Farewell Address published.
1797
Washington retired as president and returned home to Mount Vernon.
XYZ mission to France. President John Adams sent a three-man commission that included Pinckney, which Talleyrand refused to receive. Three parties got involved with the intention of raising loans or bribes of about $250,000 to open the diplomatic doors. Their names were concealed as X, Y, and Z. Pinckney is supposed to have retorted “millions for defense, sir, but not one cent for tribute.”
Preparation for war with France begun by President Adams’ contact with Washington.
1798
Washington appointed commander in chief of the Armies of the United States of America by President John Adams, in the event of war with post-French Revolutionary government. The army never assembled.
1799
Washington died as he desired—“as an honest man” at Mount Vernon.
WAS WASHINGTON A “GODLY” LEADER?
The purpose of this chapter is to assess how Washington’s religion surfaced while he served in public office. Simply put, can we call Washington a “godly” leader? His contemporaries thought so. Consider one of the earliest publications on the life of Washington, by the Reverend Dr. Jedidiah Morse, a clergyman-scholar and correspondent of Washington. At the end of his thirty-three-page long summary of General Washington’s life, based upon the anonymously written and approved life of Washington, by David Humphreys, we find the following poem, which probably came from the pen of Humphreys as well.
GENERAL WASHINGTON
GREAT without pomp, without ambition brave—
Proud, not to conquer fellow men, but save—
Friend to the weak—a foe to none but those,
Who plan their greatness on their brethren’s woes—
Aw’d by no titles—undefil’d by lust—
Free without faction, obstinately just—
Too wise to learn, form Machiavel’s school,
That truth and perfidy by turns should rule.
Warm’d by Religion’s sacred, genuine ray,
Which points to future bliss, th’ unerring way;
Yet ne’er controul’d by Superstition’s laws,
The worst of tyrants in the noblest cause.4
Washington would later speak in his Inaugural Address of the “sacred fire of liberty”:
Since we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained: And since the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the Republican model of Government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.5
Was Washington’s “sacred fire” properly anticipated by Morse’s and Humphrey’s couplet?:
Warm’d by Religion’s sacred, genuine ray,
Which points to future bliss, th’ unerring way.
Recent authors will hear none of this and have declared an emphatic no. Willard Randall writes, “Washington was not a deeply religious man.”6 Douglas Southall Freeman says, “He had believed that a God directed his path, but he had not been particularly ardent in his faith.”7 James Thomas Flexner states that “Washington ...avoided, as was his deist custom, the word ‘God.’”8 Judging from these writers, Washington could hardly be called a “godly leader.” But our conclusion must be drawn from the actual words of Washington and the religious leaders who encountered him. When this is done, we believe that the evidence leads us in a different direction than that of recent historians Randall, Freeman, and Flexner, and what appear to be their unsubstantiated generalizations. By contrast, in addition to being one of Washington’s closest military aides in the war, David Humphreys was living with the Washington family at Mount Vernon as he wrote his summation of Washington’s daily life, which also had Washington’s personal approval.9
To begin, let us turn our attention to Washington’s remarkable “Circular” that he personally signed and sent to each of the thirteen state governors, who together had just won America’s independence.
A LETTER TO THIRTEEN GOVERNORS: WASHINGTON’S CONFESSION OF FAITH
As the war was coming to an end, there were several issues that troubled Washington. We just saw in our last chapter that there was the deep concern for just compensation for the soldiers after their long sacrifice to win independence. But Washington also had another deep concern. This was the seeming inefficiency and sometimes divisive character of the government established by the Articles of Confederation.
George Washington’s watermark
Each state governed itself with such autonomy that, at times, the whole nation suffered. Out of this realization, Washington became one of the earliest proponents for a new kind of government with a more powerful, centralized Congress. His vision ultimately helped to produce the Constitutional Convention. This is the backdrop for his “Circular to the States.” The circular essentially laid out what Washington saw as necessary for an independent America, namely, a union of states under one federal head, a sacred regard for public justice, a proper “peace establishment,” and a disposition and temperament among the citizenry that would allow the individual to subjugate their own personal interest in the interest of the larger community. But what is fascinating for our purposes is not just that these concerns of Washington appear in his farewell circular letter to the thirteen governors, but that the entire letter is couched in a theological message. For us, Washington’s farewell letter to the governors is his official confession of faith, or what we might call Washington’s public theology.
Washington’s “Circular to the States” is as close to a statement of religious faith that he ever produced. Given that it was sent to every state, it was clearly intended by him to be his understanding of an American statement of religious faith. There are some thirty references to spiritual realities: heaven’s favor; final blessing; gratitude and rejoicing; lot assigned by Providence; moral point of light; a vast Tract of Continent ... all the various soils and climates of the World...peculiarly designated by Providence; heaven crowned all its other blessings; above all the pure and benign light of revelation; not ignorance and superstition; the rights of man; the cup of blessing; stand or fall; confirmation or lapse; a blessing or curse (used twice); aggravated vengeance of heaven; begging daily bread; to implore the divine benediction; earnest prayer; God would have you; holy protection; incline hearts; brotherly affection; love for one another; graciously be pleased; to do justice; love mercy; demean with charity; humility and pacific temper of mind; the Divine Author of our blessed religion; humble imitation of whose example; a happy nation.10
The circular, or what we might call, “Washington’s Confession of Faith,” gives a fair summary of Washington’s religion. He had said, “in politics, as in religion my tenets are few and simple.”11 These few and simple religious principles clearly included:
God—“God would have you”
Creation— “a vast Tract of Continent...all the various soils and climates of the World...peculiarly designated by Providence”
Providence—“lot assigned by Providence, designated by Providence”
Deity of Christ—“Divine Author”
Revelation—“pure and benign light of revelation”
Fall—“stand or fall, confirmation or lapse”
Sin—“blessing or curse”
God’s Grace—“favor, Heaven crowned all its blessings, incline hearts, graciously be pleased”
