WEBVTT - George Washington and the Day He Refused a Crown

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<v Speaker 1>This is Lee Habib, and this is our American Stories.

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<v Speaker 1>It's no small miracle that the United States is the

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<v Speaker 1>longest standing constitutional republic in the world. After all, data

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<v Speaker 1>shows the shelf life of the average democracy is about

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<v Speaker 1>fifty eight years before falling into despotism or otherwise transitioning.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a good thing we're not average, but we almost were.

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<v Speaker 1>Here to share the story of how George Washington refused

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<v Speaker 1>to become a king despite very real attempts to make

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<v Speaker 1>him one. Is Vince Benedetto, the founder of Bold Gold

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<v Speaker 1>Media Group and a regular contributor here at Our American Stories.

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<v Speaker 1>Take it away, Vince.

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<v Speaker 2>It was not long after the Battle of Yorktown in

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<v Speaker 2>seventeen eighty one, when Washington's decisive victory over the British

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<v Speaker 2>all that ended the Revolutionary War. A triumphant Washington made

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<v Speaker 2>his new headquarters in Newburgh, where he awaited word of

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<v Speaker 2>a treaty that would formerly end the war. But there

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<v Speaker 2>were problems on the home front. Washington had to maintain

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<v Speaker 2>the Continental Army in a state of readiness should peace

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<v Speaker 2>negotiations fail, and his army was suffering and, worst of all,

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<v Speaker 2>largely unpaid. They'd endured eight years of hardship, but the

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<v Speaker 2>Continental Congress lacked the funds to properly equip and compensate

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<v Speaker 2>the soldiers throughout the war. According to Jack Warren, author

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<v Speaker 2>of Freedom, The Enduring Importance of the American Revolution, Washington's

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<v Speaker 2>officers struggled to maintain order, but most of them were

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<v Speaker 2>as angry and frustrated as their men. Like their soldiers,

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<v Speaker 2>they too had gone without pet The frustration of the

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<v Speaker 2>officers extended far beyond finances. There was an emerging belief

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<v Speaker 2>that the Congress was ineffective, incompetent, and unable to govern

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<v Speaker 2>the new nation through the vast challenges ahead. This uncertainty

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<v Speaker 2>was expressed in a letter now known as the Newburgh Letter,

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<v Speaker 2>sent to General Washington by Colonel Louis Nicola on May

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<v Speaker 2>twenty second, seventeen eighty two. Professing to speak on behalf

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<v Speaker 2>of many officers, Nicola urged Washington to make himself King

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<v Speaker 2>of the United States, believing that only Washington had the

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<v Speaker 2>moral authority and respect needed to lead the new nation

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<v Speaker 2>through the rough times ahead. Washington, faithful to the ideals

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<v Speaker 2>of the Revolution, condemned the notion, replying to Nicola quickly

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<v Speaker 2>and emphatically he said.

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<v Speaker 3>If you have any regard for your country, concern for

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<v Speaker 3>yourself or posterity, or respect for me, banish these thoughts

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<v Speaker 3>from your mind, and never communicate as from yourself or

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<v Speaker 3>anyone else, a sentiment of the like nature.

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<v Speaker 2>Washington understood history was littered with examples of generals becoming

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<v Speaker 2>absolute rulers in the wake of their victories. He also

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<v Speaker 2>understood that, since the dawn of the Revolution, many feared

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<v Speaker 2>he too, might become an American Cromwell. In early seventeen

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<v Speaker 2>eighty three, frustration within the ranks of Washington's officer corps

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<v Speaker 2>reached its apex, but became now known as the Newburgh Conspiracy,

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<v Speaker 2>began to formulate in early March when anonymous letters began circulating.

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<v Speaker 2>The first, authored by an aid to General Horatio Gates,

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<v Speaker 2>encouraged officers to gather and to discuss their grievances, and

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<v Speaker 2>even proposed defying Congress and refusing to disband if their

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<v Speaker 2>demands were not met. This letter was followed by a

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<v Speaker 2>second designed to further inflame passions, intimating open military rebellion

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<v Speaker 2>if Congress failed to act on the verge of a

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<v Speaker 2>mass mutiny. Washington, who had led his army, through many battles,

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<v Speaker 2>stepped into the breach. Aware of the anonymous letters, he

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<v Speaker 2>issued a general order the very next day, disrupting the

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<v Speaker 2>conspirator's planned gathering. He also cleverly implied that he may

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<v Speaker 2>not even be present at that meeting, and it would

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<v Speaker 2>be led by the senior officer in attendance. What followed

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<v Speaker 2>was one of the great examples of leadership and stagecraft

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<v Speaker 2>in American military history. Washington was keenly aware that addressing

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<v Speaker 2>the officers directly and condemning them could run the risk

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<v Speaker 2>of losing their support, but he also understood that ignoring

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<v Speaker 2>the map would be even worse. When the day arrived,

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<v Speaker 2>there was no sign of Washington. Starting the meeting was

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<v Speaker 2>General Gates, who began by riling up his audience, But

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<v Speaker 2>soon after the door swung open and General Washington entered

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<v Speaker 2>the room, much to the shock of Gates and the

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<v Speaker 2>officers present. Gates did the only thing he could do.

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<v Speaker 2>He relinquished the floor to Washington. Rather than choose to

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<v Speaker 2>use the force of his command or implicit threats, Washington

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<v Speaker 2>chose the path of moral persuasion. His preparation was meticulous,

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<v Speaker 2>as he sought to address the officer's grievances and the

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<v Speaker 2>broader threat to Republican governance posed by ideas contained in

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<v Speaker 2>those anonymous letters. He also explained that he was working

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<v Speaker 2>on their behalf to make sure Congress would not betray

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<v Speaker 2>their commitments to the army. Washington then reminded the officers

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<v Speaker 2>that they were men of honor, making it clear this

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<v Speaker 2>moment required the same commitment to duty that tested their

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<v Speaker 2>resolve and courage on the battlefield.

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<v Speaker 3>He said to them, you will give one more distinguished

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<v Speaker 3>proof of unexampled patriotism and patient virtue, rising superior to

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<v Speaker 3>the pressure of the most complicated sufferings. And you will,

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<v Speaker 3>by the dignity of your conduct, afford occasion for posterity

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<v Speaker 3>to say, when speaking of the glorious example U you

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<v Speaker 3>have exhibited to mankind, had this day been wanting, the

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<v Speaker 3>world had never seen the last stage of perfection to

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<v Speaker 3>which human nature is capable of attaining.

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<v Speaker 2>What happened next might very well have been the single

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<v Speaker 2>act by Washington that saved our republic. As he began

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<v Speaker 2>to read a letter he'd received from a member of

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<v Speaker 2>Congress attempting to address their plight, the now older Washington

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<v Speaker 2>struggled to read the letter due to his declining eyesight.

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<v Speaker 2>His soldiers noticed him struggling, and Washington noticed them. Noticing

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<v Speaker 2>masterfully reading the room, Washington, in a rare moment of vulnerability, paused.

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<v Speaker 2>He reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a

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<v Speaker 2>pair of reading glasses. His troops were astonished. None had

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<v Speaker 2>ever seen their general showing any sign of weakness or age.

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<v Speaker 2>Washington then looked at them.

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<v Speaker 3>And he said, gentlemen, you will permit me to put

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<v Speaker 3>on my spectacles, for I have not only grown gray

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<v Speaker 3>but almost blind in service to my country.

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<v Speaker 2>Gentlemen, you will permit me to put on my spectacles,

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<v Speaker 2>for I have not only grown gray, but almost blind

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<v Speaker 2>in service to my country. Historians have debated whether Washington

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<v Speaker 2>staged this moment but calculated or not. The impact was

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<v Speaker 2>emotionally overwhelming, as his troops were moved to tears. When

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<v Speaker 2>Washington left the room, any thought of mutiny ceased, and

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<v Speaker 2>for one final time, his troops followed Washington's leave and

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<v Speaker 2>his example. This moment represented something far deeper than stopping

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<v Speaker 2>a rebellion within the ranks. Washington established that elected civilian

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<v Speaker 2>authority of the military must at all times be maintained

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<v Speaker 2>and cherished, and that any attempt to undermine it was

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<v Speaker 2>a betrayal of the revolution itself. The meeting concluded with

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<v Speaker 2>his officers committing to support the Congress and rejecting any

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<v Speaker 2>calls for a rebellion or open defiance. The Treaty of

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<v Speaker 2>Paris was signed in September of seventeen eighty three, officially

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<v Speaker 2>ending the Revolutionary War, and thanks to Washington's continued advocacy,

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<v Speaker 2>his officer's grievances were addressed by Congress, although imperfectly, when

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<v Speaker 2>they approved half pay pensions for life. As a new

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<v Speaker 2>year approached on a day that should be remembered second

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<v Speaker 2>only to our Independence Day, Washington fulfilled his destiny not

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<v Speaker 2>as a American Cromwell, but as the American Cincinnatus on

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<v Speaker 2>December twenty third, seventeen eighty three. He defied nearly every

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<v Speaker 2>historic precedent, and he resigned his commission, voluntarily relinquishing his

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<v Speaker 2>sword to the Continental Congress, asking for nothing in return.

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<v Speaker 2>Washington was a civilian once again, and he returned to

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<v Speaker 2>his home at Mount Verney.

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<v Speaker 1>The story of George Washington and how he averted a

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<v Speaker 1>coup and refused to become king here on our American stories,