George Washington

George Washington:

A Man of Little Things

Bill Hailey

Many look to George Washington for the great things he accomplished in his lifetime. Winning the War for American Independence, being the first president, and shaping the way the Constitution was written and how the federal government was formed are all attributable to him. However, from his youth, he was a man whose focus on the little details in his life predicted his behavior in grander situations as they were presented to him.

Washington memorized the Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation when he was a boy. He not only memorized them; he internalized them to the point that he did not have to think about whether he was following them. They became second nature to him. He strove for personal betterment. As a result, people knew him for being equitable and evenhanded.

With this emphasis on personal character early in his life, it comes as no surprise that Washington was fair in larger matters in higher positions. This reputation was one reason that he was chosen as the president of both the Constitutional Convention and the United States. He let these principles flood every part of his actions, to the point where they caused him to consider the plight of his slaves. While this was not an issue with many of the other Founding Fathers, he became bothered about the treatment that his slaves received. He cared for the old and sick, and provided good housing for all of them. His will set them free upon the death of his wife. No one escaped his pursuit of fairness and decency. It has been said that perhaps slavery would have not become the issue it did if Washington, never failing to rise to the call of duty, had lived long enough to deal with it.

The restraint Washington learned to show in his personal life spread into his dealings with the public. In his early twenties, Washington fell in love with Sally Fairfax. He exchanged many letters with her and developed a close friendship. There was only one problem: she was married to one of his in-laws. Despite his feelings, however, no evidence exists that he ever crossed the line into an affair. He put the welfare and feelings of others first instead of rushing emotionally into something that could be very damaging.

Years later, after being elected president, Washington dealt with the rigors of building a government from scratch. The Congress had enacted a tax on whiskey in order to raise funds. In order to put down the rebellion of farmers, Washington personally led the militias of four states to Pennsylvania to put down the uprising. The twenty men captured were put on trial, and two were found guilty. Rather than let the incident cause further divisions, Washington pardoned the men, hoping for it to have a healing effect. He restrained those around him from letting those two men take the full punishment, preferring instead to show mercy to them.

Washington was not noted for saying much at the Continental Congress or Constitutional Convention. When he did speak, all listened. Perhaps the restraint he showed by talking less frequently allowed what he did say to have more weight, so much weight that he was chosen as the leader of such people as Jefferson, Hamilton, and Franklin.

Perhaps his most notable instances of restraint involve his surrender of power. He was given complete control of the army during the War, but gave it up once the cause was won. After two terms of president, he chose to step down rather than become like the Roman dictator emperors of old. King George III said that Washington would be the greatest man in the world if he gave up his power. He did so more than once.

Meticulous detail was also one of Washington’s strengths. Before the dawn of the French & Indian War, Washington had been an officer in the Virginia militia. His superior, Governor Dinwiddie, had been unable to