Free Republic

Our first president had some excellent advice in his farewell address to the nation, which he delivered via newspaper publication in September 1796. The entire speech remains worth reading today. Some of his points were specific to a time when the United States was young and fragile–the Constitution was less than a decade old, after all–but much of his wisdom continues to hold value. Pay attention. Pay attention. It doesn’t hold value simply because he’s George Washington, Super-President of Historical Myth and Noble Chopper of the Cherry Tree and Crosser of the Delaware. (Even Washington was not a perfect human...

CIVILIAN control of the military is a cherished principle in American government. It was President Obama who decided to increase our involvement in Afghanistan, and it is Congress that will decide whether to appropriate the money to carry out his decision. It is the president and Congress, not the military, that will decide whether our laws should be changed to allow gays and lesbians to serve in our armed forces. The military advises, but the civilian leadership decides. Yet if not for the actions of George Washington, whose birthday we celebrate, sort of, this month, America might have moved in...

http://www.wiseandfrugalgovernment.blogspot.com/ I am no historian. But, my read of the Revolutionary War goes something like this: The Red Coats outnumbered, out-gunned and out-generaled Washington's Continental Army at every turn. In the beginning. But Washington had one advantage. He taught himself how to think like the enemy, when to retreat, wait. And, finally strike. So far the early health care battles go to the enemy. Despite lack of public support, Nancy Pelosi twisted arms to make deals under cover of darkness and eked out a slim majority for passage of Nancycare. Yet, in the latest Rasmussen poll conducted the day following...

One of the most oft-repeated mantras about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is that there is no military solution; the only solution is to talk with our enemies. This mantra also has a popular corollary: Because we must ultimately negotiate with the Palestinians, decisive military action is counterproductive - it merely sows hatred that makes the inevitable dialogue that much harder. It is ironic that the leading proponents of these theories are Jews and Europeans - two groups well acquainted with the obvious counterexample: The Allies never negotiated with the Nazis either during or after World War II; they destroyed Nazi Germany...

Thomas Schaller for Robert A.M. Stern Architects Renderings of the proposed American Revolution Center, on private land within the Valley Forge National Historical Park EAGLEVILLE, Pa. — A local planning board has approved a proposal to build a $250 million visitor center and conference facilities on privately owned land in Valley Forge National Historical Park. Opponents say the decision increases the risk of commercial development in other scenic and historic national parks. The Planning Commission of Lower Providence Township, about 15 miles northwest of Philadelphia, voted unanimously late Wednesday in favor of the project, the American Revolution Center. The...

Ferry Farm Sauce 1 1/3 c. honey 1 c. maple syrup 2 tsp. cinnamon A few caraway seeds In a double boiler slowly heat together the honey and maple syrup. Stir in cinnamon and caraway seeds and serve warm over pancakes, waffles, etc.

Historians have long referred to New Jersey as the "Crossroads of the American Revolution." During America's struggle for independence, New Jersey was the scene of 238 battles and skirmishes. George Washington's troops were victorious in key battles, including Trenton, Princeton and Monmouth. More than 900 New Jersey soldiers lost their lives in the war. Now New Jersey's role in the Revolution is on the brink of gaining official recognition from the federal government. The U.S. Senate has given final legislative approval to a bill designating a large swath of New Jersey as the Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage...

Sept. 19, 2006--Mathew Spalding, director of Heritage Foundation's B. Kenneth Simon Center for American Studies, will lecture on “George Washington as the Model of American Statesmanship” at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 20, in 103 Gore Hall. Spalding is the author and editor of many works on America's founding, including Patriot Sage: George Washington and the American Political Tradition, and serves on the board of academic advisers at the Mount Vernon estate. This is event is sponsored by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and co-sponsored by the College Republicans at UD. There will be a book signing immediately after the lecture. For...

The history of the Purple Heart is as old as the United States. The members of the Major John R. Tabia PhD., Chapter No. 608 Military Order of the Purple Heart will celebrate 224 years of the Purple Heart today. A Purple Heart Family Dinner will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. at the China Buffet in Prescott. Chapter Commander Alfonso Santillan said all Purple Heart recipients are welcome to the no-host event. He encouraged non-members to join the celebration, bring a copy of their DD214 and sign up. Santillan said the Military Order of the Purple Heart is...

Vladimir Filonov / MT Rochambeau standing by the U.S. Embassy last week. He considers himself an aristocrat and says it impresses girls. Chances to reenact U.S. Revolutionary War battles like Saratoga and Bunker Hill and lift a glass to Generals Washington and Greene don't come often in Moscow. But star-spangled revolutionary standards might soon be fluttering here. Frenchman Donatien de Rochambeau is seeking members for a Moscow chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, a U.S.-based club for men with an ancestor who fought in or supported the Revolutionary War. De Rochambeau's aristocratic forebear defeated the British in...

ROCK HILL, S.C. - A research facility is planned for York County that will focus on the role of Southern states in the Revolutionary War. Historian Michael Scoggins said the Southern Revolutionary War Institute will be used to educate people about the South's contributions to the war. It's a field he says has been neglected in the past. "There's been various fields that downplay the role of the South," Scoggins said. "When you look at most history textbooks, we are generally given the short treatment." The institute will be based at the McCelvey Center in York and local officials hope...

The historic Maryland Inn, a fixture of Annapolis, Md., since the 18th century when George Washington was a customer, is likely getting a 21st century Starbucks Corp. coffee shop. The Annapolis Historic Preservation Commission voted unanimously this week to allow changes to the exterior of the inn, parts of which date to 1780. "This is the last hoop for them to jump through," said Jean Tullier, a spokeswoman for Remington Hotels, manager of the inn, after the commission approved an architect's design to allow for wheelchair-lift access. The proposed Starbucks is the final step in the renovation of the 44-room...

I saw this last week and wanted to recommend it for those who did not see, tape, Tivo or DVD it. Although the first hour (French and Indian War) was a bit more negative in terms of Washington's strategy and sophistication (yeah, he shouldn't have built Fort Necessity on low ground), he was a mere kid at the time in charge of the Virginia Militia, and the only one in the colony to step up. Also, the depiction of events in Jumonville Glen is antithetical to what I have read in several different sources, that is, Washington never gave the...

Tourists take in the new landscape changes to the Washington Monument, Saturday, April 1, 2006, in Washington. The Monument reopened to the public after several months of security renovations. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson) WASHINGTON — In landscape architect Laurie Olin's mind, the approach to the most soaring of the capital's monuments had to be friendly and simple _ and safe. The Washington Monument stretches more than 555 feet in the air from the National Mall. But for years there was nothing grand about the asphalt walkway that led to the obelisk. And adding jersey barriers in the age of terrorism diminished...

Today, March 15, 2006, marks the 225th anniversary of one of the most decisive battles of the American Revolution. The battle of Guilford Courthouse was fought on March 15, 1781, in a small hamlet in North Carolina. It was considered the largest, most hotly-contested action of the Revolutionary War's climactic southern campaign. The British, led by Gen. Charles Cornwallis, defeated the Americans, but at a large cost to their army. Cornwallis would then return to Virginia and eventually capitulated to the Americans on Oct. 19 of that same year. In the battle of Guilford, there was a young soldier of...

George Washington's address to the Continental Congress resigning his commission in the Continental Army, Feb. 23, 1783: Mr. President, The great events on which my resignation depended having at length taken place; I have now the honor of offering my sincere Congratulations to Congress & of presenting myself before them to surrender into their hands the trust committed to me, and to claim the indulgence of retiring from the Service of my Country. 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...

George Washington leads the list of presidential "Good Guys," according to the The Personality and the Presidency Project. TWO EXPERTS on the psychology of leadership place George Washington in a small group of U.S. presidents they call the "Good Guys." Steve Rubenzer and Thomas R. Faschingbauer authored the 2004 book "Personality, Character & Leadership in the White House: Psychologists Assess the Presidents." Abe Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt, both of whom are widely believed to have beaten serious depression problems by becoming workaholics, were rated higher than 90 percent of Americans on focusing on their goals, according to the book, which...

In 1754, a senseless massacre began innocently enough. A young George Washington, leading a force of Virginia volunteers and Indians, stumbled into an engagement with a French detachment in a remote Allegheny glen. To this day, the circumstances are cloudy as to who shot first and how the hostilities broke out. What is not in doubt is that Washington bungled badly: he lost control of his men, and before the mayhem ended, 13 Frenchmen were killed, wounded soldiers were brutally scalped and one man was even decapitated. As is so often the case in history, this one small act, however...

The General's Eggnog One quart of cream One quart of milk A dozen eggs One pint of brandy A half pint of rye A quarter pint of rum A quarter pint of sherry Christmas of 1826 was snowy, cold and lonely for the cadets of West Point. Though called "men" they were really teenage boys -- some as young as 17 -- and they wanted to celebrate Christmas. Young Jefferson Davis, future president of the Confederate States of America, was amongst them. But West Point then, as it is now, was a house of order and discipline. The military...

This week we formally dedicated the World War II Memorial on the Mall in Washington, D.C. The center of the Memorial is a reflecting pool in front of a curved wall on which there are 4,050 golden stars, each of them representing one hundred Americans who gave the last full measure of devotion in that conflict. This was the long-delayed memorial for the 16 million Americans who served in that conflict, only a quarter of whom are still alive. A substantial number of those were in attendance at the dedication. Of course, World War II was not the war in...