On December 23, 1783, following the signing of the Treaty of Paris, General George Washington resigns as commander in chief of the Continental Army and retires to his home at Mount Vernon, Virginia.
Washington addressed the assembled Congress:
“Happy in the confirmation of our independence and sovereignty, and pleased with the opportunity afforded the United States of becoming a respectable nation, I resign with satisfaction the appointment I accepted with diffidence; a diffidence in my abilities to accomplish so arduous a task; which however was superseded by a confidence in the rectitude of our cause, the support of the supreme power of the Union, and the patronage of Heaven.”
Washington’s willingness to return to civilian life was an essential element in the transformation of the War for Independence into a true revolution. During the war, Congress had granted Washington powers equivalent to those of a dictator and he could have easily taken solitary control of the new nation. Indeed, some political factions wanted Washington to become the new nation’s king. His modesty in declining the offer and resigning his military post at the end of the war fortified the republican foundations of the new nation.
Although he asked nothing for himself, Washington did enter a plea on behalf of his officers:
“While I repeat my obligations to the army in general, I should do injustice to my own feelings not to acknowledge, in this place, the peculiar services and distinguished merits of the gentlemen who have been attached to my person during the war. It was impossible the choice of confidential officers to compose my family should have been more fortunate. Permit me, sir, to recommend in particular, those who have continued in the service to the present moment, as worthy of the favorable notice and patronage of Congress.”
The patronage Washington requested seemed most pressing as the army had narrowly survived several mutinies and a near-attempted coup the previous autumn. The veteran officers who had helped to keep the army intact desired western lands in thanks for their service. Their claims would constitute a major issue for the new American government as it attempted to organize the settlement of what had been the colonial backcountry.
Washington concluded:
“Having now finished the work assigned to me, I retire from the great theatre of action; and bidding an affectionate farewell to this august body, under whose orders I have so long acted, I here offer my commission, and take any leave of all the employments of public life.”
General Washington’s respite proved extremely brief. He was unanimously elected to the first of two terms as president of the United States in 1788.
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Truly THE American Patriot and my personal hero. I wish he were with us now.
He signed off on the First Bank of the United States. I have a hard time with that. There’s no way he didn’t know how pernicious it was. The Continental was worth a Continental.
Nobody’s perfect. Hamilton was right about one thing, though, and that was the consolidation of the Colonial debts. Tough to do that in an orderly fashion without a central bank.
Of course, this is all assuming we shouldn’t have stuck with the AoC. I am inclined to think we should have, albeit with some tweaks.
Check out Phillips’ “Founding Fathers on Leadership” and you can’t be anything other than sad that guys like Washington are no longer to be found in our current political climate. Washington’s farewell address can also be found on archive.org and is very worthwhile.
You may note that the good President did not then go to work for McDonnell Douglas, Ratheon any other of a number of military government contractors. Not all men are slaves to the “complex”.