“I have not only grown gray, but nearly blind in the service of my country.”
Americans have always championed the underdog. The frontiersman, the adventurer, the common man who rises to achieve great things is a phenomenon that defines the American spirit. In addition to the underdog defeating all odds, humility in its course is a characteristic successful leaders have used to win over audiences since the beginning of the American Republic. In one exceptional case, General George Washington, humbled himself in the eyes of his officers, and consequently, saved the axiom of a civilian government in this experiment of American democracy.
Following the surrender of the British Army at Yorktown, General George Washington was internationally recognized as the hero of the young nation, but remaining under threat from the British, he continued to drill his army while advocating for the financial compensation that the Congress had promised for the soldiers’ sacrifices. A large chorus from within the ranks began to call for a military coup in order to force political leaders to give the army its due respect. Additionally, soldiers openly discussed the weakness of the construct of the Continental Congress and considered the requirement to establish a new monarchy in the states with Washington as the newly anointed king.[1] Upon hearing such rhetoric, Washington responded clearly in a letter stating: “let me conjure you then, if you have any regard for your country, concern for yourself or posterity, or respect for me, to banish these thoughts from your mind and never communicate, as from yourself, or anyone else, a sentiment of the like nature.”[2] Washington’s efforts however, were not fully sufficient. Nearly a year later, disgruntled and uncompensated soldiers launched the so-called Newburgh Conspiracy that threatened Congress with a military coup if pensions for revolutionary soldiers were not delivered as promised. Hearing of the potential insubordination General Washington addressed his officers and the rumors surrounding the conspiracy on March 15, 1783. To open the speech Washington approached the podium, paused, and pulled from his waistcoat a pair of spectacles. Washington had never been seen wearing glasses in public, but while adjusting the awkward eyeglasses Washington, looking splendidly vulnerable, glanced out into the sea of his officers and stated: “gentleman you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for I have not only grown gray, but almost blind in the service of my country.”[3] The room fell silent with only the gasp of the ashamed officers reconsidering their own treason could be heard. Washington went on to read:
“In the name of our common country, as you value your own sacred honor, as you respect the rights of humanity, and as you regard the military and national character of America, to express your utmost horror and detestation of the man who wishes, under any specious pretenses, to overturn the liberties of our country, and who wickedly attempts to open the floodgates of civil discord and deluge our rising empire in blood.”
Washington continued his speech by appealing to the officers’ uppermost personal ideals and morals, calling them to once again to display the great and selfless men they indeed were. He concluded:
“you will give one more distinguished proof of an example patriotism and patience virtue, rising superior to the pressure of the most complicated sufferings. And you will, by the dignity of your conduct, before the occasion for posterity to say, when speaking of the glorious example you have exhibited to mankind, had this day been wanting, the world had never seen the last stage of perfection to which human nature is capable of attaining.”[4]
In the speech Washington reinforced the vision and values that led to the revolution in the first place. He emphasized how a military coup would counter all the tenets upon which the revolution was based. In short, military dictatorship and the American Revolution were mutually exclusive. Moments following the speech, the crowd of speechless and ashamed officers voted unanimously to agree to the rule of Congress.[5] Roughly nine months later, following the signing of The Paris Peace Treaty, Washington triumphantly exited the public stage. His exceptional words separate America as a special nation, a nation of humble leaders and selfless servants; “having now finished the work assigned to me, I retire from the great feature of action. I here offer my commission, and take my leave of all the enjoyments of public life.”[6]
General Washington’s concerns proximate military leadership of government was rooted in a clear understanding of the past. He, like other Founding Fathers possessed an intimate appreciation of history, specifically the experiences surrounding the fall of the Roman Republic. Julius Ceaser’s crossing of the Rubicon with his Army marked a turning point in Roman history and Washington feared a repetition of the eventual outcome. Although Washington’s speech in Newburgh is a footnote in American history, it should be celebrated along with countless other seldom related moments as exceptional. Military leaders from Rome, to France; from Russia to China and most recently in Arab capitals refusing to relinquish power have spelled doom for so many societies creating undue hardship for millions of could-have-been free citizens. George Washington’s decision to abdicate to civilian control of the germinating American Republic is a clear example of American Exceptionalism.
[1] Joe Wolverton, “The Man Who Would Not Be King: At the End of the War for Independence, George Washington Foiled a Military Junta’s Plan to Establish a Dictatorship in the United States,” The New American, October 3, 2005, https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-137361217.
[2] General George Washington to Colonel Lewis Nicola, Letters of a Nations: A Collection of Extraordinary American Letters, Andrew Carroll ed, Broadway Books, New York 1997, pp 68-69.
[3] “Washington Puts an end to the Newburgh Conspiracy March 15, 1783,” This Day in History, History.com, accessed 28 December 2014. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/washington-puts-an-end-to-the-newburgh-conspiracy
[4] George Washington Prevents the Revolt of his Officers, The History Place: Great Speeches Collection, 15 March 1783, accessed 28 December 2014. http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/washington.htm
[5] Joseph J Ellis, His Excellency: George Washington, Vintage Books New York, 2004, pp 139-146.
[6] Ellis p 146.