On this day in December 1783, General George Washington stood in front of the Confederation Congress, meeting in the senate chamber of the Maryland State House, to resign his wartime commission. Negotiators had signed the Treaty of Paris ending the Revolutionary War on September 3, 1783, and once the British troops had withdrawn from New York City, Washington believed his job was done.
That first president so much closer to Cincinnatus, so famous for the power he gave up.
Trump is of course his diametrical opposite -- but for the very simple reason that America finally grew a class of billionaires who fed only on the cancers of commercialism: the most cynical packaging, numbering, labeling, commodifying, and monetization of all life.
America, where the greatest universities in the world reigned from the Justin Morrill land grant legislation of 1862 to the Powell memo of 1971, when the rich united in gutting, rotting, turning the best inside out instead for schools of business -- for bankers, standardized testers, phalanxes of totally dehumanized fellow predators.
Yes, there's a fat, orange Donald Trump -- in such contrast to Washington. But there's such a deep, extensive, festering history buoying the fat orange one.
What an incredibly appropriate and moving historical moment to recall in these troubled times! May we always remember the humility and nobility of our first president and require the same traits in all who would follow him in office. He gave us a great gift, first in resigning his commission and later in stepping down from the presidency after 2 terms. He was truly a great man.
King George III asked his American painter, Benjamin West, what Washington would do after winning independence. West replied, “They say he will return to his farm.” “If he does that,” the incredulous monarch said, “he will be the greatest man in the world.”
I do hope all Americans understand the importance of Washington's resignation in the light of January 2021. I also hope that everyone understands that one day as dictator is enough to end democracy, especially given the preparations that have been going on for some time at the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025.
This is what makes America America… that our political leaders voluntarily GIVE UP POWER when they lose an election. I saw this history portrayed at the end of the Disneyland tribute to our presidents which can be found on YouTube (s number of versions … since Disney now changes the show when we have a new president. Here’s one of the best versions… created for when Barack Obama was president. Enjoy!
Wonderful, succinct exercise in the fine art of contrast by HCR tonight.
I forget the author's name, but I read a history of the American Revolution many years ago titled "Infidels" wherein the author portrayed with great poignancy the day that Washington returned to New York, in late November, 1783, a mere month before the events Heather discussed in tonight's letter. After he had escaped the British naval and ground forces from Brooklyn Heights in 1776, he returned in well earned if fatigued glory, after the long slog of the Revolutionary War, in late 1783. Along with a contingent of his most loyal troops, he marched down the "Great Broad Way" as it was known then, to reclaim the City and symbolically the Country, after two long years of negotiations leading to the Treaty of Paris, after the British surrender in 1781 at Yorktown, VA.
When they reached the Battery, he ordered a young soldier to climb the flagpole to take down the still flying Union Jack, only to find that the British, in all their dastardly arrogance, had greased the flagpole. The soldiers hammered stakes into it, climbed it, and tossed the Union Jack downward, while raising the newly minted Stars and Stripes.
Before he left New York within a week or so, he dined with his officers, some of whom had been with him since Valley Forge, at the Fraunces Tavern off of Broadway, tears flowing freely as each of them came to shake his hand, prior to his departure to his "retirement" at Mt. Vernon.
What a contrast.
That first president so much closer to Cincinnatus, so famous for the power he gave up.
Trump is of course his diametrical opposite -- but for the very simple reason that America finally grew a class of billionaires who fed only on the cancers of commercialism: the most cynical packaging, numbering, labeling, commodifying, and monetization of all life.
America, where the greatest universities in the world reigned from the Justin Morrill land grant legislation of 1862 to the Powell memo of 1971, when the rich united in gutting, rotting, turning the best inside out instead for schools of business -- for bankers, standardized testers, phalanxes of totally dehumanized fellow predators.
Yes, there's a fat, orange Donald Trump -- in such contrast to Washington. But there's such a deep, extensive, festering history buoying the fat orange one.
tfg's supporters have never learned the history of this country. They need to read your letters!
What an incredibly appropriate and moving historical moment to recall in these troubled times! May we always remember the humility and nobility of our first president and require the same traits in all who would follow him in office. He gave us a great gift, first in resigning his commission and later in stepping down from the presidency after 2 terms. He was truly a great man.
Thank you Heather, such a gift this was to us all..Merry Christmas..🎄
Masterful use of Washington to take down Trump!
The thought of the orange one having his picture hanging with other presidents is enough to turn my stomach.
As I am hoping Heather takes the next few days off my wish for everyone is a joyous holiday.
Sad indeed, the potential we face...Bon courage...and VOTE
I doubt Trump knows half the words Washington used in his resignation. Or the essence of what he communicated.
King George III asked his American painter, Benjamin West, what Washington would do after winning independence. West replied, “They say he will return to his farm.” “If he does that,” the incredulous monarch said, “he will be the greatest man in the world.”
I do hope all Americans understand the importance of Washington's resignation in the light of January 2021. I also hope that everyone understands that one day as dictator is enough to end democracy, especially given the preparations that have been going on for some time at the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025.
Beautifully done, thank you.
Grateful for you Heather, once again using history to expose how maga-republicans are the antitheses of what Washington and the Revolution stood for.
Even when he was President 3 million more people had voted for Hilliary Clinton.
3,000,000 more people.
So even in 2016 he lost by near 2%
You guys have weird elections over there.
This is what makes America America… that our political leaders voluntarily GIVE UP POWER when they lose an election. I saw this history portrayed at the end of the Disneyland tribute to our presidents which can be found on YouTube (s number of versions … since Disney now changes the show when we have a new president. Here’s one of the best versions… created for when Barack Obama was president. Enjoy!
https://youtu.be/KMn83d4tQp8
Evening to All!
Wonderful, succinct exercise in the fine art of contrast by HCR tonight.
I forget the author's name, but I read a history of the American Revolution many years ago titled "Infidels" wherein the author portrayed with great poignancy the day that Washington returned to New York, in late November, 1783, a mere month before the events Heather discussed in tonight's letter. After he had escaped the British naval and ground forces from Brooklyn Heights in 1776, he returned in well earned if fatigued glory, after the long slog of the Revolutionary War, in late 1783. Along with a contingent of his most loyal troops, he marched down the "Great Broad Way" as it was known then, to reclaim the City and symbolically the Country, after two long years of negotiations leading to the Treaty of Paris, after the British surrender in 1781 at Yorktown, VA.
When they reached the Battery, he ordered a young soldier to climb the flagpole to take down the still flying Union Jack, only to find that the British, in all their dastardly arrogance, had greased the flagpole. The soldiers hammered stakes into it, climbed it, and tossed the Union Jack downward, while raising the newly minted Stars and Stripes.
Before he left New York within a week or so, he dined with his officers, some of whom had been with him since Valley Forge, at the Fraunces Tavern off of Broadway, tears flowing freely as each of them came to shake his hand, prior to his departure to his "retirement" at Mt. Vernon.
May we all serve the nation and people rather than naked self-interest.