Washington Crossing The Delaware by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze
One of the best things about the History Channel’s new biopic, Washington, is that our first president is depicted as less than perfect.
While that may seem obvious to readers of history, the docu-drama, mixed with interviews with historians, conveys the portrait of a man who is convinced of his duty to lead but vexed by failures, both personal and professional. At times, he may have suffered from depression, or indeed was very depressed by the sad state of his army in the long, cold winter of Valley Forge, post the victory at Trenton.
What we learn of Washington is not the saint-like figure presented shortly after his death by the hagiographer Parson Weems but rather a full-blooded man possessed of ambition that sometimes led him into a disaster but for the most part, enabled him to push forward.
Washington, as viewed by the Founders, was the indispensable man. His mere presence held the colonies together. And while he was not the best military strategist, he did not shirk from danger, and he stood tall on principle.
Most importantly, he was the man chosen, then elected, to be our first president. Other than his noble service—especially given that he would have preferred to be home at Mount Vernon—was his decision to step down after two terms, thereby shirking any mantle of perpetual power and setting the standards for all other presidents to follow.
Some takeaways are worth noting for students of leadership today, as expressed by the man himself.
“Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to appellation.” Courtesy is expected; friendship is earned and nurtured through experience.
“I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” Washington believed in honor and knew that honor could only come from integrity.
“Be not glad at the misfortune of another, though he may be your enemy.” Winston Churchill echoed such thoughts when he said, “In victory, magnanimity.”
"If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent, we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." The public must be able to voice its ideas; otherwise, there is only tyranny.
“Much was to be done by prudence, much by conciliation, much by firmness.” A military man, yes, but Washington strove for peace first, backed by the resolve to hold it.
“Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.” One of the sayings he transcribed as a boy from Baltasar Gracian’s Rules for Civility and guided him throughout his life.
“To persevere in one's duty, and be silent is the best answer to calumny.” In short, take the high road and don't stoop to engage in rumor and gossip.
“Promote, then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.” (From his “Farewell Address”) Washington was forever looking forward to a nation that would grow strong, not through might but through intellect, reason, science and education.
None of us today can genuinely know Washington, the man. He is centuries removed from us, but from what is passed down through history is a man, fully human as well as flawed—he owned slaves after all and would not give them up during his lifetime.
It is the very humanity of Washington that makes him accessible to leaders. Yes, he was tall and handsome, and perhaps a bit vain. But he was principled, courteous and possessed of the desire to serve the nation.
The point is not to emulate Washington the man but to admire the traits that made his service great: principle, conviction, compassion and dedication.
NOTE: Special thanks to Goodreads for this compilation of quotes by George Washington.
