Blood of Tyrants: George Washington & the Forging of the Presidency (4 page)
Read Blood of Tyrants: George Washington & the Forging of the Presidency Online
Authors: Logan Beirne
Tags: #American Revolution, #Founding Fathers, #George Washington, #18th Century
BOOK: Blood of Tyrants: George Washington & the Forging of the Presidency
11.88Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
History books often portray Washington as a semi-omniscient demigod who was so unlike us that he never struggled to find his way. America has lost sight of the man and replaced his memory with a distant sphinx. This is not a new phenomenon. When British novelist William Makepeace Thackeray made Washington into a character in
The Virginians
in 1857, it elicited public outcry. America was horrified at the attempt to portray Washington “like other men.”
35
One critic of the book exclaimed, “Washington was not like other men; and to bring his lofty character down to the level of the vulgar passions of common life, is to give the lie to the grandest chapter in the uninspired annals of the human race.”
36
The Virginians
in 1857, it elicited public outcry. America was horrified at the attempt to portray Washington “like other men.”
35
One critic of the book exclaimed, “Washington was not like other men; and to bring his lofty character down to the level of the vulgar passions of common life, is to give the lie to the grandest chapter in the uninspired annals of the human race.”
36
Nathaniel Hawthorne joked, “Did anyone ever see Washington nude? It is inconceivable. He had no nakedness, but I imagine he was born with his clothes on, and his hair powdered . . . .”
37
While it lacks (too much) nudity, this book unveils Washington and the other extraordinary yet very real human beings behind that great chapter of history. It honors the Revolution’s leaders not by burying their humanity or enshrining them as one-dimensional figures; instead, it depicts them as actual people who faced and triumphed over seemingly insurmountable obstacles—ones remarkably similar to those that still plague us.
37
While it lacks (too much) nudity, this book unveils Washington and the other extraordinary yet very real human beings behind that great chapter of history. It honors the Revolution’s leaders not by burying their humanity or enshrining them as one-dimensional figures; instead, it depicts them as actual people who faced and triumphed over seemingly insurmountable obstacles—ones remarkably similar to those that still plague us.
When Washington led the Continental Army through the Revolutionary War, he had learned from his youthful blunders of two decades earlier during that morning ambush. He drew upon his harsh experience along with his own wisdom to formulate principled approaches to dilemmas that are eerily similar to those we face today. By confronting—and eventually conquering—these challenges, he defined the American way. His epic role in leading the states to independence would forever shape the new nation.
As the United States’ first and only commander in chief prior to the drafting of our Constitution, Washington personified our Founders’ intent when they ratified the Constitution’s precious few words proclaiming “The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States . . . .”
38
The unquestioned choice to be the first president, he served as the model for the office at its creation. The founding generation looked to Washington’s Revolutionary War leadership as their guide for designating the presidential powers in their new government. This book analyzes General Washington’s specific actions and beliefs as he forged the very meaning of our Constitution amid the heat of battle for independence.
38
The unquestioned choice to be the first president, he served as the model for the office at its creation. The founding generation looked to Washington’s Revolutionary War leadership as their guide for designating the presidential powers in their new government. This book analyzes General Washington’s specific actions and beliefs as he forged the very meaning of our Constitution amid the heat of battle for independence.
We all know how the war ended. What is surprisingly unknown are the specifics of how we achieved that grand victory. This book reveals the Revolutionary War precedents for America’s modern crises.
39
It delves into some of the overlooked—and often lurid—details that are especially applicable to today’s most contentious debates. To best discuss the varied episodes in America’s chaotic triumph, this book organizes the chapters by topic. Rather than just providing an ordinary “play-by-play” of the war, it groups the discussions according to the topics most relevant to today: prisoner abuse, congressional interference in war policy, military tribunals, and Americans’ rights.
39
It delves into some of the overlooked—and often lurid—details that are especially applicable to today’s most contentious debates. To best discuss the varied episodes in America’s chaotic triumph, this book organizes the chapters by topic. Rather than just providing an ordinary “play-by-play” of the war, it groups the discussions according to the topics most relevant to today: prisoner abuse, congressional interference in war policy, military tribunals, and Americans’ rights.
By drawing from reams of primary source documents, this book brings to light facts that have been largely overlooked (and sometimes intentionally buried) by history. The subsequent pages hold such forgotten materials as the Founders’ warnings against government debt, General Washington’s letters justifying prisoner abuse to save American lives, a vivid eyewitness account of the military commission that swiftly executed a captured enemy operative, and evidence of a power struggle between Washington and Congress over war tactics. These surprising stories help fill the void in our understanding of our ingenious Founders’ pragmatic approach to governing an America at war.
The book begins after the United States’ victory. It traces the formation of our democratic republic, with Washington serving as the prototype for the presidency. The chapters in Part I answer the “why should we care?” question at the outset of the book: we should care about our history because the supreme law of the United States was shaped by these very events. By establishing that Washington’s Revolutionary War powers were the same ones that the Framers intended for the presidency, this part encourages the reader to actively deduce the direct modern constitutional relevance of Washington’s surprising precedents discussed in Parts II–V.
The subsequent parts address Washington’s approach to hot-button issues of post-9/11 America: prisoner abuse (Part II), congressional war power (Part III), military tribunals (Part IV), and Americans’ rights (Part V). The final part brings us full circle back to the end of the war. It discusses the founding generation’s idolization of Washington and their hearty approval of his leadership chronicled in Parts II–V. This serves as a capstone, leading up to Washington’s role in forming the postwar government and the practical implications of his wartime actions for our Constitution. Finally, the Epilogue discusses the modern legal significance of this forgotten history, showing the practical means by which the precedents explored in this book have a direct impact on modern law.
These pages emphasize the many colorful characters of the Revolution in order to tell the vivid stories of the war based on the people who lived them. Instead of taking a high-level approach, the book shows the personal impact of the Revolution on the human beings directly affected. To do so, it relies heavily on primary sources from both the American and British sides in order to provide rich eyewitness accounts.
40
Delving into some of these previously lost documents, this book injects incendiary new facts into the present discussion and is intended to serve as fodder for debate.
40
Delving into some of these previously lost documents, this book injects incendiary new facts into the present discussion and is intended to serve as fodder for debate.
No longer is Washington “entombed in his own myth—a metaphorical Washington Monument that hides from us the lineaments of the real man.”
41
The following pages depict a great human being who struggled with dilemmas similar to those we face today. With tremendous strength of character, he successfully led his countrymen through deep crises and helped found the most prosperous nation on earth. Over two centuries later, we still have more to learn from him.
41
The following pages depict a great human being who struggled with dilemmas similar to those we face today. With tremendous strength of character, he successfully led his countrymen through deep crises and helped found the most prosperous nation on earth. Over two centuries later, we still have more to learn from him.
I
THE KING OF AMERICA
“I am free to acknowledge that His Powers are full great, and
greater than I was disposed to make them. Nor, Entre Nous,
do I believe they would have been so great had not many of
the members cast their eyes towards General Washington as
President; and shaped their Ideas of the Powers to be given to
a President, by their opinions of his Virtue.”
1—PIERCE BUTLER, REPRESENTATIVE
OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 1788
E
ven as the embers of war still smoldered, he found peace. Standing alongside the blue-gray waters of the Potomac River, the gentleman farmer gazed across his sprawling estate. The lush foliage of billowing weeping willows and blossoming laurel dotted the softly rolling fields, which glimmered in the fiery light of the rising sun. A silent spring breeze grazed his weathered face, sending the aromas of earth and grass into the air. Over the farmer’s impressive frame, still powerfully built after fifty-five years of backbreaking use, soared his mansion’s majestic white columns. They rose two stories to meet a striking red roof, topped by two large chimneys, pointed dormers, and an ornately domed cupola. Beneath this grandiose architectural crown, a white, neoclassical Georgian-style mansion provided a comfortable home for the gentleman and his beloved wife, along with her two rambunctious young grandchildren who had been orphaned during the war.He had fought courageously for his country and had earned this peaceful life with his loved ones. And he enjoyed it immensely. But as the sun’s first rays appeared to ignite the horizon, his serenity was shattered by the clacking hooves of an approaching horse. The messenger brought dire—but not unexpected—news: the gentleman farmer’s nation was crumbling and it needed him. Emerging from his retirement, he would save the country. Again.The chapters in Part I explore the creation of the United States Constitution. They examine Washington’s crucial role in its formation and how his wartime precedents shaped the powers of all future American presidents.
1
The Not-So-United States
V
ictorious, they set the world on fire. The scrappy Americans stunned Great Britain—the mightiest empire on earth—and sparked a powder keg of political unrest across the Old World and the New. These patriots’ revolutionary republican ideology and military triumph helped ignite uprisings in France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Haiti, and Latin America.
1
At home, the Americans needed to harness that revolutionary fire to forge a nation, lest it rage out of control and consume their grand experiment. For while their victory in the Revolutionary War was glorious, the aftermath was less so. Facing bankruptcy and internal strife, the United States turned once again to its father and protector: the warrior-turned-farmer, George Washington.
ictorious, they set the world on fire. The scrappy Americans stunned Great Britain—the mightiest empire on earth—and sparked a powder keg of political unrest across the Old World and the New. These patriots’ revolutionary republican ideology and military triumph helped ignite uprisings in France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Haiti, and Latin America.
1
At home, the Americans needed to harness that revolutionary fire to forge a nation, lest it rage out of control and consume their grand experiment. For while their victory in the Revolutionary War was glorious, the aftermath was less so. Facing bankruptcy and internal strife, the United States turned once again to its father and protector: the warrior-turned-farmer, George Washington.
As commander in chief of the Continental Army during the Revolution, Washington triumphantly led a confederation of thirteen allied state governments. But following their victory, the American states were only loosely united under the governing document known as the “Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union.” Ironically, these Articles created a decentralized union that proved to be far from perpetual.
The United States
were
less a cohesive nation than thirteen independent, sovereign states loosely tethered by a weak central government—the Confederation Congress.
2
Americans of the era often referred to their nation in the plural form. They did not yet conceive of themselves as one indissoluble nation composed of thirteen parts, but rather as a voluntary confederation of independent allied states where many citizens felt greater allegiance to their own region than to any new national government.
3
were
less a cohesive nation than thirteen independent, sovereign states loosely tethered by a weak central government—the Confederation Congress.
2
Americans of the era often referred to their nation in the plural form. They did not yet conceive of themselves as one indissoluble nation composed of thirteen parts, but rather as a voluntary confederation of independent allied states where many citizens felt greater allegiance to their own region than to any new national government.
3
Washington had seen this firsthand back during the war. His Continental Army—sick, hungry, shivering—huddled within their makeshift winter encampment at Valley Forge, where bone-chilling winds proved far more deadly than the British could ever hope to be. With ice and bodies piling up around him, Washington feared mutiny among his troops and sought reassurance. He did not obtain it. In one of the Revolution’s darkest hours, he ordered a few soldiers to swear allegiance to the United States. They shockingly refused, instead declaring, “New Jersey is our country!”
4
4
Other books
Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman
Real Time by Jeanine Binder
Miles Off Course by Sulari Gentill
Craig Kreident #1: Virtual Destruction by Kevin J Anderson, Doug Beason
The Dysfunctional Test by Kelly Moran
Memory (Hard Case Crime) by Westlake, Donald E.
Bind and Keep Me, Book 2 by Cari Silverwood
Taking Flight (A Devereux Novel) by Whiskey, D.G.
What Makes Sammy Run? by Budd Schulberg
Name Withheld : A J.p. Beaumont Mystery (9780061760907) by Jance, Judith A.
