Washingtonianism - The Father of his Country’s vision for the American Founding

City Journal ^ | Spring 2012 | Myron Magnet

[neverdem]

For we who believe that great men, not impersonal forces, make history, George Washington is Exhibit A. As the Revolution’s commander in chief, president of the Constitutional Convention, and first president of the United States, he was luminously the Founding’s indispensable man, in biographer James Flexner’s pitch-perfect phrase. A pragmatic visionary—that familiar American combination—he conceived from his hard-won experience in the French and Indian War the central Founding ideas of an American union under a strong executive three decades before the Constitutional Convention, and his hardships in the Revolution led him to forge that vision into a plan. An ambitious entrepreneur, he shared the “spirit of commerce” he knew was America’s ruling passion, and he eagerly foresaw a nation where industry and trade, not just farming, would provide opportunity for all and would generate the wealth he thought key to national power and security, a vision he fulfilled in his two terms as president. He had a born leader’s knack of attracting brilliant, like-minded young men to work with him to fill in the details and make his dream a reality, and he fired them up with ample measures of praise and credit. They were visionaries together, but he was the visionary in chief.

His youthful friendship with the Fairfax family, English aristocrats who, with 5 million colonial acres, were among the grandest of Virginia’s grandees, set him going on both his entrepreneurial and military careers. After learning surveying, the 16-year-old Washington began laying out plots in 1748 for Lord Fairfax to sell on his rich Shenandoah Valley lands. Within two years, he had earned enough to buy 1,500 acres himself, and with 2,315 acres by the time he was 20, he was on his way as a high-rolling land speculator.

Whatever the spark was that the Fairfaxes saw in...

[neverdem]

It might take a few hours, but it's worth it, IMHO.

[neverdem]

Ping!

[Jacquerie]

“During the war, in other words, Washington thought his way to Federalism, long before a Federalist Party existed.”

Starvation will do that to thinking men.

[Publius]

Excellent article.

[Pharmboy]

Great piece...thanks for the post and the ping, neverdem.

And your timing was impeccable: I was at Mount Vernon yesterday showing a new friend around. I had promised to do that when we first met.

Although he was born in Israel, he has been living in Ohio for 15 years, is a naturalized American citizen, and is fascinated with the Revolution. When I first met him several months ago, he had just finished 1776 and was looking forward to touring Mt Vernon with me and the wife when he was back in town.

This we did yesterday, and although a 60-something in age, he was like a kid taking in the sights and history of the General's home.

Mt Vernon around 1853, the year the Mount Vernon Ladies Association bought the property from John Augustin Washington III, a great grand nephew of the General. Notice the timbers which supported the sagging portico.

JA Washington III grew tired of all the people coming to Mt Vernon asking to be shown around, and finally sold it.

He was an aide-de-camp to General Lee, and was shot and killed by a bushwacker while on scouting duty in 1861.

[Melian]

“George Washington” visited the Nixon Library in SoCal today and gave a nice presentation to the children about our first President. He had many wonderful exhibits to share with them and took their questions.

Just wish more parents took advantage of the free history lesson for their children.

July 3 will see Abe Lincoln at the Library!

[ELS]

Thanks for the ping and recounting your visit to Mt. Vernon with your friend.

[rlmorel]

Thank you for the ping. My wife and I just went down and spent two weeks going to Mount Vernon, Williamstown, Yorktown, Appomattox and Gettysburg, amongst other places. We even got to see good old Benedict Arnold, spittle flying from his lips as he berated us Colonials with a red face about going to war over taxes! His horse slavered as if it had been ridden a long distance, great theater.

But what really left an impression on me was this:

I really admire that man.

I purchased a copy of his "Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior", because there are many things that we would do well to emulate such as "...Being set at meat scratch not, neither spit, cough, or blow your nose except there's a necessity for it..."

Now, the admonition about "...Shift not yourself in the sight of others, nor gnaw your nails..." bears further examination!

LOL! "Shift not yourself"? Is he talking about a guy grabbing his...er..."package" and adjusting it in the company of others? Founding Father indeed!

[arrogantsob]

Nice article about Washington’s time as Commander-in-Chief and President. It gives a brief summary of the treachery of Jefferson as his SoS (hiring a “translator” with Department funds and using him to edit an anti-administration newspaper) and the critical role of Hamilton in designing and implementing the financial structure which allowed the development of our modern capitalist economy by creating a money supply through the assumption of the national debt.

Washington was rightly outraged by the lying tactics of Madison and Jefferson (whose name he would not allow to be uttered in his presence after leaving office). They were even more outrageous in their attempts to destroy Hamilton physically and politically.

[SunkenCiv]

GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe
Thanks Pharmboy. Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.

[Matchett-PI]

bttt

[StonyBurk]

As I wrote the the city journal Ignoring the Religion (Christianity) and the Morality based upon that Christian religion) central to the identity of George Washington is
akin to ignoring that which serves to define the modern homosexual. Despite that fatal flaw int he article it was otherwise well written. “Religion and Morality”as Washington wrote in his farewell address, are “indispensable supports”
to our “political prosperity” Yet this article shunned or rushed past the very religion and morality of this great American.

[ZULU]

Thanks for the link Pharmboy. Its a GREAT article.

Glad to have your friend as a Fellow American.

George Washington was the Greatest American President in my book and perhaps the Greatest American ever.

Without him, we wold probably still be wallowing under the current socialist, politically correct, Islamophilic government which rules Great Britain today.

Without his refreshing refusal to become another successful military generalissimo like Cromwell, ruling as a dictator or king, our Republic would never have been born.

He was a moral giant.

[YHAOS]

In his Farewell Address of 17 September, 1796, George Washington stressed that religion constituted the very foundation of the new Republic: “reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”

Thanks for the ping.

[Pharmboy]

So nice to hear from you...and yes, it made my umpteenth visit to Mt Vernon extra-special. Cannot wait to take my grand daughter next year when she hits six!