Mr. President, Mr. President Pro Tem, thank you for inviting me to the Old Senate Chamber as we reflect on the life and contributions of one of the greatest Americans who has served our nation. Today, we take a moment to honor a man who was the quintessential American revolutionary, a man who men and women of his day call “His Excellency.”
Governor, Mr. Majority Leader, Mr. Minority Leader, this evening, we remember the legacy of selfless service by a man considered by some to have been the perfect example of the patriotic fervor upon which our great nation founded.
Members of the Maryland Senate, distinguished guests, my fellow Marylanders, the legacy I speak of belongs to General George Washington – the consummate citizen-statesman and citizen-soldier, whose service to country was eternalized in this very chamber 225 years ago when he came before Congress to resign his military commission in 1783.
Before I begin my brief remarks, I want to acknowledge the presence of my wife, Pat. And the two joyful gifts that God has given us, our children, Rebecca and Jonathan. For every citizen-soldier there are family members who provide invaluable support. Their service at home is often much more difficult than the service of our men and women in uniform. General Washington believed that to be true, and he believed that our military families are deserving of our appreciated and affection.
George Washington’s wife, Martha, once wrote to a friend:
“I cannot blame [my husband] for having acted according to his ideas of duty in obeying the voice of his country. I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be, for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness…depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.”
Pat, thank you for your love, your friendship, and your positive disposition, even during the trying circumstance of our lives – when I deployed for a year to Iraq in 2005.
It is fitting that we speak of a president this evening who served not only as a citizen-statesman, as each of you in this august body do, but also as the most-acclaimed citizen-soldier this country has even known. It’s fitting that in our reflection on the man who helped build this nation, that we also speak of the men and women who, at every point in our nation’s history, have answered the call to serve their countrymen. I speak of the citizen-soldier, who today serves in the Reserves and National Guard, and who play an increasingly essential role in the defense of our country.
Whether we realize it or not, the citizen-soldier is present in our daily lives: She is your colleague, your neighbor, your cousin. He is your brother, your grocer, your child’s 8th grade teacher. They are the 1,300 Marylanders who last year deployed in harm’s way to Iraq and Afghanistan, and should be returning home to their friends and family and this country they love, this land of opportunity, within the weeks and months to come.
And at various points in our history, the citizen-soldier has been our president – Major General Andrew Jackson; Captain Abraham Lincoln; Colonel Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt, the Rough Rider; Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight Eisenhower.
Twenty-seven of our 43 presidents served in the military before taking the highest civilian oath in the land, yet during their presidency, none of these outstanding leaders relied so heavily on their experiences in the military as did General Washington. And no other American president, with or without prior military service, “entered the office with more personal prestige” as did General Washington – prestige that was squarely built on his years of military service in the Virginia militia and later the Continental Army.
George Washington, my friends, is the symbol of the American Spirit, of the courage and optimism that have shaped our nation’s history. He is the symbol of our bold effort to meet the challenges of evolving times. He was a political and military leader who dedicated himself to promoting conditions for the fulfillment of the American promise: “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
But before he became our nation’s eternal symbol for that which good about democracy and freedom, he was a man.
George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, in Westmoreland County. He was fourth-generation Virginian, born into a respectable family, but certainly not a family of much prominence in Virginian society. Washington was not an educated man, certainly not a man of letters. He “received the modern equivalent of a grade-school education, but was never exposed to the classical curriculum or encouraged to attend college at William and Mary [as had other] American statesmen with more robust educational credentials.” (1)
George Washington’s education, skills and magnificent leadership abilities were not derived from books, they did not have their origins in the classroom. No, Washington’s greatness sprung from his experiences while serving in the military. As the historian Joseph Ellis wrote: “Instead of going to college, Washington went to war.” And it was in war where Washington learned the lessons to lead our nation in peace.
But Washington’s reputation for greatness, perhaps not popularly known, was not built on a string of uninterrupted successes and triumphs. As a military leader, and even as president of the new republic, George Washington – like all of us at some point in our lives – experienced defeat. General Washington “seemed unable to win battles” even during the American Revolutionary War. “He was not, by any standard, a military genius. He lost more battles than he won; indeed, he lost more battles than any victorious general in modern history.”(2)
Some of his losses were the result of troops always ready to desert the field of battle; some were from the First Continental Congress’ unwillingness, and inability, to provide adequate resources to the war effort. However, others “were frequently a function of his own overconfident and aggressive personality”(3) – traits we rarely, if ever, associate with his seemingly virtuous presidency.
So, how is it that a leader who repeatedly suffered defeat could ultimately prevail as a soldier and later as a president? The answer is revealed in the character that emerged in Washington with each defeat.
General Washington “was composed, indefatigable, and able to learn from his mistakes.”(4) He developed self-control in battle. He sidelined his ambitions for the good of the cause and learned to pick his military and, later, his political battles. He led by listening and by identifying talented people committed to the common good. Washington lived a life of self-denial and will always be remembered as a man of integrity. As another president would later proclaim, in a different time and a different context, “Defeat doesn’t finish a man, quit does. A man is not finished when he’s defeated. He’s finished when he quits.”
George Washington never quit his life’s pursuit and inventing a nation and serving his country. He believed deeply that this nation was founded on the laurels of that which is good; believed deeply in the still-unwritten words of de Tocqueville: “America is great because she is good. If America ceased to be good, America will cease to be great.” And it was a belief that carried our nation out of infancy and in becoming the greatest nation today.
We are standing at a crossroads in our nation’s history, when our greatness is in doubt. We are a nation at war, our economy is receding, and our world is getting smaller and smaller each day. As individual Americans, as a people, we must come together to not only secure our country and to protect our quality of life, but to lift up our neighbors at home and abroad, and to leave our children a better Maryland, a better nation, and a better world.
If Washington taught us one thing, it is that our freedom is not a partisan issue and neither is the progress we make together.
Early during the American Revolutionary War, upon his arrival in New York in June 1775, when there was a considerable uncertainty as to how long the struggle with England would last, Washington stated what every soldier throughout the centuries has thought – and I quote:
“As to the fatal, but necessary operations of war, when we assumed the soldier, we did not lay aside the citizen; and we shall most sincerely rejoice with you in that happy hour, when the establishment of American liberty on the most firm and solid foundations, shall enable us to return to our private stations, in the bosom of a free, peaceful, and happy country.”
That quote triggers in my mind a moment that I shared with Governor O’Malley last summer – a moment he has since shared in remarks with others. We were at one of the several farewell ceremonies of our National Guard. And after the ceremony, I watched the Governor as he handed over the Maryland flag to a young captain who was to lead his aviation unit into Afghanistan, and he whispered to him.
Governor, you said, “promise me that you’ll bring this flag home.” And the young man, who that day was saying farewell to his own young family, responded without even hesitating. “I’ll bring it home, sir. It might be a little dusty, but I’ll bring it home.”
When the war is over, surviving soldiers return home. They return to a place that is far better than where they fought – but they fought to make better not only those places far from home, but home itself. George Washington urges us, as lawmakers, to rise above the factions that might divide us, to accept the responsibility to drive toward consensus and find the common good to make better the quality of life that we enjoy in Maryland and America.
On December 12, 1799, just two years into retirement, Washington took ill. Two days later, with his wife at his bedside, Washington passed away. A fellow Virginian, Henry Lee, offered a eulogy that “echoed through the ages” – short and simple words that describe who exactly George Washington was, even to the most causal observer of American history: “First in war. First in peace. And first in the hears of his countrymen.”
Washington passed quietly and courageously, well aware that his life’s work – the founding of a nation – would indeed outlive his time. “I die hard,” he said to Martha, “but I am not afraid to go.” Nor should we be afraid.
Thank you.