George Washington, The Man Who Could Have Been King (great read)

LFET ^ | George F. Smith

[sit-rep]

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[harpseal]

Yes, George Washington could have been the king of America there is no question of that. By refusing the profer of becoming a monarch George Washington became the man who actually established the principles of Liberty so clearly ennuciated by others. Yes, there is much that can be said that Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were the "great thinkers" that gave us our Declaration of Independence and Constitution but it was George Washington's refusla of kingship that allowed these priciples to be implemented.

Stay well - Stay safe- Stay armed - Yorktown

[bwteim]

Sir Gawain, great post/read. Sabertooth, thanks for the ping!

[Ditto]

By stepping aside and allowing a peaceful transfer of power to the incoming President, Washington affirmed the spirit of the Revolution.

True, but Washington's Vice President and secessor, John Adams, was the first to peacefilly hand power to a political rival. We were blessed with many great men in those days, and I agree, Washington was the greatest.

[4CJ]

"Washington said they didn't, not remotely, whereupon Patterson said the British were willing to offer pardons. "For what?" Washington demanded, saying they had committed no faults and needed no pardons."

[Victoria Delsoul]

A young American officer wrote to his wife: "I shall never forget what I felt in Princeton on [Washington's] account, when I saw him brave all the dangers of the field and his important life hanging as it were by a single hair with a thousand deaths flying around him. Believe me, I thought not of myself."

George Washington was a great and brave man. He was a man of faith and conviction whose courage and bravery rallied loyal troops. He was responsible for our victory in the Revolutionary War more than any other single individual. George Washington as the first President of the United States gave stability and character to an infant nation seeking its place in history with other nations.

[Alberta's Child]

Here's a bit of history for you . . .

George Washington was also the one who coined the term "civil engineer." A surveyor by trade when he was a young man in Virginia, Washington knew how vital engineers would be for the war effort, and he petitioned the Continental Congress to establish an engineering division in the Continental Army to help build "roads, forts, bridges and other civil works."

Thaddeus Kosciuszko, a Polish engineer who moved to North America in 1776 and later volunteered to help with the war effort, was named by Washington as the first head of the Army Corps of Engineers. Thomas Jefferson once said that Kosciuszko was "as pure a son of liberty as I have ever known."

People who live in New York City might recognize "Kosciuszko" as the name that nobody seems to pronounce correctly on daily "Shadow Traffic" reports -- that crummy Brooklyn-Queens Expressway bridge over Newtown Creek bears his name.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Yes, I've heard that name before. Great story. Thanks AC.

[Sir Gawain]

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