sizable state debts.  Secretary of the Treasury Alexander
Hamilton announced a plan to pay these debts, and thereby he
restored the confidence of creditors in our Nation's determination
and ability to honor financial commitments.  Thus the Washington
administration gained instant credibility and the ability to borrow
additional money if needed.
     Second, regarding foreign affairs, Washington avoided
America's becoming embroiled in the war going on between France
and Britain.  His resolute action established clearly our
neutrality and kept us out of the Anglo-French conflict.
     Third, in 1794 President Washington dealt with two very
difficult problems in our northwest and northeast.  Regarding the
first, English agents had come down from Canada to trade with the
Indians thereby violating our neutrality, and we did not have
sufficient force to expel them.  Jay's Treaty, negotiated in 1794,
contained a clause whereby the British promised to remove their
citizens from our soil on or before June 1, 1796.  Britain honored
its promise in the treaty.
     The problem of the northwest territories was matched in
seriousness by a situation in the northeast where Pennsylvania
farmers, accustomed to convert excess grain into alcohol, reacted
strongly against the government's decision to tax beverage alcohol. 
When apprised of the rebellious tendencies, President Washington
called out the troops and prepared to use them if necessary to
enforce the law.  This did not prove necessary, for the threatened
rebellion never got off the ground and America remained a united
Nation.
     Finally, in 1795 President Washington achieved a spectacular
coup.  He obtained in the Treaty of San Lorenzo, negotiated with
Spain, a very special concession, namely the right of the United
States to navigate the Mississippi River and the right of deposit
at New Orleans for a three-year period.  Thereafter, the deposit
location would be renegotiated, but the navigation rights held
firm.  This treaty had far-reaching implications in our western
expansion, and it assured the rapid settlement of the present
states of Tennessee and Kentucky.
     Resisting a call to serve a third term, Washington could now
retire from public service confident he had done his best.  His
administration had established a firm financial footing for the
Nation; he had kept the peace; he had gained respect for our
territorial sovereignty, and he had obtained precious navigation
rights.  Success in one of these areas alone would have entitled
a President to respect, but Brother George Washington had succeeded
in all four.


_________________________________________________________________
Recognized in his own lifetime as a great man, Washington's
prestige has increased steadily with the passage of time, and his
public life has served effectively as a yardstick of comparison for
all those who would enter public service or hold elected office.

Thus Washington embarked on an eight-year ordeal in which he placed
life and fortune on the line.  Had the colonials lost, the British,
no doubt, would have made an example of him.

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