Washington's Birthday

[macwilkin]

This being the birthday of General George Washington, I thought it might be fitting to share Robert Burns's tribute to The General.

Cheers,

Todd

Ode For General Washington's Birthday

No Spartan tube, no Attic shell,
No lyre Aeolian I awake.
'Tis Liberty's bold note I swell:
Thy harp, Columbia, let me take!
See gathering thousands, while I sing,
A broken chain, exulting, bring
And dash it in a tyrant's face,
And dare him to his very beard,
And tell him he no more is fear'd,
No more the despot of Columbia's race!
A tyrant's proudest insults brav'd,
They shout a People freed! They hail an Empire sav'd!
Where is man's godlike form?
Where is that brow erect and bold,
That eye that can unmov'd behold
The wildest rage, the loudest storm
That e'er created Fury dared to raise?
Avaunt! thou caitiff, servile, base,
That tremblest at a despot's nod,
Yet, crouching under the iron rod,
Canst laud the arm that struck th' insulting blow!
Art thou of man's Imperial line?
Dost boast that countenance divine?
Each skulking feature answers: No!
But come, ye sons of Liberty,
Columbia's offspring, brave and free,
In danger's hour still flaming in the van,
Ye know, and dare maintain, The Royalty of Man!

Alfred on thy starry throne
Surrounded by the tuneful choir,
The Bards that erst have struck the patriot lyre,
And rous'd the freeborn Briton's soul of fire,
No more thy England own!
Dare injured nations form the great design
To make detested tyrants bleed?
Thy England execrates the glorious deed!
Beneath her hostile banners waving,
Every pang of honour braving,
England in thunder calls: ' The Tyrant's cause is mine!'
That hour accurst how did the fiends rejoice,
And Hell thro' all her confines raise th' exalting voice!
That hour which saw the generous English name
Link't with such damned deeds of everlasting shame!

Thee, Caledonia, thy wild heaths among,
Fam'd for the martial deed, the heaven-taught song,
To thee I turn with swimming eyes!
Where is that soul of Freedom fled?
Immingled with the mighty dead
Beneath that hallow'd turf where Wallace lies!
Hear it not, Wallace, in thy bed of death!
Ye babbling winds, in silence sweep!
Disturb not ye the hero's sleep,
Nor give the coward secret breath!
In this the ancient Caledonian form,
Firm as her rock, resistless as her storm?
Show me that eye which shot immortal hate,
Blasting the Despot's proudest bearing!
Show me that arm which, nerv'd with thundering fate,
Braved Usurpation's boldest daring!
Dark-quench'd as yonder sinking star,
No more that glance lightens afar,
That palsied arm no more whirls on the waste of war.

[davedove]

I've got a lot of respect for Washington, because of one action he did. At the end of his second term, he stepped down from office BECAUSE THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT SAID HE HAD TO. Today this is no big deal and expected, but at the time no head of state had ever done so, making it a monumental moment in history.

[cavscout]

I agree Dave. If he had behaved like poiticians today, this great experiment would not have survived.

[GMan]

Todd,

Thank You!

You are definetly a great source of inspiration here.

[GlassMan]

I've got a lot of respect for Washington, because of one action he did. At the end of his second term, he stepped down from office BECAUSE THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT SAID HE HAD TO. Today this is no big deal and expected, but at the time no head of state had ever done so, making it a monumental moment in history.

Actually, Washington didn't step down because the system of government said that he had to. There were no term limits on the President of the United States until after FDR. President Washington simply felt that it was unseemly for an elected leader to serve more than 2 terms of office despite there being almost unanimous support for a 3rd term. He felt that being in office longer than that could lead someone to believe that they themselves are the office, and not simply an office holder. He wished to avoid the monarchical abuses of our European forbears. That is also why he refused to allow the first Congresses to apply titles such as Your Excellency to the President and instead chose to be addressed simply as Mr. President. Finally, immediately after the successful end of the Revolution, many politicians wished to simply install Washington as King, something he absolutely and adamantly refused. He had fought for democracy and freedom and did not wish there to be even the hint of an abridgement of those Constitutional virtues.

All future Presidents until FDR followed the example of President Washington and refused to serve more than 2 terms. It was only when FDR decided to stand for election for a 3rd term and succeeded in winning both a 3rd and a 4th term during WW II that it was felt necessary to amend the Constitution and formalize the guidance Washington had provided to future leaders. So it is only from the 2nd half of the 20th Century until today that stepping down after 2 terms is a requirement of the law.

One of the other traditions from the days of George Washington is that no President may win the election in the Electoral College with a unanimous vote. Only President Washington has ever been elected by unanimous consent of the Electors. Even Presidents of immense popularity such as Grant (let's not forget that during Grant's election the Southern States were under federal occupation and appointed governments which selected Republican electors instead of the Democratic choices of the popular vote) & FDR were never elected by unanimous consent of the Electoral College. Even during post-Civil War Reconstruction there was also at least 1 vote symbolically cast for the opposition candidate.

So it was President Washington's voluntary decision to leave power after only 2 terms that was truly revolutionary and taught both our own nation and democratic nations around the world the lesson that leaders should have to leave office after a certain number of years. It is that realization that he did something of virtue without being required to do so which makes the act eve more virtuous and heroic.

[davedove]

So it is only from the 2nd half of the 20th Century until today that stepping down after 2 terms is a requirement of the law.

So it was President Washington's voluntary decision to leave power after only 2 terms that was truly revolutionary and taught both our own nation and democratic nations around the world the lesson that leaders should have to leave office after a certain number of years. It is that realization that he did something of virtue without being required to do so which makes the act eve more virtuous and heroic.

You are correct about Washington, in that what he did was completely voluntary. He probably could have been voted back into office until he died. So it was even more notable that he stepped down. (Now if we could just get some other politicians to think like that.:rolleyes: )

[macwilkin]

That is also why he refused to allow the first Congresses to apply titles such as Your Excellency to the President and instead chose to be addressed simply as Mr. President.

Actually, Washington preferred the title "Your Excellency" -- He was quite the patrician. I remember a story from my American history class in undergrad that our professor told of someone slapping GW on the back at a party, and getting a icy stare in return.

In fact, there's a new book out, "His Excellency, George Washington", which looks pretty good, although my favourite Washington book is "George Washington and the American Military Tradition" by Don Higginbotham. Had to read it for Military History and it was a great read.

And, I have to disagree with the statement that all Presidents refused to serve more than two terms; whilst it's true that none did, that doesn't mean it crossed their minds. When Teddy Roosevelt was elected in his own right in 1904, he said that he would not run for a third term, but would consider his time as President after the murder of McKinley as his "first term" -- he later said that this was his greatest mistake of his life.

Sorry to turn this into a civics lesson! :mrgreen:

Todd