Published on May 19, 2015 by Stefan Molyneux
George Washington was unanimously elected as the first president of the United States of America after winning the American Revolutionary War as the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army.
Washington was first called “Father of his Country” three years after the beginning of the Revolutionary War – a status he earned not only for his military accomplishments, but also because of the numerous virtues he was perceived to possess as a human being.
But within Washington’s impeccable character, one quality stood out the most – a unique immunity to the corrupting effects of power, which stemmed from his selfless nature. “I often say of George Washington that he was one of the few in the whole history of the world who was not carried away by power,” stated Robert Frost, “America’s great poet-philosopher.”
After overthrowing the tyranny of the British Empire, Americans were unwilling to trust anyone with the power of a central government, yet in George Washington they saw a man who had transcended human fallibility. “Had he lived in the days of idolatry,” the Pennsylvania Journal noted in 1777, Washington would have been “worshipped as a god.”
How could such a man ever abuse his power, let alone become a tyrant? Furthermore, if men like Washington exist and can be elected into power, perhaps the United States government would never follow in the footsteps of the hated British Empire.
Does the mortal George Washington live up to his immortal legend? What is the Truth About George Washington?
Power corrupts. Its inevitable. It will always happen. That is why it must be held in decentralized form, always, in always. The responsibility this puts on each of us is why we don’t accept this and other bred in the bone aspects of our own nature.
George Washington was unanimously elected as the first president ?
I guess when you offer a mug of Washington whisky at every poling place, you can buy the Presidency. Yup! Good old GW sent a barrel of whisky to every polling place. If you voted for Georgie boy, you got a free drink.
GW loved power. He pressured the Continental Congress to make himself General of the American military. He lead the intimidation of the Continental Congress to accept the Constitution that was written 6 weeks before hand. Read about the “Order of the Cincinnati” which was a group of GW apologists. GW created a false flag Indian incident to raise an army which instead went in to Pennsylvania to put down a rebellion over whiskey taxes. The very same law exempted his distillery from the tax. From the history books I have read, GW had only a little more integrity than Hillery.