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Today’s Lecture:
General Washington:
A Study in Virtue and The
Establishment of American
Nationhood
Lecture Organization:
• Class Announcements
• Brief review
• American Revolution • Pre-game show • First Quarter
• Second Quarter
• Third Quarter
• Newburgh Conspiracy
• His Presidency
• Race and Slavery
• Fourth Quarter
The aims of the lecture
To give student some context about how
central Washington was to the American
revolution
To show what Washington did nationhood
and for the presidency
To show students some of the interesting
features of Washington’s life, particularly
his decision making character
1/18/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
4
Class Announcements
Online Lectures
-- we’ve got a problem.
-- New plan: will only post “new” lectures
Class Participation
-- Please don’t forget to hand in your comments at the end of
the day.
Class Announcements
Student Repository
-- This class is for number 4.
note about entries
-- Megan has been entering summaries, and they are good.
Take a look at them for an example of what you should do.
Questions?
Review
Washington …
-- “the person”
-- involvement in the French/Indian war
-- started talking about his involvement in the American
revolution
Review
the big things …
Manhattan mistake
-- Washington almost lost the war in the first few days of the
first major battle
-- He had wanted an honorable confrontation
-- He does get that honor at Trenton and Princeton, where
he won two victories
Review
the big things …
“Fabias Strategy”
-- He then adopts asymmetrical warfare tactics
-- Costs of this strategy is that it concedes territory and
allows the opponent to run roughshod over the country
Review
the big things …
British war machine
-- Britain had expected the war to be quick
-- Its war machine was far, far more powerful than anything
colonial America had
The American Revolution:
Second Quarter
Brits take everything
-- The Fabias Strategy begins
-- Brits decide to attack Philadelphia
-- strategic center?
-- Washington defeated at Brandywine, Germantown
-- colonial government in exile (Maryland)
unpopular war?
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
11
The American Revolution:
Second Quarter
Brits take everything
-- The Fabias Strategy begins
-- Brits decide to attack Philadelphia
-- strategic center?
-- Washington defeated at Brandywine, Germantown
-- colonial government in exile (Maryland)
unpopular war?
“Popular support for the war continued to sputter. As one French
partisan of the cause noted, “There is a hundred times more
support for the revolution in any Paris cafe than in all the colonies
together.”
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
12
3/12/2007
The American Revolution:
Second Quarter
Lord Howe’s Navigational Mistake
-- He is supposed to rendezvous with Burgoyne
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
13
stranded
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
14
The American Revolution:
Second Quarter
Lord Howe’s Navigational Mistake
-- He is supposed to rendezvous with Burgoyne
-- Saratoga
-- The French and loans
-- The peace proposal (dual sovereignty)
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
15
The American Revolution:
Third Quarter
Valley Forge
-- the key to the war
Answer:
Question:
Why?
The
survival of the
army was paramount
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
16
The American Revolution:
Third Quarter
Valley Forge
-- the key to the war
-- suffering was immense
Real Suffering –
The shoeless soldiers tracking blood on the snow. No blankets. Most
of the horses died from decay or exposure, and their decaying
carcasses filled the air with the stench of the blood in the snow to
create sensory images that Washington never forgot. This changed
Washington’s conception of virtue. It was no longer an abstract
concept.
[Source:
Joseph Ellis]
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
17
The American Revolution:
Third Quarter
Valley Forge
-- the key to the war
-- suffering was immense
-- They managed to survive
They Survive –
What did not happen at Valley Forge was more important than what
did. The most important thing that did not happen was the dissolution
of the continental army. It is not clear how many men died of disease
and exposure at valley forge, but new recruits and new re-enlistments
bolstered the size of the army to 12,000 in March of 1778, with a core
of about 5,000 battle-tested veterans.
3/12/2007
[Source:
Joseph Ellis]
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
18
The American Revolution:
Third Quarter
Valley Forge
Washington’s “world views” begin to change
• the composition of the army had changed
• Washington’s views about slavery change
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
19
The American Revolution:
Third Quarter
Valley Forge
Valley Forge – Enlistments
Washington’s “world views” begin to change
The days
of composition
popular enthusiasm
for had
the changed
war were gone forever, as
• the
of the army
were the enlistments of yeomen farmers and the kind of men who
• Washington’s
about
slavery
had participated
in theviews
Boston
siege.
Now,change
the army was composed
of indentured servants, former slaves, landless sons and recent
immigrants from Ireland and England. Young men between 15-25
years of age. These were the people at valley forge. Their formed a
bond between the general and his soldiers. The troops would sing
songs like “war and Washington” over and over again to the dismay
of visitors. Washington not only admired their suffering, but saw that it
was their staying power that ensured the eventual American victory.
3/12/2007
[Source:
Joseph Ellis]
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
20
The American Revolution:
Third Quarter
Monmouth victory
• hard drilling and victory
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
21
The American Revolution:
Third Quarter
Southern strategy
-- Brits embark upon a new campaign in the south
-- It will be successful again (overtaking cities, winning battles)
-- there are rumors that England is summoning another armada of
troops to send over here.
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
22
French Troops
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
23
The American Revolution:
Third Quarter
Mutinies
-- several mutinies by continental troops
• March on Philadelphia by unpaid troops
• mutiny in New Jersey (Washington had those members
executed)
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
24
The American Revolution:
Third Quarter
failure of central governance
-- one of the stunning lessons Washington had learned was how
ineffective American governing institutions were
-- weak institutions could not properly supply the army, let alone pay
them
-- compare this to England. (leaves a big impression on W)
-- had to order his men to steal cattle in New Jersey
-- the currency was a joke
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
25
The
Revolution:
Third Quarter
“TheAmerican
Failure of the
Republican Experiment”
–
He noted that the best men in America preferred to slumber in the
failure
of central
governance
state houses
while
the common interest of America fell into ruin.
“Why was the congress failing to prosecute profiteers and
-- one of the
stunning
lessons
hadoflearned
how by
forestallers,
hoarders
who
jackedWashington
up the prices
supplieswas
needed
American
governing
institutions
werebe hung on gallows.”
theineffective
army, who
were pests
of society
and should
How
couldinstitutions
a responsible
of legislators
allow
thelet
currency
to
-- weak
couldgroup
not properly
supply the
army,
alone pay
become
them a standing joke? The inflation to spiral to such heights?
(Expression: Not worth a continental). The failure of political
-- compareatthis
to England.
a big impression
on W)
leadership
the
national (leaves
level which
had caused
corruption,
inflation,
broken
promises
“infinitely
be dreaded than the
-- had to
order his
men to....
steal
cattle inmore
NewtoJersey
force of great Britain.” Parliament and the British ministry could
-- the currency
wasraise
a jokean army because they possessed the
impose
taxes and
sovereign power to speak for the British nation.
[Source: Joseph Ellis]
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
26
“The Basic Dilemma” –
The American
Revolution:
Quarter congress had
During
the early months
of the war,Third
the continental
assumed powers which rendered possible the creation of the
continental army and Washington’s appointment to head it. But by
failure of central
governance
behaving
as a national
legislature, the congress made itself
vulnerable to the same criticism that the colonies had directed toward
-- one of itself.
the stunning
lessons
Washington
had learned
was howhad
parliament
The central
impulse
of the American
revolution
ineffective
institutions
been
a deep American
aversion togoverning
legislation,
especiallywere
taxes, emanating from
any-- consolidated
government
a far away
place
beyond
direct
weak institutions
could notinproperly
supply
the army,
letthe
alone
pay
control
themand supervision of the citizens affected. From the perspective
of Virginia and Massachusetts, the delegates gathering in
-- comparecould
this tonot
England.
(leaves
a big impression
Philadelphia
tax them
any more
than could on
theW)
House of
Commons
London.
Andto since
votingininNew
the Jersey
continental congress
-- had to in
order
his men
steal cattle
had always been by state – one state, one vote – it could not claim to
-- the
currency
a joke population as a whole. The articles of
fairly
represent
thewas
American
confederation, officially adopted in 1781, accurately embodied the
same 1 vote principle. It never attempted to create a unified american
nation, but rather a confederation of sovereign states.
3/12/2007
[Source: Joseph Ellis]
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
27
The American Revolution:
Fourth Quarter
Several things happen
Washington’s reluctantly goes South
-- he had wanted to bottle the Brits up in New York
-- he needed the French navy, but they wouldn’t go along
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
28
The American Revolution:
Fourth Quarter
Several things happen
Benedict Arnold
-- Arnold traded sides and leads a British regiment into Virginia, the
place he was supposed to be guarding
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
29
The American Revolution:
Fourth Quarter
Several things happen
The Southern Campaign
-- the Brits were initially successful in the south (Charleston,
Camden)
-- But Nathanial Green and the new fighting tactics began to work
-- Turned Cornwallis north, toward Virginia
we desperately need a picture ….
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
30
Washington heads south
British Stronghold
Benedict Arnold
Yorktown
French Go North
Turned Around
French Navy
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
31
The American Revolution:
Fourth Quarter
we won?
-- Britain decided that the war was too costly (it had no ending in
site)
-- central failure: not realizing the strategic center of the war. It was
not a fort or territory, it was Washington’s army
-- underestimated the psychology of the enemy (compare: Vietnam)
--at that point the truth is that we did not defeat the British because
we couldn’t have
-- instead, we outlasted them
In short, the Fabian strategy worked
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
32
The Newburgh Conspiracy
What is it?
-- Washington’s army generals were conspiring to march on
Philadelphia and install him as the monarch
-- There is no reason to think this would not have worked
constitutional monarch?
American Caesar?
The Newburgh Conspiracy
What is it?
think of how other revolutions ended:
• French Revolution = Napoleon
• English Revolution = Cromwell (for a while)
• Chinese = Mao Zedong
• Russia = Lenin
• Cuba = Castro
The Newburgh Conspiracy
What is it?
think of the public confidence Washington had:
• Cherry tree stories, etc.
• already had a cult of majesty surrounding him
(Aragorn persona)
-- also, monarchy was the only stable form of government
around (with constitutional monarchy being state of the art)
The Newburgh Conspiracy
What caused it?
-- primarily, the troops getting stiffed
-- they had suffered so much and received nothing
-- the institutions were pathetically weak
The Newburgh Conspiracy
Washington’s Speech
-- Washington heard that his generals were “conspiring”
-- He ordered them to appear at a meeting
-- His speech
Washington’s Speech –
“... but as I was among the first who embarked in the cause of our
common country, as I have never left your side one moment but when
called from you on public duty, as i have been the constant companion
and witness of your distress and not among the last to feel and
acknowledge your merits, as I have ever considered my own military
reputation inseparably connected with that of the army, as my heart has
ever expanded with joy when I have heard its praises, and my
indignation has arisen when the mouth of detraction has been opened
against it, it can scarcely be supposed at this late stage of the war that I
am indifferent to its interests. And let me conjure you in the name of our
common country, as you value your own sacred honor, as you respect
the rights of humanity, and as you regard the military and national
character of America, to express your utmost horror and detestation of
the man who wishes under any specious pretenses to overturn the
liberties of our country, and who wickedly attempts to open the flood
gates of civil discord and deluge our rising empire in blood.”
[Source:
Joseph Ellis]
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
38
Washington’s Speech –
Ellis: he was telling people that he had control over his ambitions, and
that his place in history would be enhanced not by enlarging his power,
but by surrendering it. He was sufficiently self confident and secure with
who he was to need anything further. He understood the core principle of
republicanism: that all legitimate power arose from the consent of the
governed. [Source: Joseph Ellis]
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
39
The Newburgh Conspiracy
Washington’s Character
-- Washington always deferred to civilian authority
• peace proposals
• troops being disciplined
-- George III quote
-- Question: how many other generals do you know that retire
to the farm after the winning the war?
His Presidency
constitutional convention
-- presides over the constitutional convention
-- extremely important for purposes of legitimacy
His Presidency
“elections”
-- both terms are unanimous elections
His Presidency
precedents:
inaugural address
-- Gives the first inaugural address (not in the Constitution)
His Presidency
precedents:
state of the union
-- Gives the State of the Union in person
symbolic significance
-- the King would always address Parliament in person
(looks Kingly)
(Jefferson would begin the practice of writing the
address and mailing it to Congress. It would stay that
way until .. )
His Presidency
precedents:
cabinet
-- surrounds himself with an all-star cast (Alexander
Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay -- James Madison
informally)
-- note that if political parties were present, these people
would be opposites
His Presidency
precedents:
cabinet
-- not mentioned in the Constitution as an office
-- formalized cabinet meetings start in the second term
-- wouldn’t include Adams in the discussion because he
thought that violated separation of powers
(these are new institutions!)
His Presidency
precedents:
two term rule
-- the constitution had set no term limit
-- he steps down after two terms, which has the effect of
setting a cultural precedent
(not until FDR would this precedent be broken)
(note: he would have quit after one term if it wasn’t for dissention in his
cabinet -- political parties were starting to form)
His Presidency
management style
“great delegator”
-- cabinet was to formulate proposals; he would decide
-- just like he did out in the field of battle.
His Presidency
management style
not a “chief legislator”
-- believes in a very strict form of separation of powers
-- doesn’t try to lobby Congress, kill bills, manipulate what
they do, tell them what to pass, etc.
(‘you do your business; I do mine’)
His Presidency
management style
reluctant to use the veto
-- would only use it in an extreme case
(a little context here: his “party” is in power and the institutions are new)
His Presidency
Indian treaty
-- The Constitution says that presidents must have advice
and consent of the Senate to approve Treaties
-- Washington reads this literally.
-- He takes a proposed Indian deal to Congress
Ellis’ quote …
Separation of Powers –
Regarding his foreign treaty power, Washington in 1789 personally visited
the senate to obtain advice and consulting about a treaty he was going to
make with some Indians. He had to sit through two readings of the treaty,
which took a long time in the noisy and boisterous senate, and he had to
be grilled with questions, some embarrassing and probing. And he had to
go through the embarrassment of having the thing concluded with a
member of the senate referring the entire matter to a committee of the
senate. He found the whole thing to be humiliating, and he then set the
precedent of never again going personally to meet in the senate body to
present and engage in the consideration of a treaty prior to its conclusion.
In future years, it would not be the president, but his executive staff, or
cabinet that would provide information and advice to the president about
treaty matters. This is true not only of foreign policy but also of domestic
policy. [Translation: don't directly use the senate as a consulting body; use
your internal people].
[Source:
Ellis]
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
52
His Presidency
Indian treaty
-- this event establishes himself as the sole head of the
executive branch
very important point:
-- some people thought Congress would co-manage the
executive branch
(parliamentary logic)
-- “advice and consent” means: “come to us first, not last”
-- This establishes that the presidency submits its treaties to
Congress after it is done – in essence, saying, “now get to
work and approve it”
His Presidency
Proclamation of Neutrality
-- declares that America is neutral between Britain and
France (no favoritism)
-- Not symbolic; he means that any action to the contrary is
against law
-- compare: King George III’s 1763 proclamation. (Idea: this
is my sphere, I say what it is).
(Note: one year later, Congress ratified the neutrality doctrine)
His Presidency
Executive Privilege
-- Jay’s treaty (wildly unpopular)
-- Washington asked by Congress to hand over documents
about the Treaty, including his instructions to Jay
-- He refuses, saying they are private
His Presidency
Whiskey Riots
-- first and only time that the commander and chief actually
leads troops in battle in the field
His Presidency
All sorts of historic legislation
-- Bill of Rights, creating finance capitalism in America
(Hamilton’s financial plan, etc.), building a national judiciary,
paying down the war debt, a strong economy, peace, etc.
His Presidency
The National Tour
-- Joseph Ellis argues that this may have been the most
important thing
-- a tour of the colonies so they could see their new republican
president in person
Question:
Answer:
why is this such a big
There is no such thing
deal?
as an “America” yet
His Presidency
The National Tour
-- he toured all the states
-- important for establishing nationhood
You can’t do it –
When he took the office, there was no such thing as viable American
nation – only the hope of one. The colonists felt their primary allegiances to
local, state and regional authorities. No republican Government had ever
before exercised control over a population this diffuse or a land mass this
large. The prevailing assumption among most European observers was
that the nation could not endure. A French Nobile man observed, “it is less
difficult to discover the northwest passage than to create a people, as you
have done.
[Source: Ellis]
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
60
National Tour –
One of the things Washington did during his first two years in office was to
visit every state. When he visited new England, the crowds and readers of
newspapers for that day saw themselves as Americans – he was a political
figure that was the personification of American government. Rhode Island
had not yet ratified the constitution, so he skipped it, then made a special
trip the next summer to welcome the proudly independent late-comer into
the new nation.
“Whatever sectional suspicions new Englanders might harbor toward that
far away thing called the federal government, when it appeared in their
local neighborhoods in the majestic form of George Washington, they
saluted, cheered, toasted and embraced it as their own.”
[Source: Ellis]
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
61
Manhattan –
During a trip to Manhattan, over 30,000 people -- an enormous amount for
that day and age -- gathered to see the new president. Whenever he would
come into town, he was greeted with canon fire and parades.
[Source: Ellis]
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
62
Southern Tour –
The southern tour was more grueling, covering nearly 2000 miles in the
spring of 1791. He always road his white horse at the edge of each town in
order to make a heroic entrance. Washington usually brought along his
favorite greyhound, named Cornwallis. Cornwallis wore out on the tour,
and was buried.
[Source: Ellis]
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
63
Race and Slavery
the economics of Mt. Vernon
-- After the war, Washington’s Mount Vernon estate was losing
money
crop diversification
• He doesn’t need very many slaves
• He had too many as it was
• He was against selling slaves because it broke up families
• He couldn’t just emancipate them because of the “Martha”
problem.
Ellis’ quotes …
Caring for the Labor Community
An English farmer, James Bloxum, whom he hired in 1786 to improve
techniques of cultivation, claimed that the soil around Mount Vernon
was one obstacle, but that the lackadaisical work force was the major
liability. The youngest slaves were seldom assigned chores, “for at
present to skulk from house to house under some frivolous pretense
or another seems to be the principal employment of most of them.”
This would not have happened under the pre-war master of Mount
Vernon. Washington realized that much of what he grew on his farms
would never reach the marketplace but would be consumed on the
grounds by his laborers and their families. Washington chose to
make the maintenance of slave families at Mount Vernon a higher
priority than making a profit. He saw this as the moral thing to do.
[source: Joseph Ellis]
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
65
Mount Vernon Is Losing Money
This is probably the time when he began thinking about freeing his
slaves in his will. “He accepted grudgingly that Mount Vernon would
never show a profit because it had become a retirement home and child
care center for many of his slave residents, whom he was morally
obliged to care for.” In 1787, he had admitted that Mount Vernon had run
a deficit for the past 11 yrs. The following year, he reported that his
annual losses caused him “to feel more sensibly the want of money than
I have ever done at any period of my life.”
[source: Joseph Ellis]
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
66
Slave Labor – Crop Diversification
Ellis: the decision to abandon slaves as a labor force followed
logically from his decision to abandon tobacco as a cash crop in favor
of wheat. Once he made that decision, his farms resembled the
diversified farms of Pennsylvania more than the plantations of the
tidewater or Carolinas. The cost of maintaining a slave labor force
became prohibitively expensive. In fact, he owned more slaves than
he could productively employ. Mt. Vernon only made a marginal profit
before the war, and during the war it began to resemble those many
plantations that were declining toward bankruptcy.
3/12/2007
(C) Copyright Sean Wilson. 2007.
67
Race and Slavery
the last will and testament
• He emancipates his laboring community after the death of
Martha
• He leaves the community an inheritance that is enough for
generations to live comfortably
Race and Slavery
attitudes about race
• had started to change during Valley Forge
• never supported a “repatriation program.”
• did not subscribe to the inferiority theory (believed the
institution of slavery corrupted development)
• compare this with Jefferson, who grew up in the exact
same Virginia plantation-culture
• if time permits, tell the story of Hercules.