Principle # 2: Governance Requires The Best Men So That “The Great Whole” Is Not Mismanaged.
... that each State would ... compel their ablest Men to attend Congress; that they would instruct them to go into a thorough investigation of the causes that have produced so many disagreeable effects in the Army and Country; in a word that public abuses should be corrected, and an entire reformation worked;...These, if the great whole is mismanaged must sink in the general wreck and will carry with it the remorse of thinking that we are lost by our own folly and negligence.69
Principle # 3: You Can’t Please Everyone, So Seek The Good Of “The Great Whole.”
To please every body is impossible; were I to undertake it I should probably please no body. If I know myself I have no partialities. I have from the beginning, and I will to the end pursue to the best of my judgment and abilities one steady line of conduct for the good of the great whole. This will, under all circumstances administer consolation to myself however short I may fall of the expectations of others. ...The hour therefore is certainly come when party differences and disputes should subside; when every Man (especially those in Office) should with one hand and one heart pull the same way and with their whole strength. Providence has done, and I am perswaded is disposed to do, a great deal for us.70
Principle # 4: Jealous Parties Must Be Urged To Exercise The Wisdom Of Being Part Of “The Great Whole.”
My first wish now is, that the States may be wise; that they may improve the advantages which they have obtained; that they may consider themselves individually, as parts of the great whole; and not by unreasonable jealousies, and ill-founded prejudices, destroy the goodly fabrick we have been Eight years labouring to erect. But without more liberallity of Sentiment and action, I expect but little.71
Principle # 5: Withering Criticism Can Be Weathered By A Consistent Policy Of Never Seeking Merely Local Or Partial Considerations, But By Always Seeking “The Great Whole’s” Substantial And Permanent Interests.
Gentlemen: In every act of my administration, I have sought the happiness of my fellow-citizens. My system for the attainment of this object has uniformly been to overlook all personal, local and partial considerations: to contemplate the United States, as one great whole: to confide, that sudden impressions, when erroneous, would yield to candid reflection: and to consult only the substantial and permanent interests of our country.72
Principle #6: Pursue the true interests of the Country rather than popularity.
I know the delicate nature of the duties incident to the part which I am called to perform; and I feel my incompetence, without the singular assistance of Providence to discharge them in a satisfactory manner. But having undertaken the task, from a sense of duty, no fear of encountering difficulties and no dread of losing popularity, shall ever deter me from pursuing what I conceive to be the true interests of my Country.73
As we have reviewed Washington’s impact as a leader and his leadership principles, we are in a better place to understand the interconnection between the First Inaugural Address on April 30, 1789 and his first Thanksgiving Proclamation of October 3, 1789. In the first, he appealed to the “sacred fire of liberty” that had been entrusted to the American people in their “experiment” in representative government. In the second, he told the new nation how to fan the “sacred fire of liberty” so that it might burn even more brightly. His proposed method was by acknowledging the Providence of Almighty God and humbly imploring his blessing on the nation. Such words would have been most appropriate coming from the lips of a chaplain or a preacher from his pulpit. Yet it is striking just how naturally they came from George Washington as he assumed his pulpit of the presidency as American’s first godly leader. Washington had indeed “turned preacher after all.”74
TWELVE
George Washington’s Family Life
“I have always considered marriage as the most interesting event of one’s life, the foundation of happiness or misery.”
George Washington, May 23, 1785
1
George Washington was self consciously a family man. His extended family spread throughout Virginia,2 and he knew that his ancestry went back into the prior centuries of English history.3 As a soldier, he had a military “family.”4 His presidential staff constituted a “family.”5 His slaves and servants,6 the tutors for his children,7 and the helpers in his home were all part of his “family.”8 With other “philanthropists,” he was concerned for “the happiness of the great family of mankind.”9 No wonder George and Martha decided at one point that the size of their “family” had gotten large enough.10
But most important to Washington was his own family. He took pleasure in family life11 and in being with his family.12 In the midst of his busy public life, he sought to keep family responsibilities13 and matters in mind.14 When he left to lead the Revolution, he knew his goodbye to his family could have been his last.15 This prompted him to commit his life and his family to the care of Providence16 and to the family network that surrounded them.17
Because of his lengthy absences from home, he deeply valued mail from his family18 and the support of his close relations.19 He was authentically concerned for his brothers, relatives and their children’s education.20 And, like most families, Washington worried about family finances, not only for his own home,21 but also for his aging widowed mother, who needed his financial support.22 He personally composed his last will and testament carefully, recognizing individual members of his family, including his adopted grandchildren, “the two whom we have reared from their earliest infancy, namely: Eleanor Parke Custis, and George Washington Parke Custis” as well as his “dearly beloved wife Martha Washington.”23
In Washington’s era, the fragility of life, coupled with the primitive state of medical care, raised the constant concern of the family’s health24 and the constant threat of an unexpected death in the family.25 The youthful Washington had been confident of his physical strength,26 but soon the toll of warfare made him not so sure.27 The aging President thought death was never far away.28 His letters often commented on the various states of health found in his family29 or when the tragedy of death struck.30
While death was all too frequent, divorce was almost unknown. The word “divorce” never appears in all of Washington’s writings. He was certainly aware that an “unhappy marriage”31 could occur, which prompted him to give sage advice to his younger family members32 or to explain why he hoped to postpone a marriage of his children, even if the proposed marriage seemed like a good match.33 He even indulged in an occasional aside, prompted by a surprising match or humorous appearance of newlyweds he knew.34 He frequently commented on the news of weddings or joyfully extended his congratulations to newlyweds.35 Washington summarized his premarital counseling wisdom in a letter to his brother-in-law Burwell Bassett, as a wedding in the Washington family was beginning to take shape,
It has ever been a maxim with me thro’ life, neither to promote, nor to prevent a matrimonial connection, unless there should be something indispensably requiring interference in the latter. I have always considered marriage as the most interesting event of one’s life, the foundation of happiness or misery. To be instrumental therefore in bringing two people together who are indifferent to each other, and may soon become objects of hatred; or to prevent a union which is prompted by mutual esteem and affection, is what I never could reconcile to my feelings; and therefore, neither directly nor indirectly have I ever said a syllable to Fanny or George upon the subject of their intended connexion. But as their attachment to each other seems to have been early formed, warm and lasting, it bids fair to be happy: if therefore you have no objection, I think the sooner it is consummated the better.36
At any rate, knowing something about the Washington family life helps us to address Washington’s religious beliefs. To give us an introductory overview and enable us to keep track of his family life, we present the following chronological summary of some of the key events in George and Martha’s family life.
THE FAMILY CHRONOLOGY OF GEORGE AND MARTHA WASHINGTON
1731
June 2 —- Martha Dandridge [Custis, Washington] was born.
1732
February 22 (old style, February 11) – George Washington was born at Bridges Creek, Westmoreland County, Virginia. Father: Augustine Washington; Mother: Mary Ball.
April 3 —- George Washington baptized.
1738
December 1 —- Washington family moved to Ferry Farm on the other side of the Rappahannock River from Fredericksburg.
1743
April 12 —- George’s father, Augustine, died. George’s older half-brother, Lawrence, inherited his father’s Hunting Creek farm, which he renamed Mount Vernon in honor of his military commander. George received Ferry Farm, but it was under his mother’s control until he came of age.
July 19 — Lawrence married Anne Fairfax, and so married into the wealthy family that possessed the vast tract of Virginia called the Northern Neck (which today encompasses a vast section of northern Virginia.).
1746
September —- George was encouraged by Lawrence to join the British Navy. After Mary Washington objected, he did not proceed, although he had his commission.
