 Section 6 of Beacon Lights of History, Volume 11, American Founders, by John Lorde. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Kay Hand. George Washington, Part 1. 1732-1799 The American Revolution. One might shrink from writing on such a subject as General Washington were not desirable to keep his memory and deeds perpetually fresh in the minds of the people of this great country, of which he is called the Father, doubtless the most august name in our history and one of the grandest in the history of the world. Washington was not, like Franklin, of humble origin. Neither can he strictly be classed with those aristocrats who inherited vast, landed estates in Virginia during the eighteenth century, and who were ambitious of keeping up the style of living common to wealthy country gentlemen in England at the time. Any of the biographers of Washington trace his family to the knights and squires who held manners by grant of kings and nobles of England centuries ago. About the middle of the seventeenth century, John and Lawrence Washington, two brothers of a younger branch of the family, both Cavaliers who had adhered to the fortunes of Charles I, emigrated to Virginia and purchased extensive estates in the Westmoreland County between the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers. The grandson of one of these brothers was the father of our hero and was the owner of a moderate plantation on Bridges Creek from which he removed, shortly after the birth of his son George in 1732, to an estate in Stafford County opposite Fredericksburg. It was here that the early years of Washington were passed in sports and pleasures peculiar to the sons of planters. His education was not entirely neglected, but beyond reading, writing, and arithmetic, his youthful attainments were small. In general knowledge he was far behind the sons of wealthy farmers in New England at that time, certainly far behind Franklin when a mere apprentice to a printer. But he wrote a fair, neat, legible hand and kept accounts with accuracy. His half-brother Lawrence had married a relative of Lord Fairfax who had settled in Virginia on the restoration of Charles II. Lawrence was also the owner of the estate of Mount Vernon on the Potomac, the wealthiest member of his family and a prominent member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. Through his fortunate brother George became intimate with the best families of Virginia. His associates were gentlemen of position, with whom he hunted and feasted, and with whose sisters he danced it is said with uncommon grace. In person young Washington was tall, over six feet and two inches. His manners easy and dignified, his countenance urbane and intelligence, his health perfect, his habits temperate, his morals irreproachable, and his sentiments lofty. He was a model in all athletic exercises and all manly sports, strong, muscular, and inured to exposure and fatigue. He was quick and impetuous in temper, a tendency which he early learned to control. He was sullied with none of the vices then so common with the sons of planters, and his character extorted admiration and esteem. Such a young man, of course, became a favorite in society. His most marked peculiarities were good sense and the faculty of seeing things as they are without exaggeration. He was truthful, practical, straightforward, and conscientious, with an uncommon insight in a man, and a power of inspiring confidence. I do not read that he was brilliant in conversation, although he had a keen relish for the charms of society, or that he was in any sense learned or original. He had not the qualities to shine as an orator, or a lawyer, or a literary man. Neither in any of the learned professions would he have sunk below mediocrity, being industrious, clear-headed, sagacious, and able to avail himself of the labors and merits of others. As his letters show he became a thoroughly well-informed man. In surveying, farming, stock-raising, and military matters he read the best authorities, often sending to London for them. He steadily fitted himself for his life as a country gentleman of Virginia, and doubtless aspired to sit in the house of Burgesses. He never claimed to be a genius, and was always modest and unassuming with all his self-respect and natural dignity. In the middle of the eighteenth century the cultivation of tobacco, to which the wealth and enterprise of Virginia were directed, was not as lucrative as it had been, and among the planters, aristocratic as they were in sentiments and habits, there were many who found it difficult to make two ends meet, and some, however disdainful of manual labor, were compelled to be as economical and saving as New England farmers. Their sons found it necessary to enter the learned professions or become men of business, since they could not all own plantations. Washington, whose family was neither rich nor poor, prepared himself for the work of a surveyor for which he was admirably fitted, by his hardyhood, enterprise, and industry. Lord Fairfax, who had become greatly interested in the youth, and had made him a frequent companion, giving him the inestimable advantage of familiar intercourse with thoroughbred gentlemen of varied accomplishments, in seventeen forty-eight sent this sixteen-year-old lad to survey his vast estates in the unexplored lands at the base of the Allegheny Mountains. During this rough expedition, young Washington was exposed to the hostilities of unfriendly Indians, and the fatigues and hardships of the primeval wilderness, but his work was thoroughly and accurately performed, and his courage, boldness, and fidelity attracted the notice of men of influence and rank. Through the influence of his friend, Lord Fairfax, he was appointed a public surveyor, and for three years he steadfastly pursued this laborious profession. A voyage to Barbados in seventeen fifty-one cultivated his habits of clear observation, and in seventeen fifty-two his brother's death imposed on him the responsibility of the estates, and the daughter left to his care by his brother Lawrence. Young Washington had already, through the influence of his brother, been appointed major and adigent general of one of the military districts of Virginia. The depredations of the French and Indians on the border had grown into dangerous aggression, and in seventeen fifty-three major Washington was sent as a commissioner through the wilderness to the French headquarters in Ohio to remonstrate. His admirable conduct on this occasion resulted in his appointment as Lieutenant Colonel of the Virginia Regiment of six companies sent to the Ohio frontier, and in this campaign Washington gained new laurels, surprising and defeating the French. His native and acquired powers and his varied experience with Indian warfare now marked him out as a suitable aide to the British general Braddock, who early in seventeen fifty-five arrived with two regiments of English soldiers to operate against the French and Indians. This was the beginning of the memorable Seven Years War. Washington was now a young man of twenty-three, full of manly vigor and the spirit of adventure, brave as a lion, a natural fighter but prudent and far-seeing. He fortunately and almost alone escaped being wounded in the disastrous campaign which the British general lost through his own obstinacy and self-confidence, by taking no advice from those who used to Indian warfare. Braddock insisted upon fighting foes concealed behind trees as if he were in the open field. After the English generals' inglorious defeat and death, Washington continued in active service as commander of the Virginia forces for two years, until toil, exposure, and hardship produced an illness which compelled him to withdraw for several months from active service. When at the close of the war he returned to private life, Colonel Washington had won a name as the most efficient commander in the whole conflict, displaying marvelous resources in the constant perils to which he was exposed. Among his exploits was the capture of Port Duquesne, now Pittsburgh, in 1758, which terminated the French domination of the Ohio and opened up western Pennsylvania to enterprising immigrants. For his rare services this young man of twenty-six received the thanks of the House of Burgesses, of which he had been elected a member at the close of the war. When he entered that body to take his place the welcome extended to him was so overwhelming that he stood silent and abashed. But the venerable speaker of the House exclaimed, Sit down, Mr. Washington, your modesty equals your valour, and that surpasses the power of any language I possess. Meanwhile, Mount Vernon, a domain which extended ten miles along the Potomac River, fell into Washington's possession by the death of his brother Lawrence's daughter, which made him one of the richest planters in Virginia. And his fortunes were still further advanced by his marriage in 1759 with the richest woman in the region, Martha, the widow of Daniel Park Custis. This lady esteemed his character as much as Khadijah revered Muhammad, to say nothing of her admiration for his manly beauty and military renown. His style of life as the Lord of Mount Vernon was almost baronial. He had a chariot and four, with black pastillions in livery for the use of his wife, while he himself always appeared on horseback, the finest rider in Virginia. His house was filled with aristocratic visitors. He had his stud of the highest breed, his foxhounds, and all the luxuries of a prosperous country gentleman. His kitchens, his smoke houses, his stables, his stewards, his tobacco sheds, his fields of wheat and corn, his hundred cows, his vast poultry yards, his barges, all indicated great wealth, and that generous hospitality which is now a tradition. His time was passed in overseeing his largest state, and in out- of-door sports, following the hounds or fishing, exchanging visits with prominent Virginia families, amusing himself with card-playing, dancing, and the social frivolities of the day. But he neglected no serious affairs. His farm, his stock, the sale of his produce were all admirably conducted, and on a plain of widely recognized honor and integrity. He took great interest in the state at large, explored on foot the dismal swamp and projected its draining, made several expeditions up the Potomac and over the mountains, laying out routes for new roads to the Ohio country, gained much influence in the House of Burgesses, and was among the foremost in discussing privately and publicly the relations of the colonies with the mother country. Thus, nine years were passed in luxury, in friendship, and in the pleasures of a happy, useful life. What a contrast this life was to that of Samuel Adams in Boston at the same time, a man too poor to keep a single servant, or to appear in a decent suit of clothes, yet all the while the leader of the Massachusetts Bar and Legislature, and the most brilliant orator in the land. When the Stamp Act was passed by the infatuated Parliament of Great Britain, Washington was probably the richest man in the country, but as patriotic as Patrick Henry. He deprecated a resort to arms and desired a reconciliation with England, but was ready to abandon his luxurious life and buckle on his sword in defense of American liberties. As a member of the First General Congress, although no orator, his voice was heard in favor of freedom at any loss or hazard. He was chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs, and did much to organize the defensive operations set on foot. When the Battle of Lexington was fought, and it became clear that only the sword could settle the difficulties, Washington, at the nomination of John Adams in the Second Congress, was unanimously chosen Commander-in-Chief of the American Armies. With frank acknowledgment of a doubt whether his abilities and experience were equal to the Great Trust, and yet without reluctance, he accepted the high and responsible command, pledging the exertion of all his powers under providence to lead the country through its trials and difficulties. He declined all pay for his services, asking only that Congress would discharge his expenses, of which he would keep an exact account. And this he did to the penny. Doubtless no man in the colonies was better fitted for this exalted post. His wealth, his military experience, his social position, his political influence, and his stainless character, exciting veneration without envy, marked out Washington as the leader of the American forces. On the whole he was the foremost man in all the land for the work to be done. In his youth he had been dashing, adventurous, and courageous, almost to rashness. But when the vast responsibilities of General-in-Chief and a life and death struggle weighed upon his mind, his character seemed to be modified, and he became cautious, reticent, prudent, distant, and exceedingly dignified. He allowed no familiarity from the most beloved of his friends and the most faithful of his generals. He stood out apart from men, cold and reserved in manner, though capable of the warmest affections. He seemed conscious of his mission and its obligations, resolved to act from the severest sense of duty, fearless of praise or blame, though not indifferent to either. He had no jealousy of his subordinates. He selected so far as he was allowed by Congress the best men for their particular duties, and with almost unerring instinct. So far as he had confidence they were Green, the ablest of his generals, and Hamilton, the wisest of his counselors, ostensibly his aide to camp, but in reality his private secretary, the officer to whom all great men in high position are obliged to confide their political secrets. Washington was the embodiment of both virtue and power in the eyes of his countrymen, who gave him their confidence and never took it back in the darkest days of their calamities. On the whole, in spite of calamity and envy, no benefactor was ever more fully trusted, supremely fortunate to even amid gloom and public duties. This confidence he strove to merit as his highest reward. Such was Washington when, at the age of forty-three, he arrived at Cambridge in Massachusetts to take command of the American army a few days after the Battle of Bunker Hill on the seventy the June, seventeen seventy-five. Although the English had been final victors at Bunker Hill, the American militia, behind their entrenchments under Prescott, had repulsed twice the number of the best soldiers of Europe, and retired at last only for want of ammunition. Washington was far from being discouraged by the defeat. His question and comment show his feeling. Did the militia fight? Then the liberties of the country are safe. It was his first aim to expel the enemy from Boston, where they were practically surrounded by the hastily collected militia of New England, full of enthusiasm and confidence in the triumph of their cause. But these forces had been injudiciously placed. They were not properly entrenched. They were imperfectly supplied with arms, ammunition, military stores, uniforms, and everything necessary for an army. There was no commissary department, nor was any department provided with adequate resources. The soldiers were inexperienced, raw sons of farmers and mechanics, led by officers who knew but little of scientific warfare, and numbered less than fifteen thousand effective men. They were undisciplined and full of sectional jealousies, electing for the most part their own officers who were too dependent upon their favor to enforce discipline. Washington's first task, therefore, was to bring order out of confusion, to change the disposition of the forces, to have their positions adequately fortified, to affect military discipline and subordination of men to their officers, to cultivate a large and general patriotism which should override all distinctions between the colonies. This work went on rapidly, but the lack of supplies became distressing. At the close of July, the men had but nine rounds of ammunition each, and more was nowhere to be procured. It was necessary to send messengers into almost every town to beg for powder, and there were few mills in the country to manufacture it. As the winter approached, a new trouble appeared. The brief enlistment to terms of many of the men were expiring, and wearied and discouraged without proper food and clothing, these men withdrew from the army, and the regiments rapidly decreased in numbers. Recruiting and re-enlisting in the face of such conditions became almost impossible, yet Washington's steady persistence, his letters to Congress, his masterly hold on the siege of the British in Boston, his appeals for men and ammunition were actually successful. His army was kept up by new and renewed material. Privateers sent out by him upon the sea secured valuable supplies. Henry Knox, a Boston bookseller whom he had made Colonel of Artillery and dispatched to New York and Ticonderoga, returned to the camps with heavy cannon and ammunition. The right wing of the American army was stationed at Roxbury under General Artemis Ward, and the left wing under Major General Charles Lee and Brigadier Generals Green and Sullivan at Prospect Hill. The headquarters of Washington were in the center at Cambridge, with Generals Putnam and Heath. Lee was not allied with the great Virginia family of that name. He was an Englishman by birth, somewhat of a military adventurer. Conceded vain and disobedient, he afterwards came near wrecking the cause which he had ambitiously embraced. Ward was a native of Massachusetts, a worthy man but not distinguished for military capacity. Putnam was a gallant hero, taken from the plow, but more fitted to head small expeditions than for patient labor in siege operations or for commanding a great body of troops. Meanwhile the British troops, some 15,000 veterans, had remained inactive in Boston under Sir William Howe, who had succeeded Gage, unwilling or unable to disperse the militia who surrounded them, or to prevent the fortification of point after point about the city by the Americans. It became difficult to get provisions. The land side was cut off by the American forces and the supply ships from the sea were often wrecked or captured by Washington's privateers. At length the British began to think of evacuating Boston and going to a more important point, since they had ships and the control of the harbor. No progress had been made thus far in the conquest of New England, for it was thought unwise to penetrate into the interior with forces at command, against the army of Washington with a devoted population, to furnish him provisions. Howe could undoubtedly have held the New England capital, but it was not a great strategic point. What was it to occupy a city at the extreme end of the continent when the British government expected to hear that the whole country was overrun? At last Washington felt strong enough to use his eight months' preparation for a sudden blow. He seized the heights commanding the city and his intention became evident. The active movement of the Americans towards an attack precipitated Howe's half formed plan for evacuating the city, and in a single day he and his army sailed away on March 17, 1776. Washington made no effort to prevent the embarkation of the British troops, since it freed New England, not again to be the theater of military operations during the war. It was something to deliver the most populous part of the country from English domination and drive a superior army out of Massachusetts. The wonder is that the disciplined troops under the British generals, with guns and ammunition and ships, should not have dispersed in a few weeks the foes they affected to despise. But Washington had fought the long battle of patience and sagacity until he was ready to strike. Then by one bold sudden move he held the enemy at his mercy. Howe was out to general, and the American remained master of the field. Washington had accomplished his errand in New England. He received the thanks of the Congress, and with his little army proceeded to New York where matters urgently demanded attention. To my mind the most encouraging part of the revolutionary struggle, until the surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga, was that period of eight months when the British were cooped up in Boston surrounded by the Americans who had plenty of provisions even if they were deficient in military stores. When the Yankees were stimulated to enthusiasm by every influence which could be brought to bear upon them by their families at no great distance from the seat of war and when no great calamity had as yet overtaken them. But here everything like success for two years disappeared and a gloomy cloud hung over the land, portentious of disasters and dismay. Evil thickened, entirely unexpected, which brought out what was greatest in the character and genius of Washington, for he was now the mainstay of hope. The first patriotic gush of enthusiasm had passed away. War under the most favorable circumstances is no play, but under great difficulties has a dismal and rugged look before which delusions rapidly disappear. England was preparing new and much larger forces. She was vexed but not discouraged, having unlimited resources for war, money, credit and military experience. She proceeded to hire the services of 17,000 Hessian and other German troops. All Europe looked upon the contest as hopeless on the part of a scattered population without credit or money or military stores or a settled army or experienced generals or central power. The American saw on every hand dissensions, jealousies, abortive attempts to raise men, a Congress without power and without prestige, state legislatures, inefficient and timid, desertions without number and without redress, men returning to their farms either disgusted or feeling that there was no longer a pressing need of their services. End of Section 6. Section 7 of Beacon Lines of History Volume 11, American Founders by John Lord. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. This is the recording by Kay Hand. George Washington, Parts 2. There were moreover jealousies among his generals and suppressed hostility to him as an aristocrat, a slaveholder and an Episcopalian. As soon as Boston was evacuated, General Howe sailed for Halifax to meet his brother Admiral Howe with reinforcements for New York. Washington divined his purpose and made all haste. When he reached New York on the 13th of April, he found even greater difficulties to contend with than had annoyed him in Boston. Raw troops, undisciplined and undrilled, a hostile Tory population, conspiracies to take his life, sectional jealousies, and always a divided Congress, and the want of experienced generals. There was nothing of that inspiring enthusiasm which animated the New England farmers after the Battle of Bunker Hill. Washington held New York and the British Fleet were masters of the Bay. He might have withdrawn his forces in safety, but so important a place could not be abandoned without a struggle. Therefore, although he had but 8,000 effective men, he fortified as well as he could the heights on Manhattan Island to the north, and on Long Island to the south and east, and held his place. Meantime, Washington was laboring to strengthen his army, to suppress the mischievous powers of the Tories, to procure the establishment by Congress of a war office and some permanent army organization, to quiet jealousies among his troops, and to provide for their wants. In June, Sir William Howe arrived in New York Harbor and landed forces on Staten Island, his brother the Admiral being not far behind. News of disaster from a bold but futile expedition to Canada in the north, and of the coming from the south of Sir Henry Clinton, beaten off from Charleston, made the clouds thicken, when on July 2nd the Congress resolved that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent and on July 4th adopted the formal Declaration of Independence, an immense relief to the heart and mind of Washington, and one which he joyfully proclaimed to his army. Even then, however, and although his forces had been reinforced to fifteen thousand serviceable troops and five thousand of raw militia, there was reason to fear that the British, with their thirty-five thousand men in strong naval force, would surround and capture the whole American array. At last they did outflank the American forces on Long Island, and pouring in upon them a vastly superior force, defeated them with great slaughter. While the British waited at night for their ships to come up, Washington with admirable quickness seized the single chance of escape, and under cover of a fog withdrew his nine thousand men from Long Island and landed them in New York once more. This retreat of Washington, when he was to all appearances in the power of the English generals, was masterly. In two short weeks thereafter the British had sent ships and troops up both the Hudson and East Rivers, and New York was no longer tenable to Washington. He made his way up the Harlem River, where he was joined by Putnam, who had also contrived to escape with four thousand men, and strolling entrenched himself at King's Bridge. Washington waited a few days at Harlem Plains, planning a descent on Long Island, and resolved on making a desperate stand. Meanwhile, Howe in his ships passed the Fords on the Hudson and landed at Throg's neck on the Sound, with a view of attacking the American entrenchments in the rear and cutting them off from New England. A brief delay on Howe's part enabled Washington to withdraw to a still stronger position on the hills, whereupon Howe retired to Dobb's ferry, unable to entrap with his larger forces the wary Washington, but having now the complete command of the lower Hudson. There were, however, two strong fortresses on the Hudson, which Congress was anxious to retain at any cost, a few miles above New York. Fort Washington, on Manhattan Island, and Fort Lee on the New Jersey side of the river. These Forts Howe resolved to capture. The commandering chief was in favor of evacuating them, but Green, who commanded at Fort Washington, thought he was strong enough to defend it. He made a noble defense, but was overwhelmed by vastly superior forces, and was compelled to surrender it with more than two thousand men. And, as Lord Cornwallis with six thousand men then crossed the Hudson, Washington rapidly retreated into New Jersey with a dispirited army that included the little garrison of Fort Lee which had escaped in safety, and even this small army was fast becoming smaller, from expiring enlistments and other causes. General Lee, with a considerable division at North Castle, New Jersey, was ordered to rejoin his commander, but apparently from ambition for independent command disobeyed the order. From that moment, Washington distrusted Lee, who henceforth was his bet-noir, who foiled his plans and was jealous of his ascendancy. Lee's obstinacy was punished by his being overtaken and captured by the enemy. Then followed a most gloomy period. We see Washington, with only the shadow of an army, compelled to retreat southward in New Jersey, hotly pursued by the well-equipped British—almost a fugitive, like David fleeing from the hand of Saul. He dared not risk an engagement against greatly superior forces in pursuit, triumphant and confident of success, while his followers were half-clad, without shoes, hungry, homesick, and forlorn. So confident was Howe of crushing the only army opposed to him that he neglected opportunities and made mistakes. At last the remnants of Lee's troops commanded by Sullivan and Gates joined Washington, but even with this reinforcement, giving him barely three thousand men, he could not face the enemy, more than double the number of his inexperienced soldiers. The only thing to do was to put the Delaware between himself and Howe's army. But it was already winter, and the Delaware was full of ice. Cornwallis, a general of great ability, felt sure that the dispirited men who still adhered to Washington could not possibly escape him, so he lingered in his march. A fatal confidence, for when he arrived at the Delaware, Washington was already safely encamped on the opposite bank, nor could he pursue since all the boats on the river for seventy miles were either destroyed or in the hands of Washington. This successful retreat from the Hudson over the Delaware was another exhibition of high military qualities, caution, quick perception, and prompt action. Washington now had the nucleus of an army and could not be dislodged by the enemy, whose force was only about double his own. Howe was apparently satisfied with driving the American forces out of New Jersey, and retaining his hold at certain points sent the bulk of his army back to New York. The aim of Washington was now to expel the British troops from New Jersey. It was almost a forlorn hope, but he never disbared. His condition was not more hopeless than that of William the Silent when he encountered the overwhelming armies of Spain. Always beaten, the heroic Prince of Orange still held out when Holland was completely overrun. But the United States were not overrun. New England was practically safe, although the British held Newport, and all the country south of the Delaware was free from them. The perplexities and discouragements of Washington were great indeed, while he stubbornly held the field with a beggarly makeshift of an army, and sturdily continued his appeals to Congress and to the country for men, arms, and clothing. Yet only New York City and New Jersey were really in possession of the enemy. It was one thing for England to occupy a few cities and quite another to conquer a continent, hence Congress and the leaders of the rebellion never lost hope. So long as there were men left in peaceable possession of their farms from Maine to Georgia, and these men accustomed to firearms and resolved on freedom, there was no real cause of despair. The perplexing and discouraging things were that the men preferred the safety and comfort of their homes to the dangers and hardships of the camp, and that there was no money in the treasury to pay the troops, nor credit on which to raise it. Hence desertions, raggedness, discontent, suffering, but not despair, even in the breast of Washington, who realized the difficulty says no one else did. Men would not enlist unless they were paid and fed, clothed, and properly armed. There had been an overwhelming danger they probably would have rallied, as the Dutch did when they opened to their dykes or as the Greeks rallied in their late revolution when fortress after fortress fell into the hands of the Turks, and as the American militia did in successive localities threatened by the British, notably in New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York, when they swarmed about Burgoyne and captured him at Saratoga. But this was by no means the same as enlisting for a long period in a general army. I mention these things not to discredit the bravery and patriotism of the revolutionary soldiers. They made noble sacrifices and they fought gallantly, but they did not rise above local patriotism and sustain the continental cause. Yet at no time, even when Washington with his small army was flying before Cornwallis across New Jersey, were there grounds of despair. There were discouragements, difficulties, and vexations, and these could be traced chiefly to the want of a strong central government. The government was divided against itself, without money or credit, in short, a mere advisory board of civilians, half the time opposed to the plans of the commander-in-chief. But when Washington had been driven beyond the Delaware, when Philadelphia, where Congress was sitting was in danger, then dictatorial powers were virtually conferred on Washington, the most unlimited authority was the phrase used, and he had scope to act as he saw fit. Washington was, it is true, at times accused of incompetency, and traitors slandered him, but Congress stood by him and the country had confidence in him, as well it might, since while he had not gained great victories, and even perhaps had made military mistakes, he had delivered Boston, had rescued the remnant of his army from the clutches of Howe and Cornwallis, and had devoted himself by day and night to labors which should never have been demanded of him, in keeping Congress up to the mark, as well as in his arduous duties in the field, evincing great prudence, sagacity, watchfulness, and energy. But he had proved himself at least to be a phabius if he was not a Hannibal. But a Hannibal is not possible without an army, and a steady-handed phabius was the need of the times. The Caesars of the world are few, and most of them have been unfaithful to their trust, but no one doubted the integrity and patriotism of Washington. Rival generals may have disliked his austere dignity and proud self-consciousness, but the people and the soldiers adored him, and while his general policy was, and had to be, a defensive one, everybody knew that he would fight if he had any hope of success. No one in the army was braver than he, as proved not only by his early warfare against the French and Indians, but also by his whole career after he was selected for the chief command, whenever a fair fighting opportunity was presented, as seen in the following instance. With his small army on the right bank of the Delaware, toil-asimily increased to about 4,000 men, he now meditated offensive operations against the unsuspecting British, who had but just chased him out of New Jersey. Accordingly, with unexpected audacity, on Christmas night he recrossed the Delaware, marched nine miles and attacked the British troops posted at Trenton. It was not a formal battle, but a raid, and proved successful. The enemy amazed, retreated. Then, with fresh reinforcements, they turned upon Washington, he evaded them, and on January 3, 1777, made a fierce attack on their lines at Princeton, attended with the same success, utterly routing the British. These were small victories, but they encouraged the troops, aroused the New Jersey men to enthusiasm and alarmed Cornwallis, who retreated northward to New Brunswick to save his military stores. In a few days, the English retained only that town, Amboy, and Paulus Hook, all in New Jersey. Thus, in three weeks, in the midst of winter, Washington had won two fights, taken 2,000 prisoners, and was as strong as he was before he crossed the Hudson. And the winter of 1777 opened with hope in the revolutionary ranks. Washington then entrenched himself at Morris Town and watched the forces of the English generals, and for six months nothing of consequence was done by either side. It became evident that Washington could not be conquered, except by large reinforcements to the Army of Howe. Another campaign was a necessity to the disgust and humiliation of the British government and the wrath of George III. The Declaration of Independence thus far had not proved mere rhetoric. The expulsion of the British troops from New Jersey by inferior forces was regarded in Europe as a great achievement and enabled Franklin at Paris to secure substantial, but at first, secret aid from the French government. National independence now seemed to be a probability and perhaps a certainty. It was undoubtedly a great encouragement to the struggling states. The more foresighted of British statesmen now saw the hopelessness of a conflict which had lasted nearly two years, and in which nothing more substantial had been gained by the English generals than the occupation of New York and a few towns on the coast, while the Americans had gained military experience and considerable prestige. The whole civilized world pronounced Washington to be both a hero and a patriot. But the English government was singular obstinacy under the lash of George III, resolved to make renewed efforts to send America all the forces which could be raised at a vast expense and to plan a campaign which should bring the rebels to obedience. The plan was to send an army by way of Canada to take the fortresses on Lake Champlain and then to descend the Hudson and cooperate with Howe and cutting off New England from the rest of the country, in fact dividing the land in Twain, a plan seemingly feasible. It would be possible to conquer each section east and south of New York in detail with victorious and overwhelming forces. This was the great danger that menaced the states and caused the deepest solicitude. So soon as the designs of the British government were known, it became the aim and duty of the commander in chief to guard against them. The military preparations of Congress were utterly inadequate for the crisis in spite of the constant and urgent expostulations of Washington. There was as yet 110 regular army and the militia shamefully deserted. There was even a prejudice against a standing army and the militia of every state were jealous of the militia of other states. Congress passed resolutions and a large force was created on paper. Popular enthusiasm was passing away in the absence of immediate dangers so that, despite the glorious success in New Jersey, the winter of 1777 was passed gloomily and in the spring new perils arose. But for the negligence of General Howe, the well-planned British expedition from the North might have succeeded. It was under the command of an able and experienced veteran, General Burgoyne. There was apparently nothing to prevent the junction of the forces of Howe and Burgoyne but the fortress of West Point which commanded the Hudson River. To oppose this movement, Benedict Arnold, the bravest of the brave, as he was called, like Marshall Ney, was selected, assisted by General Schuyler, a high-minded gentleman and patriot, but as a soldier more respectable than able and Horatio Gates, a soldier of fortune who was jealous of Washington and who, likely, made great pretensions, both Englishmen by birth. The spring and summer resulted in many reverses in the North where Schuyler was unable to co-birth Burgoyne and had Howe promptly co-operated, that campaign would have been a great triumph for the British. It was the object of Howe to deceive Washington, if possible, and hence he set a large part of his army on board the fleet at New York, under the command of Cornwallis as if Boston were his designation. He intended, however, to capture Philadelphia, the seat of the Rebel Congress, with his main force, while other troops were to co-operate with Burgoyne. Washington, dividing the intentions of Howe with his ragged army crossed the Delaware once more at the end of July, this time to protect Philadelphia, leaving Arnold and Schuyler to watch Burgoyne and Putnam to defend the Hudson. When, late in August, Howe landed his forces below Philadelphia, Washington made up his mind to risk a battle and chose a good position on the heights near the Brandywine, but in the engagement of September 11th was defeated through the negligence of Sullivan to guard the Fords above against the overwhelming forces of Cornwallis who was in immediate command. Still, he rallied his army with the view of fighting again. The battle of Germantown, October 4th, resulted in an American defeat and the occupation by the British of Philadelphia, a place desirable only for comfortable winter quarters. When Franklin heard of it, he coolly remarked that the British had not taken Philadelphia, but Philadelphia had taken them, since 17,000 veterans were here kept out of the field when they were needed most on the banks of the Hudson to join Burgoyne now on his way to Lake Champlain. This diversion of the main army of Howe to occupy Philadelphia was the great British blunder of the war. It enabled the Vermont and New Hampshire militia to throw obstacles in the march of Burgoyne who began in Tanningold in the forests of Northern New York with his flank exposed to the sharpshooters of the enemy, fully alive to the dangers which menaced them. Sluggish as they were and adverse to enlistment, the New England troops always rallied when pressing necessity stared them in the face and fought with tenacious courage. Although Burgoyne had taken Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain as was to be expected, he was, after a most trying campaign at last surrounded at Saratoga and on October 17th was compelled to surrender to the militia he despised. It was not the general ship of the American commander which led to this crushing disaster but the obstacles of nature utilized by the hardy American volunteers. Gates who had superseded Skyler in the command of the Northern Department claimed the chief merit of the capture of the British Army nearly 10,000 strong. But this claim is now generally disputed and the success of the campaign is ascribed to Arnold while that of the final fighting and success is given to Arnold altogether with Morgan and his Virginia Rifleman. Whom Washington had sent from his own small force. The moral and political effect of the surrender of Burgoyne was greater than the military result. The independence of the United States was now assured not only in the minds of American statesmen but to European intelligence. The French government then openly came out with its promised aid and money was more easily raised. The influence of Washington in securing the capture of Burgoyne was indirect although the general plan of campaign and the rousing of the Northern Militia had been outlined by him to general Schuyler. He had his hands full and watching house forces at Philadelphia. His defeat at Germantown the result of accident which he could not prevent compelled him to retreat to Valley Forge on the Skycle about nine miles from Philadelphia. There he took up his quarters in the winter of 1777-78. The sufferings of the army in that distressing winter are among the best known events of the whole war. At Valley Forge the trials of Washington culminated. His army was reduced to 3,000 men incapable of offensive operations without suitable clothing food or shelter. As the poor soldiers says Fisk in his brilliant history marched on the 17th of December to their winter quarters the route could be traced on the snow by the blood which oozed from bare frost bit and feet. For want of blankets many were feigned to sit up all night by fires. Cold and hunger daily added to the sick list and men died for want of straw to boot between them and the frozen ground. Gates instead of marching to the relief of Washington before Philadelphia as he was ordered kept his victorious troops idle at Saratoga and was only by the extraordinary tact of Alexander Hamilton the youthful aid secretary and counselor of Washington who had been sent north for the purpose that the return of Morgan with his Virginia Rifleman was secured. Congress was shaken by the intrigues of Gates who sought to supplant the commander-in-chief and who had one to his support both Morgan and Richard Henry Lee. End of Section 7 Section 8 of Began Lights of History Volume 11 American Founders by John Lorde This LibriVox recording is in the public domain Recording by Kay Hand George Washington Part 3 At this crisis Baron Steuben a Prussian officer who had served under Friedrich the Great arrived at the headquarters of Washington. Some say that he was a mere Martinette but he was exceedingly useful in drilling the American troops working from morning till night both patient and laborious. From that time Washington had regular troops on which he could rely few in number but loyal and true. Lafayette also was present in his camp chivalrous and magnanimous rendering efficient aid and there too was Nathaniel Green of Rhode Island who had made but one great mistake in his military career the most able of Washington's generals. With the aid of these trusted lieutenants Washington was able to keep his little army together as the nucleus of a greater one and wait for opportunities for he loved to fight when he saw a chance of success. And now it may be said that the desertions which had crippled Washington the reluctance to enlist on the part of the farmers in the tardy response to his calls for money probably were owing to the general sense of security after the surrender of Burgoyne. It was felt that the cause of liberty was already won. With this feeling men were slow to enlist when they were not sure of their pay. And it was at this period that money was most difficult to be raised. Had there been a strong central government and not a mere league of states some Moses would have smitten the rock of finance as Hamilton subsequently did and chase in the war of the southern rebellion and abundant streams would have gushed forth in the shape of national bonds certain to be redeemed sooner or later in solid gold and silver and which could have been readily negotiated by the leading bankers of the world. The real difficulty with which Congress in Washington had to contend was a financial one. There were men enough to list in the army if they had been promptly paid. Yet on the other hand England with ample means and lavish promises was able to induce only about 3,000 Tories out of all the American population to enlist in her armies in America during the whole war. By patience unparalleled and efforts unceasing Washington slowly wrought upon Congress to sustain him in building up a continental army in place of the shifting bodies of militia. With Steuben as Inspector General and Green as Quartermaster the new levies as they came in were disciplined and equipped and in spite of the conspiracies and cabals formed against him by ambitious subordinates which enlisted the aid of many influential men even in Congress but which came to not before the solid character and steady front of the man who was really carrying the whole war upon his shoulders. Washington emerged from the frightful winter at Valley Forge and entered the spring of 1778 with greater resources at his command than he had ever had before. In January 1778 France acknowledged the independence of the United States of America and entered into treaty with them. In the spring Sir William Howell resigned and Sir Henry Clinton succeeded him in command. After wintering in Philadelphia the British commander discovered that he could do nothing with his troops shut up in a luxurious city while Washington was watching him in a strongly entrenched position a few miles distant and with constantly increasing forces now trained to war and moreover a French fleet with reinforcements was now looked for. So he evacuated the Quaker City on the 18th of June 1778 and began his march to New York followed by Washington with an army now equal to his own. On the 28th of June Cornwallis was encamped near Monmouth, New Jersey where was fought the most brilliant battle of the war which Washington nearly lost nevertheless by the disobedience of Lee his second in command at a critical moment. Boiling with rage the commander-in-chief wrote up to Lee and demanded why he had disobeyed orders. Then it is said with a tremendous oath he sent the Marplot to the rear and Lee's military career ignominiously ended. Four years after this military adventurer who had given so much trouble died in a mean tavern in Philadelphia disgraced, unpitied and forlorn. The battle of Monmouth did not prevent the orderly retreat of the British to New York when Washington resumed his old post at White Plains east of the Hudson in Westchester County whence he had some hopes of moving on New York with the aid of the French fleet under the Count de Stong. But the big French ships could not cross the bar so the fleet sailed for Newport with a view of recapturing that town and repossessing Rhode Island. Washington sent Green and Lafayette Lither with reinforcements for Sullivan who was in command. The enterprise failed from an unexpected storm in November which compelled the French admiral to sail to Boston to refit after which he proceeded to the West Indies. It would appear that the French thus far sought to embarrass the English rather than to assist the Americans. The only good that resulted from the appearance of de Stong at Newport was the withdrawal of the British troops to New York. It is singular that the positions of the opposing armies were very much as they had been two years before. The headquarters of Washington were at White Plains on the Hudson and those of Clinton at New York commanding the harbor and the neighboring Heights. Neither army was strong enough for offensive operations with any reasonable hope of success and the commanding general seemed to have acted on the maxim that discretion is the better part of valor. Both armies had been strongly reinforced and the opposing generals did little else than fortify their positions and watch each other. A year passed in virtual inaction on both sides except that the British carried on a series of devastating predatory raids in New England along the coast of Long Island Sound in New York State with the savage aid of the Indians in New Jersey and in the South. They're making a more formal movement and seizing the coast of Georgia and South Carolina. No battles of any account were fought. There was some skirmishing but no important military movements were made on either side. Washington in December 1778 removed his headquarters to Middlebrook, New Jersey. His forces being distributed in a series of camps from the Delaware North and East to Rhode Island. The winter he passed in patient vigilance he wrote expostulating letters to Congress and even went personally to Philadelphia to labor with its members. Meanwhile Clinton was taking his ease to the disgust of the British government. There was a caviling criticizing spirit among the different parties in America for there were many who did not comprehend the situation and who were disappointed that nothing decisive was done. Washington was infinitely annoyed at the stream of detraction which flowed from discontented officers and civilians in power but held his soul in patience rarely taking any notice of the innumerable slanders and hostile insinuations. He held together his army now chiefly composed of veterans and nearly as numerous as the troops of the enemy. One thing he saw clearly that the maintenance of an army in the field held together by discipline was of more importance from a military point of view than the occupation of a large city or annoying raids of destruction. While he was well entrenched in a strong position and therefore safe the British had the command of the Hudson and ships of war could ascend the river unmolested as far as West Point which was still held by the Americans and was impregnable. Outside of New York the British did not possess a strong fortress in the country at least in the interior except on Lake Champlain not one in New England. West Point therefore was a great eyesore to the English generals and admirals. Its possession would be of incalculable advantage in case any expedition was sent to the North. And the enemy came very near getting possession of this important fortress not by force but by treachery. Benedict Arnold disappointed in his military prospects alienated from his cause overwhelmed with the debts and utterly discontented and demoralized had asked to be ordered from Philadelphia and put in command of West Point. He was sent there in August 1780. He was a capable and brave man. He had the confidence of Washington. In spite of his defects of character and moreover he had rendered important services. In an evil hour he lost his head and listened to the voice of the tempter and having succeeded in getting himself put in charge of the stronghold of the Hudson he secretly negotiated with Clinton for its surrender. Everybody is familiar with the details of that infamy which is inexplicable on any other ground than partial insanity. No matter what may be said in extenuation Arnold committed the greatest crime known to civilized nations. He contrived to escape the just doom which awaited him and from having become traitor even proceeded to enter the active service of the enemy and to raise his hand against the country which but for these crimes would have held him in honorable remembrance. The heart of English-speaking nations has ever been moved to compassion for the unfortunate fate of the messenger who conducted the reasonable correspondence between Arnold and Clinton one of the most accomplished officers in the British army Major Andre. No influence not even his deeply moved sympathy could induce Washington to interfere with the decision of the court marshal that Andre should be hanged as a spy so dangerous to the commander deem the attempted treachery. The English have erected to the unfortunate officer a monument in Westminster Abbey. The contemplated surrender of West Point to the enemy suggests the demoralization which the war had already produced and which was deployed by no one more bitterly than by Washington himself. If I were called upon he writes to draw a picture of the times and of men from what I have seen heard and in part know I should in one word say that idleness, dissipation and extravagance seem to have laid fast hold of most of them. That speculation speculation and an insatiable thirst for riches seem to have got the better of every other consideration. That party disputes and personal quarrels are the great business of the day whilst the momentous concerns of an empire and accumulating debt ruined finances depreciated money and want of credit are but secondary considerations. All war produces naturally and logically this demoralization especially in countries under a republican government profanity drunkenness and general recklessness as the money matters were everywhere prevailing vices and this demoralization was in the eyes of Washington more to be dreaded than any external dangers that had thus far caused alarm and distress. I have wrote he seen without despondency even for a moment the hours which America has styled her gloomy ones but I have beheld no day since the commencement of hostilities that I have thought her liberties were in such imminent danger as at present. He had faced says Henry Cabot Lodge in his interesting life of Washington the enemy the bleak winters raw soldiers and all the difficulties of impecunious government with a cheerful courage that never failed but the spectacle of widespread popular demoralization of selfish scramble for plunder and of feeble administration at the center of government weighed upon him heavily and all this at the period of the French alliance which it was thought would soon end the war. Indeed hostilities were practically over at the north and hence the public lassitude nearly two years had passed without an important battle. When Clinton saw that no hope remained of subduing the Americans the British government should have made peace and recognized the independence of the states but the obstinacy of the king of England was phenomenal and his ministers were infatuated. They could not reconcile themselves to the greatness of their loss. Their hatred of the rebels was too bitter for reason to conquer. Hitherto the contest had not been bloody nor cruel. Few atrocities had been committed except by the rankers Tories who slandered and burned without pity and by the Indians who were paid by the British government. Prisoners on the whole had been humanely treated by both the contending armies. Although the British prison ships of New York and their thousand martyrs have left a dark shadow on the annals of time. Neither in Boston nor New York nor Philadelphia had the inhabitants uttered loud complaints against the soldiers who had successively occupied their houses and who had lived as comfortably and peaceably as soldiers in English garrison towns. Some villages had been burned but few people had been massacred. More inhumanity was exhibited by both Greeks and Turks in the Greek revolution in one month than by the forces engaged during the whole American War. The Prime Minister of England Lord North was the most amiable and gentle of men. The brothers Howe would feign have carried the olive branch in one hand while they bore arms in the other. It seemed to be the policy of England to do nothing which would inflame animosities and prevent the speedy restoration of peace. Spies of course were hanged and traders were shot in accordance with the uniform rules of war. I do not read of a bloodthirsty English general in the whole course of the war like those Russian generals who overwhelmed the polls. Nor did the English general seem to be really in earnest or they would have been bolder in their operations and would not have been contented to be shut up for two years in New York when they were not besieged. At length Clinton saw he must do something to satisfy the government at home and the government felt that a severe policy should be introduced into warlike operations. Clinton perceived that he could not penetrate into New England even if he could occupy the maritime cities. He could not ascend the Hudson. He could not retain New Jersey but the South was opened to his armies and had not been seriously invaded. As Washington personally was not engaged in the military operations at the South I can make only a passing allusion to them. It is not my object to write a history of the war but merely to sketch it so far as Washington was directly concerned. The South was left in the main to defend itself against the raids which the British generals made in its defenseless territories and Tarleton. Washington himself could not leave his position near New York as he had to watch Clinton defend the Hudson and make journeys to Philadelphia to urge Congress to more vigorous measures. Congress however was helpless and the state governments were inactive. In the meantime early in May 1780 Charleston, South Carolina was abandoned to the enemy General Lincoln who commanded finding it indefensible. In September the news came north of the battle of Camden and the defeat of Gates who showed an incompetence equal to his self-sufficiency and Congress was obliged to remove him. Through Washington's influence in December 1780 Green was appointed to succeed him. Had the chief's advice been followed earlier he would have been sent originally instead of Gates. Green turned the tide and began those masterly operations which led to the final expulsion of the English from the South and under the guiding mind and firm hand of Washington to the surrender of Cornwallis. On January 17th 1781 Morgan won a brilliant victory at Cowpen South Carolina which seriously embarrassed Cornwallis and then succeeded a vigorous campaign between Cornwallis and Green for several months over the Carolinas and the borders of Virginia. The losses of the British were so great even when they had the advantage that Cornwallis turned his face to the north with a view of transferring the seat of war to Chesapeake Bay. Washington then said all the troops he could spare to Virginia under Lafayette. He was further aided by the French fleet under Degrasse whom he persuaded to sail to the Chesapeake. Lafayette here did good service following closely the retreating army. Clinton failed to reinforce Cornwallis some say from jealousy so that the latter felt obliged to fortify himself at Yorktown. Washington who had been planning attack on New York now continued his apparent preparations to deceive Clinton but crossed the Hudson on the 23rd of August to cooperate with a French fleet and 3,000 French troops in Virginia to support Lafayette. He rapidly moved his available force by swift marches across New Jersey to Elkton, Maryland at the head of the Chesapeake Bay. The northern troops were brought down the Chesapeake in transports gathered by great exertions and on September 28th landed at Williamsburg on the Yorktown Peninsula. Cornwallis was now hemmed in by the combined French and American armies. Had he possessed the control of the sea he might have escaped but as the fleet commanded the Chesapeake this was impossible. He had well fortified himself however and on the 5th of October the siege of Yorktown began followed on the 14th by an assault. On the 19th of October 1781 Cornwallis was compelled to surrender with 7,000 troops. The besieging army numbered about 5,000 French and 11,000 Americans. The success of Washington was owing to the rapidity of his movements and the influence which with Lafayette he brought to bear for the retention at this critical time and place of the fleet of the Count de Grasse who was disposed to sail to the West Indies as de Stang had done the year before. Washington's keen perception of the military situation energetic promptness of action and his diplomatic tact and address in this whole affair were remarkable. The surrender of Cornwallis virtually closed the war. The swift concentration of forces from North and South was due to Washington's foresight and splendid energy while its success was mainly due to the French without whose aid the campaign could not have been concluded. The moral and political effect of this crowning mercy was prodigious. In England it broke up the Ministry of Lord North and made the English nation eager for peace although it was a year or two before hostilities ceased and it was not until September 3rd, 1783 that the treaty was signed which Franklin, Adams, and Jay had so adroitly negotiated. The English King would have continued the contest against all hope encouraged by the possession of New York and Charleston but his personal government practically ceased with the acknowledgement of American independence. The trials of Washington, however, did not end with the great victory at Yorktown. There was a serious mutiny in the army which required all his tact to quell arising from the neglect of Congress to pay the troops. There was greater looseness of morals throughout the country than has been generally dreamed of. I apprehend that farmers and mechanics were more profane and drank per capita more cider and rum for twenty years succeeding the war than at any other period in our history. It was then that it was intimated to Washington in a letter from his friend Colonel Lewis Nicola that the state of the country and the impotence of Congress made it desirable that he should seize the government and supported by the army turned all the confusion into order which probably would have been easy for him to do and which would have been justified by most historical writers. But Washington repelled the idea with indignation both for himself and the army and not only on this occasion but on others when disaffection was rife he utilized his own popularity to arouse anew the loyalty of the sorely tried patriots his companions in arms. Many are the precedents of usurpation on the part of successful generals and few indeed are those who have voluntarily abdicated power from lofty and patriotic motives. It was this virtual abdication which made so profound an impression on the European world even more profound than was created by the military skill which Washington displayed in the long war of seven years. It was a rare instance of magnanimity and absence of ambition which was not without its influence on the destinies of America making it almost impossible for any future general to retain power after his work was done and setting a proud and unique example of the superiority of moral excellence over genius and power. End of Section 8 Section 9 of Begin Lengths of History Volume 11 American Founders by John Lorde This LibriVox recording is in the public domain Recording by K. Hand George Washington Part 4 Washington is venerated not so much for his military genius and success in bringing the war to a triumphant conclusion as for his patriotism and disinterestedness since such moral worth as his is much rarer and more extraordinary than military fame. Fortunately, his devotion to the ultimate welfare of the country universally conceded was supreme wisdom on his part not only for the land he loved but for himself and has given him a name which is above every other name in the history of modern times. He was tested and he turned from the temptation with abhorrence. He might and he might not have succeeded in retaining supreme power the culmination of human ambition but he neither sought nor desired it. It was reward enough for him to have the consciousness of virtue and enjoy the gratitude of his countrymen. Washington at last persuaded Congress to do justice to the officers and men who had sacrificed so much for their country's independence. In spite of the probability of peace he was tireless in continuing preparations for effective war. He was of great service to Congress in arranging for the disbandment of the army after the preliminary treaty of peace in March 1783 and guided by wise counsel the earlier legislation affecting civil matters in the states and on the frontiers. The general army was disbanded November 3rd. On November 25th the British evacuated New York and the American authorities took possession. On December 4th Washington bade farewell to his assembled officers and on the 23rd he resigned his commission to Congress a patriotic and memorable scene. And then he turned to the placidities of domestic life in his home at Mount Vernon. But this life and this home so dear to his heart it was not long permitted him to enjoy. On the formation and adoption of the federal constitution in 1789 he was unanimously chosen to be the first president of the United States. In a preceding lecture I have already presented the brilliant constellation of statesmen who assembled at Philadelphia to construct the fabric of American liberties. Washington was one of them but this great work was not even largely his. On June 8th 1783 he had addressed a letter to the governors of all the states concerning the essential elements of the well-being of the United States which showed the early careful and sound thought he had given to the matter of what he termed an indissoluble union of the states under one federal head. But he was not a great talker or a great writer or a preeminently great political genius. He was a general and an administrator rather than an original constructive statesman whose work involved a profound knowledge of law and history. No one man could have done that work. It was the result of the collected wisdom and experience of the nation of the deliberations of the foremost intellects from the different states. Men such as Hamilton Madison Wilson Rutledge Dickinson Ellsworth and others. Jefferson and Adams were absent on diplomatic missions. Franklin was old and gouty. Even Washington did little more than preside over the convention but he stimulated its members with imposing dignity and the constant exercise of his preeminent personal influence to union and conciliation. So I turned to consider the administrations of President Washington the policy of which in the main was the rule of the succeeding presidents of Adams and the Virginia dynasty. The cabinet which he has selected was able and illustrious especially so were its brightest stars Jefferson as secretary of state and Hamilton as secretary of the treasury to whose opinions the president generally yielded. It was unfortunate that these two great men liked each other so little and were so jealous of each other's ascendancy but their political ideas diverged in many important points Hamilton was the champion of federalism and Jefferson of state's rights the one politically was an aristocrat and the other though born on a plantation was a democrat. Washington had to use all his tact to keep these statesmen from an open rupture. Their mutual hostility saddened and perplexed him he had selected them as the best men for their respective posts and in this had made no mistake but their opposing opinions prevented that cabinet unity so essential in government and possibly crippled Washington himself. This great country has produced no administration comprising four greater men than president Washington the general who had led its armies in a desperate war vice president John Adams the orator who most eloquently defined national rights Jefferson the diplomatist who managed foreign relations on the basis of perpetual peace and Hamilton the financier who struck the rock from which flowed the abundant streams of national credit. General Knox secretary of war had not the intellectual caliber of Hamilton and Jefferson but had proved himself an able soldier and was devoted to his chief. Edmund Randolph the attorney general was a leading lawyer in Virginia and belonged to one of its prominent families. Outside the cabinet the judiciary had to be filled and Washington made choice of John Jay as chief justice of the Supreme Court a most admirable appointment and he associated with him the great lawyers Wilson of Pennsylvania Cushing of Massachusetts Blair of Virginia Iardell of North Carolina and Rutledge of South Carolina all of whom were distinguished and all selected for their abilities without regard to their political opinions. It is singular that as this country has advanced in culture and population the men who have occupied the highest positions have been inferior in genius and fame selected not because they were great but because they were available that is because they had few enemies and were supposed to be willing to become the tools of ambitious and scheming politicians intriguing for party interests and greedy for the spoils of office. Fortunately or providentially some of these men have disappointed those who elevated them and have unexpectedly developed in office both uncommon executive power and still rarer integrity reminding us of those popes who have reigned more like foxes and lions than like the asses that before their elevation sometimes they were thought to be. Trifling as it may seem the first measure of the new government pertained to the etiquette to be observed at receptions, dinners, etc. in which there was more pomp and ceremony than at the present time. Washington himself made a greater public display with his chariot and four than any succeeding president. His receptions were stately. The president stood with dignity clad in his velvet coat never shaking hands with anyone however high his rank. He walked between the rows of visitors pretty much as Napoleon did at the Toulières saying a few words to each. But people of station were more stately and aristocratic in those times than at the present day even in New England towns. Washington himself was an old school gentleman of the most formal sort and although benevolent in aspect and kindly in manner was more tenacious of his dignity than great men usually are. This had been notable throughout the war. His most intimate friends and daily associates his most prominent and trusted generals patriotic but hotheaded complainants turbulent malcontents all alike found him courteous and considerate yet hedged about with an impassive dignity that no one ever dared to violate. A superb horseman a powerful and active swordsman an unfailing marksman with rifle or pistol he never made a display of these qualities. But there are many anecdotes of such prowess in sudden emergencies as caused him to be idolized by his companions in arms while yet their manifestations of feeling were repressed by the veneration imposed upon all by his lofty personal dignity. Thus also as president it was no new access of official pomposity but the man's natural bearing that maintained a lofty reserve at these public receptions. Possibly too he may have felt the necessity of maintaining the prerogative of the federal head of all these independent but now united states. Hence on his visit to Boston soon after his inauguration he was offended with John Hancock then governor of Massachusetts for neglecting to call on him as etiquette certainly demanded. The pompous overrated old merchant rich and luxurious though a genuine patriot perhaps thought that Washington would first call on him as governor of the state. Perhaps he was withheld from his official duty by an attack of the gout but at last he saw the necessity and was born on men's shoulders into the presence of the president. In considering the vital points in the administration of Washington the reader will not expect to find any of the spirited and exciting elements of the revolutionary period. The organization and ordering of governmental policies is not romantic but hard patient persevering work. All questions were yet unsettled at least in domestic matters such as finance tariffs and revenue. One thing is clear enough that the national debt and the state debts and the foreign debt all together amounted to about seventy five million dollars the interest on which was unpaid by reason of a depleted treasury and want of credit which produced great financial embarrassments. Then there were grave Indian hostilities demanding a large military force to suppress them and there was no money to pay the troops and when Congress finally agreed in the face of great opposition to adopt the plans of Hamilton and raise a revenue by excise on distilled spirits chiefly manufactured in Pennsylvania there was a rebellion among the stubborn and warlike Scotch Irish who were the principal distillers of whiskey which required the whole force of the government to be put down. In the matter of revenue involving the most important of all the problems to be solved Washington adopted the views of Hamilton and contented himself with recommending them to Congress a body utterly inexperienced and ignorant of the principles of political economy. Nothing was so unpopular as taxation in any form and yet without it the government could not be carried on. The southern states wanted an unrestricted commerce amounting to free trade that they might get all manufactured articles at the smallest possible price and these came chiefly from abroad. All import duties were an abomination to them and yet without these a national revenue could not be raised. It is true that Washington had recommended the encouragement of domestic manufacturers the dependence of country on foreigners for nearly all supplies having been one of the chief difficulties of the war but the great idea of protection had not become a muted point in national legislation. Hamilton had further proposed a bank but this also met with great opposition in Congress among the anti-federalists and the partisans of Jefferson fearful and jealous of a money to power. In the end the measures which Hamilton suggested were generally adopted and the good results were beginning to be seen but the financial position of the country for several years after the formation of the federal government was embarrassing if not alarming. Again there was no national capital and Congress which had begun its labors in New York could not agree upon the site which was finally adopted only by a sort of compromise the South accepting the financial scheme of Hamilton if the capital should be located in southern territory. All the great national issues pertaining to domestic legislation were in embryo and no settled policy was possible amid so many sectional jealousies. It was no small task for Washington to steer the ship of state among these breakers. No other man in the nation could have done so well as he for he was conciliatory and patient ever ready to listen to reason and to get light from any quarter modest in his recommendations knowing well that his training had not been in the schools of political economy. His good sense and sterling character enabled him to surmount the difficulties of his situation which was anything but a bed of roses. In the infancy of the republic the foreign relations of the government were deemed more important and excited more interest than internal affairs and in the management of foreign affairs Jefferson displayed great abilities which Washington appreciated as much as he did the financial genius of Hamilton. In one thing the president and his secretary of state were in full accord in keeping aloof from the labyrinth of European politics and maintaining friendly intercourse with all nations. With a peace policy only would commerce thrive and industries be developed. Both Washington and Jefferson were broad minded enough to see the future greatness of the country and embraced the most liberal views. Hence the foreign envoys were quietly given to understand that the members of the American government were to be treated with the respect due to the representatives of a free and constantly expanding country which in time would be as powerful as either England or France. It was seen more over that both France and England would take every possible advantage of the new republic and would seek to retain a foothold in the unexplored territories of the Northwest as well as to gain all they could in commercial transactions. England especially sought to hamper our trade with the West India Islands and treated our envoys with insolence and coldness. The French sought to entangle the United States in their own revolution with which most Americans sympathized until its atrocities filled them with horror and disgust. The English impressed American seamen into their naval service without a shadow of justice or good faith. In 1795 Jay succeeded in making a treaty with the English government which was ratified because it was the best he could get not because it was all that he wished. It bore hard on the cities of the Atlantic coast that had commercial dealings with the West India Islands and led the popular discontent and bitter animosity towards England finally culminating in the War of 1812. The French were equally irritating and unreasonable in their expectations. The Directory in 1793 sent an arrogant and insulting envoy to the seat of the government Citizen Genet as he was called tried to engage the United States in the French war against England. Although Washington promptly proclaimed new neutrality as the American policy Genet gave no end of trouble and vexation. This upstart paid no attention to the laws no respect to the constituted authorities insulted governors and cabinet ministers alike insisted on dealing with Congress directly instead of through the Secretary of State issues letters of mark for privateers against English commerce and defied the government. He did all that he could do to embroil the country in war with Great Britain and there was a marked division of sentiment among the people. The new Democratic Republican societies in imitation of the French Jacobin clubs being potent disseminators of democratic doctrine and sympathy with the French uprising against despotism. The forbearance of Washington in suffering the irascible and boastful Genet to ride roughshod over his own cabinet was extraordinary. In ordinary times the man would have been summarily expelled from the country. At last his insults could no longer be endured and his recall was demanded but he did not return to France and strange to say settled down as a peaceful citizen in New York. The lenient treatment of this insulting foreigner arose from the reluctance of Washington to loosen the ties which bound the country to France and from gratitude for the services she had rendered in the war whatever may have been the motives that had influenced that government to yield assistance. Washington who had consented in 1794 to serve a second term as president now began to weary of the cares of office. The quarrel between Hamilton and Jefferson leading to the formation of the two great political parties which under different names have since divided the nation. The whiskey rebellion in Pennsylvania which required the whole strength of the government to subdue the Indian atrocities in the northwest resulting in the unfortunate expedition of Saint Claire. The opposition to the financial schemes of the secretary of the treasury to restore the credit of the country and the still greater popular disaffection towards Jay's treaty with Great Britain. These and other annoyances made him long for the quiet life of Mount Vernon and he would have resigned the presidency in disgust but for patriotic motives and the urgent remonstrances of his cabinet. Faithful to his trust he patiently labored on. If his administration was not dashingly brilliant any more than his career as a general he was beset with difficulties and discouragements which no man could have surmounted more gloriously than he. And when his eight years of service had expired he had the satisfaction to see that the country was at peace with all the world that his policy of non-interference with European politics was appreciated that no more dangers were to be feared from the Indians that the country was being open for settlers westward to the Ohio river that the navigation of the Mississippi was free to the golf of Mexico that canals and internal improvements were binding together the different states and introducing general prosperity that financial difficulties had vanished and that the independence and assured growth of the nation was no longer a matter of doubt in any European state. Nothing could induce Washington to serve beyond his second term. He could easily have been again elected if he wished but he longed for rest and the pursuits of agricultural life. So he wrote his farewell address to the American people exhorting them to union and harmony a document filled with noble sentiments for the meditation of all future generations. Like all his other writings it is pregnant with moral wisdom and elevated patriotism and in language is clear, forcible and to the point. He did not aim to advance new ideas or brilliant theories but rather to enforce old and important truths which would reach the heart as well as satisfy the head. The burden of his song in this and in all his letters and messages and proclamations is union and devotion to public interests unsuayed by passion or prejudice. On the 3rd of March, 1797, the president gave his farewell dinner to the most distinguished men of the time and as soon as possible after the inauguration of his successor John Adams, he set out for his plantation on the banks of the Potomac where he spent his remaining days in dignity and quiet hospitalities amid universal regrets that his public career was ended. Even in his retirement when there seemed to be imminent danger of war with France soon after his return to his home he was ready to buckle on his sword once more but the troubles were not so serious as had been feared and soon blew over. They had arisen from the venality and rapacity of Talleyrand French minister of foreign affairs who demanded a bribe from the American commissioners of two and a half millions as the price of his friendly services in securing favorable settlements. Their scornful reply and the prompt preparations in America for war brought the directory to terms. When the crisis was passed Washington resumed the care of his large estates which had become dilapidated during the 15 years of his public life. His retreat was invaded by great numbers who wished to see so illustrious a man but no one was turned away from his hospitable mansion. In December 1799 Washington caught cold from imprudent exposure and died on the 14th day of the month after a short illness. Not what we should call a very old man. His life might probably have been saved but that according to the universal custom he was bled which took away his vital forces. On the 16th of December he was buried quietly and without parade in the family vault at Mount Vernon and the whole nation mourned for him as the Israelites mourned for Samuel of Old whom he closely resembled in character and services. It would be useless to dwell upon the traits of character which made George Washington a national benefactor and a national idol but one inquiry is often made when he is seriously discussed whether or no he may be regarded as a man of genius. It is difficult to define genius which seems to me to be either an abnormal development of particular faculties of mind or an inspired insight into elemental truths so original and profound that its discoveries pass for revelations. Such genius as this is remarkably rare. I can recall but one statement in our history who had extraordinary creative power and this was Hamilton. In the history of modern times we scarcely can enumerate more than a dozen statesmen a dozen generals and the same number of poets philosophers, theologians historians and artists who have had this creative power and this divine insight. Washington did not belong to that class of intellects but he had what is as rare as transcendent genius. He had a transcendent character united with a marvelous balance of intellectual qualities each in itself of a high grade which gave him almost unerring judgment and remarkable influence over other minds securing veneration. As a man he had his faults but they were so few and so small that they seemed to be but spots upon a sun. These have been forgotten and as the ages roll on mankind will see not but the luster of his virtues and the greatness of his services. Authorities The best and latest work on Washington is that of the honorable Henry Cabot Lodge and leaves little more to be said. Marshall's Washington has long been a standard. Boda's History of the Revolutionary War Bancroft's United States McMaster's History of the American People In connection read the standard lives of Franklin John Adams Hamilton Jefferson J Marshall Lafayette and Green with Washington's Writings. John Fisk has written an admirable book on Washington's military career. Indeed his historical series on the early history of America and the United States are both brilliant and trustworthy. Of the numerous orations on Washington perhaps the best is that of Edward Everett. End of Section 9 Section 10 of Beacon Lines of History Volume 11 American Founders by John Lord This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Kay Hand Alexander Hamilton Part 1 A.D. 1757-1804 The American Constitution There is one man in the political history of the United States whom Daniel Webster regarded as his intellectual superior. And this man was Alexander Hamilton. Not so great a lawyer or orator as Webster, not so broad and experienced a statesman but a more original genius who gave shape to existing political institutions. And he rendered transcendent services at a great crisis of American history and died with no decline of popularity in the prime of his life like Canning in England with a brilliant future before him. He was one of those fixed stars which will forever blaze in the firmament of American lights like Franklin, Washington and Jefferson. And the more his works are critically examined the brighter does his genius appear. No matter how great this country is destined to be, no matter what illustrious statesmen are destined to arise and work in a larger sphere with the eyes of the world upon them, Alexander Hamilton will be remembered and will be famous for laying one of the cornerstones in the foundation of the American structure. He was born not on American soil but on the small West India Island of Nevis. His father was a broken down Scotch merchant and his mother was a bright and gifted French lady of Huguenot descent. The Scotch and French blood blended is a good mixture and a country made up of all the European nations. But Hamilton, if not an American by birth, was American in his education and sympathies and surroundings and ultimately married into a distinguished American family of Dutch descent. At the age of 12 he was placed in the counting house of a wealthy American merchant where his marketability made him friends and he was sent to the United States to be educated. As a boy he was precocious like Cicero and Bacon and the boy was father of the man since politics formed one of his earliest studies. Such a precocious politician was he while a student in King's College in New York that at the age of 17 he entered into all the controversies of the day and wrote essays which were applying to pamphlets attacking Congress over the signature of a Westchester farmer were attributed to John Jay and Governor Livingston. As a college boy he took part in public political discussions on those great questions which employed the genius of Burke and occupied the attention of the leading men of America. This was at the period when the colonies had not actually rebelled but when they meditated resistance during the years between 1773 and 1776 when the whole country was agitated by political tracts indignation meetings patriotic sermons and preparations for military struggle. Hitherto the colonies had not been oppressed they had most of the rights and privileges they desired but they feared that their liberties so precious to them and which they had virtually enjoyed from their earliest settlements were in danger of being rested away and their fears were succeeded by indignation when the coercion act was passed by the English Parliament and when it was resolved to tax them without their consent and without a representation of their interests nor did they desire war nor even at first entire separation from the mother country but they were ready to accept war rather than to submit to injustice or any curled tailment of their liberties. They had always enjoyed self-government in such vital matters as schools municipal and local laws taxes colonial judges and unrestricted town meetings. These privileges the Americans resolved at all hazard to keep some because they had been accustomed to them all their days others from the abstract idea of freedom which Rousseau had inculcated with so much eloquence which fascinated such men as Franklin and Jefferson and others again from the deep conviction that the colonies were strong enough to cope successfully with any forces that England could then command should coercion be attempted to which latter class Washington Pinckney and Jay belonged men of aristocratic sympathies but intensely American it was no democratic struggle to enlarge the franchise and realize Rousseau's idea of fraternity and equality an idea of blended socialism infidelity and discontent which united the colonies in resistance but a broad noble patriotic desire first to conserve the rights of free English colonists and finally to make America independent of all foreign forces combined with a lofty faith in their own resources for success however desperate the struggle might be all parties now wanted independence to possess a country of their own free of English shackles they got tired of signing petitions of being mere colonists so they sent delegates to Philadelphia to deliberate on their difficulties and aspirations and on July 4th 1776 these delegates issued the declaration of independence penned by Jefferson one of the noblest documents ever written by the hand of man the Magna Carta of American liberties in which were asserted the great rights of mankind that all men have the right to seek happiness in their own way and are entitled to the fruit of their labors and that the people are the source of power and belong to themselves and not to kings or nobles or priests in signing this document the revolutionary patriots knew that it meant war and soon the struggle came one of the inevitable and foreordained events of history when Hamilton was still a college student he was 18 when the battle of Lexington was fought and he lost no time in joining the volunteers Dearborn and Stark from New Hampshire Putnam and Arnold from Connecticut and Green from Rhode Island all now resolved on independence liberty or death Hamilton left his college walls to join a volunteer regiment of artillery of which he soon became captain from his knowledge of military science which he had been studying in anticipation of the contest in this capacity he was engaged in the battle of White Plains the passage of the Raritan in the battles at Princeton and Trenton when the army and camped at Morristown in the gloomy winter of 1776 to 1777 his great abilities having been detected by the commander in chief he was placed upon Washington's staff as aid to camp with the rank of lieutenant colonel a great honor for a boy of 19 yet he was not thus honored and promoted on account of remarkable military abilities although had he continued in active service he would probably have distinguished himself as a general for he had courage energy and decision but he was selected by Washington on account of his marvelous intellectual powers so half aid and half secretary he became at once the confidential advisor of the general and was employed by him not only in his multitudinous correspondence but in difficult negotiations and in those delicate duties which required discretion and tact he had those qualities which secured confidence integrity diligence fidelity and a premature wisdom he had brains and all those resources which would make him useful to his country many there were who could fight as well as he but there were few who had those high qualities on which the success of a campaign depended thus he was sent to the camp of general gates at Albany to demand the division of his forces and the reinforcement of the commander in chief which gates was very unwilling to accede to for the capture of Burgoyne had turned his head he was then the most popular officer of the army and even aspired to the chief command so he was inclined to evade the orders of his superior under the plea of military necessity it required great tact and a young man to persuade an ambitious general to diminish his own authority but Hamilton was successful in his mission and won the admiration of Washington for his adroit management he was also very useful in the most critical period of the war in ferreting out conspiracies cabals and intrigues for such there were even against Washington whose transcendent wisdom and patriotism were not then appreciated as they were afterwards the military services of Hamilton were concealed from the common eye and laid chiefly in his sage councils for young as he was he had more intellect and sagacity than any man in the army it was Hamilton who urged decisive measures in that campaign which was nearly blasted by the egotism and disobedience it was Hamilton who was sent to the French admiral to devise a cooperation of forces and to the headquarters of the English to negotiate for an exchange of prisoners it was Hamilton who dissuaded Washington from seizing the person of Sir Harry Clinton the English commander in New York when he had the opportunity have you considered the consequences of seizing the general? said the aid what would these be? inquired Washington why? replied Hamilton we should lose more than we should gain since we perfectly understand his plans and by taking them off we should make way for an abler man whose dispositions we have yet to learn such was the astuteness which Hamilton early displayed so that he really rendered great military services without commanding on the field when quite a young man he was incidentally of great use in suggesting to influential members of Congress certain financial measures which were the germ of that fiscal policy which afterwards made him immortal as secretary of the treasury for it was in finance that his genius shown out while he was the aid and secretary of Washington that he also unfolded in a letter to judge Dwayne these principles of government which were afterwards developed in the federalist he had already formed comprehensive opinions on the situation and wants of the infant states and had wrought out for himself a political system far in advance at the conceptions of his contemporaries it was by his opinions on the necessities and wants of the country and the way to meet them that his extraordinary genius was not only seen but was made useful to those in power his brain was too active and prolific to be confined to the details of military service he entered into a discussion of all those great questions which formed the early constitutional history of the united states all the more remarkable because he was so young in fact he never was a boy he was a man before he was 17 his ability was surpassed only by his precocity no man saw the evils of the day so clearly as he or suggested such wise remedies as he did when he was in the family of washington we are apt to suppose that it was all plain sailing after the colonies had declared their independence and their armies were marshaled under the greatest man certainly the wisest and best in the history of america and of the 18th century but the difficulties were appalling even to the stoutest heart in less than two years after the battle of bunker hill popular enthusiasm had almost fled although the leaders never lost hope of ultimate success the characters of the leading generals were maligned even that of the general in chief trade and all industries were paralyzed the credit of the states was at the lowest ebb there were universal discontents there were unforeseen difficulties which had never been anticipated congress was nearly powerless a sort of advisory board rather than a legislature the states were jealous of congress and of each other there was a general demoralization there was really no central power strong enough to enforce the most excellent measures the people were poor demagogues soared suspicion labor was difficult to procure the agricultural population was decimated there was no commerce people lived on salted meats dried fish baked beans and brown bread all foreign commodities were fabulously dear there was universal hardship and distress and all these evils were endured amid foreign contempt and political disintegration a sort of moral chaos difficult to conceive it was amid these evils that our revolutionary fathers toiled and suffered it was against these that Hamilton brought his great genius to bear at the age of 23 after having been four years in the family of Washington as his advisor rather than subordinate Hamilton doubtlessly ambitious and perhaps elated by a sense of his own importance testily took offense at a hasty rebuke on the part of the general and resigned his situation Loth was Washington depart with such a man from his household but Hamilton was determined and tardily he obtained a battalion with the brevet rank of general and distinguished himself in those engagements which preceded the capture of Lord Cornwallis and on the surrender of this general feeling that the war was virtually ended he withdrew all together from the army and began the study of law at Albany he had already married the daughter of general Schuyler and thus formed an alliance with a powerful family after six months of study he was admitted to the bar and soon removed to New York which then contained but 25,000 inhabitants his legal career was opened like that of Cicero and Erskine by a difficult case which attracted great attention and brought him into notice in this case he rendered a political service as well as earned a legal fame an action was brought by a poor woman impoverished by the war against a wealthy British merchant to recover damages for the use of a house he enjoyed when the city was occupied by the enemy this action was founded on a recent statute of the state of New York which authorized proceedings for trespass by persons who had been driven from their homes by the invasion of the British the plaintiff therefore had the laws of New York on her side as well as popular sympathies and her claim was ably supported by the attorney general but it involved a grave constitutional question and conflicted with the articles of peace which the confederation had made with England for in the treaty with Great Britain an amnesty had been agreed to for all acts done during the war by military orders the interests of the plaintiff were overlooked in the great question whether the authority of the congress and the law of the nations or the law of the state legislature should have the ascendancy in other words congress and the state of New York were in conflict as to which should be paramount the law of congress or the law of a sovereign state in a matter which affected a national treaty if the treaty were violated new complications would arise with England and the authority of congress be treated with contempt Hamilton grappled with the subject in the most comprehensive manner like a statesman rather than a lawyer and made a magnificent argument in favor of the general government and gained his case although it would seem that natural justice was in favor of the poor woman deprived of the use of her house by a wealthy alien during the war he rendered a service to centralize authority to the power of congress it was the incipient contest between federal and state authority it was enlightened reasoned and patriotism gaining a victory over popular passions over the assumptions of a state it defined the respective rights of a state and of the nation collectively it was one of those cases which settled the great constitutional question that the authority of the nation was greater than that of any state which composed it in matters where congress had a recognized jurisdiction it was about this time that Hamilton was brought in legal conflict with another young man of great abilities ambition and popularity and this man was Aaron Burr a grandson of Jonathan Edwards like Hamilton he had gained great distinction in the war and was one of the rising young men of the country he was superior to Hamilton in personal popularity and bewitching conversation his equal in grace of manner in forensic eloquence and legal reputation but his inferior in comprehensive intellect and force of character Hamilton dwelt in the region of great ideas and principles Burr loved to resort to legal technicalities sophistries and the dexterous use of dialectical weapons in arguing a case he would descend to every form of annoyance and interruption by quibbles notices and appeals both lawyers were rapid logical compact and eloquent both seized the strong points of a case like Mason and Webster Hamilton was earnest and profound and soared to elemental principles Burr was acute adroit and appealed to passions both admired each other's talents and crossed each other's tracks rivals at the bar and in political aspirations the legal career of both was eclipsed by their political labors the lawyer in Hamilton's case was lost in the statesmen and in Burr's in the politician and how wide the distinction between a statesman and a politician to be a great statesman a man must be conversant with history finance and science he must know everything like Gladstone and he must have at heart the great interests of a nation he must be a man of experience and wisdom and reason he must be both enlightened and patriotic merging his own personal ambition in the good of his country an oracle and sage whose utterances are received with attention and respect to be a statesman demands the highest maturity of reason far reaching views and the power of taking in the interests of a whole country rather than of a section but to be a successful politician a man may be ignorant narrow and selfish most probably he will be artful dissembling going in for the winning side shaking hands with everybody profuse in promises bland affable ready to do anything for anybody and seeking the interests and flattering the prejudices of his own constituency indifferent to the great questions on which the welfare of a nation rests if only his own private interests be advanced all politicians are not so small and contemptible many are honest as far as they can see but can only see petty details and not broad effects mere politicians observe I qualify what I say mere politicians resemble statesmen intellectually as pedants resemble scholars of large culture comprehensive intellects and varied knowledge they will consider a date or a name or a comma of more importance than the great universe which no one can ever fully and accurately explore I have given but a short notice of Hamilton as a lawyer because his services as a statement are of so much greater importance especially to the student of history his sphere became greatly enlarged when he entered into those public questions on which the political destiny of a nation rests he was called to give a direction to the policy of the young government that had arisen out of the storms of revolution a policy which must be carried out when the nation should become powerful and draw upon itself the eyes of the civilized world just as the twig is bent the trees inclined it was the privilege and glory of Hamilton to be one of the most influential of all the men of his day in bending the twig which has now become so great a tree we can see his hand in the distinctive features of our constitution and especially in that financial policy which extricated the nation from the poverty and embarrassments bequeathed by the war and which on the whole has been the policy of the government from his day to ours greater statesmen may arise than he but no future statesman will ever be able to shape a national policy as he has done he is one of the great fathers of the republic and was as efficient in founding a government and a financial policy as St. Augustine was in giving shape to the doctrines of the church in his age and in the medieval ages Hamilton was therefore a benefactor to the state as Augustine was to the church End of section 10