george washington
My sisters, Cheryl Masterson, Caryl Reed, Alena Stevens, Allyn Hadlock, and I decided a while back to start a Sisters’ Book Club. The idea was to pick a book that we all would read, and then we would discuss the book over dinner. We decided to start our book club with books about the Presidents of the United States, and our first book was, of course, about George Washington. We decided to take turns picking the book, and I found one called “The Spiritual Journey of George Washington” and was so excited that I sort of cut in line, because I am the second sister and should have chosen the second book. Thankfully my sister Cheryl forgave my infraction of the rules among sisters and let me go first. Thanks, Cheryl.
This book told of so many amazing things that George Washington did. The most important thing was he Devotion to God. George and his wife, Martha set aside time every day to have Bible study and devotion. They did this as a couple…in full agreement. It was such a strong act of faith and loyalty to God. These times with the Lord truly shaped the kind of man and president George Washington. George Washington had no children of his own, but he raised the two children Martha had from her first marriage. Those children grew up to be respectable people who lived proper lives. He never shirked his duties to Martha’s children. He was a good father, and they loved him very much.
As a soldier and later a General, George Washington was totally a totally amazing “miracle man” without a doubt. He never “sent” his men into battle, he “led” his men into battle. He wasn’t sitting on the sidelines where it was “safe” but rather he was in the thick of it…so much so, that after a battle, his clothes and hat often had bullet holes in them, but he was completely unharmed!! George Washington even had two horses shot out from under him, but he was unhurt. In one of the battles he was in, an Indian warrior, who was a leader in the battle, later said, “Washington was never born to be killed by a bullet! I had seventeen fair fires at him with my rifle, and after all could not bring him to the ground!” The he went on to say, “Listen! The Great Spirit 
protects that man (indicating Washington) and guides his destinies…he will become the chief of nations, and a people yet unborn will hail him as the founder of a mighty empire. I am come to pay homage to the man who is the particular favorite of Heaven, and who can never die in battle.” Another Native American chief in the same battle, Red Hawk also claimed to have shot at Washington eleven times without hitting him. That must have been a terrible shock in the midst of battle, nevertheless, Red Hawk was convinced that the Great Spirit was protecting him, so he stopped firing. There are many other examples of God’s hand on the life of our beloved first President and military hero. While Washington died young by today’s standards, it did not die in battle. Rather his death was caused by a combination of a severe cold or flu, followed by an ancient practice of “bleeding the patient” and the lack of a suggested tracheotomy that likely would have saved his life. Our first meeting of the Sisters’ Book Club was a huge success, and we are moving on to a book about our second president, John Adams. Stay tuned.
Long before James Madison became out fourth President of the United States, he served in a number of other positions. Early on, Madison emerged as an important leader in the House of Representatives and was a close adviser to President George Washington. While many of the early leaders of our nation understood and were prepared to fight for our freedom, they weren’t necessarily eloquent speakers or writers, but then again, many politicians today also have speech writers. I guess each felt the need to work on the important things, and delegate the rest. Since James Madison was well-known as an excellent writer, President Washington asked him to write a letter to Congress for him expressing that he was excited to work with them. Washington wasn’t the greatest wordsmith, and Madison was an excellent writer, so he had Madison do the job.
James Madison was excited to be a part of this first administration and wanted to give it his very best effort. So, in one of his first official actions under President George Washington, Madison wrote a beautiful letter to Congress. Congress was very impressed with the “letter from President Washington” and wanted to impress him with a letter of their own. So, naturally, they chose the best qualified person to write a response to President Washington…you guessed it, James Madison. So, Madison wrote a response to the original letter, that he wrote, saying that Congress was also very excited to be working with the president.
Under normal circumstances, you would expect that the two letters would be the end of the matter, and the new administration would proceed to get down to business. You would be wrong. President Washington decided to send a response to the response, and to make matters even more ludicrous, Congress sent a response to 
that response as well. As it turns out, and of course, Madison wrote those other letters too. So, all in all, Madison had a whole little conversation with himself by mail in the form of four separate letters. Of course, he still represented the president and congress, but it’s quite likely that no one actually read the letters before they were sent, or at least didn’t really read them carefully…not until the received them anyway. Nevertheless, James Madison wanted to do the very best job he could for both President Washington and for Congress. If he had not don’t an exceptional job, they would not ask for his help again, and his career could have been over. Somehow, I don’t think that was his real motive in writing the excellent letters. I think he wanted to be of good service to the president. Still in the end, Madison’s first official act for President Washington was to write four letters…to himself.
George Washington was not just our first president, but he was also an incredibly intelligent man. Normally, when George Washington spoke, people listened. Maybe his leadership was a big part of what made our system of government work so well, but there was one thing that everyone decided to ignore…his warnings about political parties. George Washington was against them, you see. He wasn’t just against one side of the political party system. He was against having political parties at all. He was so adamantly against them, that he remained nonpartisan throughout his entire presidency.
In his farewell address, President Washington said the following about partisan politics, “It serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens 
the door to foreign influence and corruption, which finds a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions. Thus, the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another.” Any of this sound familiar? Of course, it does. It is exactly what we have going on today.
I agree with President Washington, who worried that political parties would become too powerful, rob the people of their control over their own government, and distract everyone from what they should really be focusing on. In today’s political arena, that is exactly what is going on. People are being indited as a way of weaponizing politics. If someone doesn’t agree with the other party, or can’t be controlled, they are very likely to be politically ostracized and attacked. Since George Washington spoke those words, 250 years have passed, and there are people saying that they don’t trust either political party. I am one of those. I suppose some 
people would wonder how we would elect our leaders. To them, I say, “How about electing them on their merits!!” There are people out there who will simply vote for the party they are affiliated with, no matter what their candidate stands for. They vote the way they vote, simply because the candidate they choose is from their party. What a horrible mistake that is. Isn’t it time that we find out what our candidates really stand for, and then vote our conscience? Isn’t it time we hold our politicians accountable for their actions? I think it is, but then we would have to find a way to get the correct information, and we already know that we can’t trust the media!! But that is another story.
Our government is made up of three branches. The three branches of the United States government are the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. According to the doctrine of separation of powers, the United States Constitution distributed the power of the federal government among these three branches and built a system of checks and balances to ensure that no one branch could become too powerful. This is a long-standing system that has served the United States well, as long as it isn’t being abused.
The judicial branch came into being when The Judiciary Act of 1789 was passed by Congress and signed by President George Washington, establishing the Supreme Court of the United States as a tribunal made up of six justices who were to serve on the court until death or retirement. Sometimes I’m not sure how I feel about the “until death or retirement” part, but I’m sure they had their reasons. To me, there are some justices, like some members of congress who far outstay their welcome. Nevertheless, on that day, President Washington nominated John Jay to preside as chief justice. He further named John Rutledge, William Cushing, John Blair, Robert Harrison, and James Wilson to be associate justices. On September 26, all six appointments were confirmed by the US Senate, and with that, we had our first Supreme Court.
The US Supreme Court was established by Article 3 of the US Constitution. Article 3 granted the Supreme Court ultimate jurisdiction over all laws, especially those in which their constitutionality was at issue. In addition, the high court was also designated to oversee cases concerning treaties of the United States, foreign diplomats, admiralty practice, and maritime jurisdiction. The first session of the US Supreme Court was held on February 1, 1790, in New York City’s Royal Exchange Building.
The US Supreme Court quickly grew into the most important judicial body in the world in terms of its central place in the American political order. The Constitution allows Congress to set the size of the court…another part of the system that I don’t think I agree with, simply because a corrupt congress could take advantage of that ability by stacking the courts to rule in their favor. I’m sure that Washington and the founding fathers planned for the justices to be honest and trustworthy. I’m sure too, that the fact that they were Supreme Courts justices for life or until retirement, was planned to allow them to make their rulings without fear of being fired. Of course, there is more that one way to get a justice removed, because dead can come by more than one means, including murder. And justices could be threatened or have 
their families threatened, causing them to vote in a specific way. In a perfect world, justices would act according to the Constitution, and vote their conscience, bringing about an honest and fair ruling, but that is not always the case…sadly. The number of justices varied during the 19th century before stabilizing in 1869 at nine. While this number can be changed at any time by Congress, so far, it has not, and I believe that the Constitution should be amended to make the number nine, permanent. In times of constitutional crisis, the Supreme Court has always played a definitive role in resolving, for better or worse, the great issues of the time, and the number nine has worked well. It should not be changed.
These days, when a president or other elected official is inaugurated, the ceremony is often followed that evening by an inaugural ball. In fact, it is pretty much expected, like the celebration of victory after a long, hard-fought battle. When our first president, George Washington was sworn into office as the first president of the United States, on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City, New York, on April 30, 1789, all tradition concerning elections was brand new. Our country was still trying to figure out what our traditions would be at that point.
A week later, on May 3, 1789, George Washington attended a ball in his honor. These days inaugural balls are planned and held with every inauguration. In fact, most presidents attend several balls on inauguration night. Still, in 1789, they were brand new, and it would be another decade before the practice was revived, with the inaugural of James Madison, the fourth president. Dolley, President Madison’s wife, threw a gala for 400 people at Long’s Hotel in Washington. Tickets cost $4.00, which would have amounted to about $100.00 today. That was actually very reasonable, considering that they run about $350.00 today. I suppose that if you were part of high society, you would think nothing of that amount for a ball which would show your support of the new president, as well as, your position in society.
Since Madison’s inaugural ball, the events have become more or less a quadrennial presidential fixture. Today, we think nothing of the event, assuming that it is just part of the grand tradition of our electoral process and seating a new president. Nevertheless, there have been years that the Inaugural Ball has been cancelled. Woodrow Wilson, in 1913, and Warren Harding, in 1921, both passed up balls, citing the need to economize. Franklin Pierce canceled his in 1853 because of the recent death of his son. President Franklin D Roosevelt was another exception, choosing to work through the night rather than attend his first inaugural ball in 1933. He canceled the next three galas because of the Depression and World War II. 
At the first ball, Washington danced with many ladies who were considered the cream of New York society. New York was the temporary site of the newly established federal government. Eliza Hamilton, wife of Alexander Hamilton, the treasury secretary, recorded her impressions in her memoirs. She wrote that Washington liked to dance the minuet, a dance she thought was “suited to his dignity and gravity.” In what would seem strange today, Martha Washington apparently did not attend the Inaugural Ball. One month to the day of her husband’s departure for New York, Martha Washington set out on her own triumphant trip to the seat of the new government, thereby becoming our first, First Lady.
We all think of our first president as being a patriot hero of the Revolutionary War, leading to the independence of our nation and the many freedoms we now enjoy, and he was, but he was other things before he was all that. Everyone is other things before they become the thing they were destined to become. George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, at Popes Creek in Westmoreland County, in the British colony of Virginia. He was the first of six children of Augustine and Mary Ball Washington. His father was a justice of the peace and a prominent public figure who had four additional children from his first marriage to Jane Butler. He did come from a prominent family, and that could have afforded him much, but that wouldn’t have been his style.
It is well known that George Washington led the Continental Army to victory against Great Britain in the 1770s and early 1780s, but a few decades earlier, like most young adults, George had a different view of things, and he actually fought for the British Empire. In 1754, 22-year-old Washington, then a lieutenant colonel for the British, managed to actually start a war with his actions. It is said that young Washington led his regiment into a skirmish with French troops, and the action escalated into the French and Indian War. One eyewitness totally blamed Washington, saying, “Colonel Washington begun himself and fired and then his people.” It was “a shot heard ’round the world,” sparking an epic, imperial struggle between Great Britain and France.
In reality, it wasn’t Washington’s fault. Tensions between France and Great Britain had been brewing in North America for more than a century. America had a lot of land, and with that would come a lot of power. The British and the French had been fighting over that land and that power. Swept up in the struggle were the inhabitants of New France, the British colonists, the Native Americans, and regular troops from France and Britain. What George Washington did that day really had little to do with a battle that was coming no matter 
what. Had he not attacked, the war would just have started days or weeks down the road, but it would have started, nevertheless. The British and the French saw the vast lands of what would become the United States of America as a way to expand their power in the world, and like most wars, the land disputes brought with them an explosion that really could be heard around the world. What Washington did was a small battle in a much bigger war. And what he did later, changed history forever.
Most people believe that a there was always a two term limit on the office of the President of the United States, but that wasn’t always so. On November 5, 1940 Franklin D Roosevelt broke a long-held precedent, but not a law. The precedent was one that started with George Washington, when he became the first president elected to a third term. Roosevelt would go on to vie for, and win a fourth term, taking office again on January 20, 1945.
Roosevelt was the first president to win four terms, and the last president to win more than two consecutive presidential elections. His exclusive four terms were in part a consequence of timing. His election for a third term took place as the United States remained in the throws of the Great Depression and World War II had just begun. FDR (as he was known) was not the first president to try for multiple terms, but the instability of the times allowed him to make a strong case for stability…and how he, alone, could make that happen.
Says Barbara Perry, professor and director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, “You have economic-domestic issues and you have foreign policy with the outbreak of World War II in 1939. And then you have his own political viability—he had won the 1936 election with more than two-thirds of the popular vote.” It wasn’t that FDR’s policies were necessarily good for the country, and in fact, it is my opinion that most were disastrous, but since I was not born during FDR’s time in office, I suppose my only proof is history, and there are two sides to every story. All we can do is to look back at just how long it took to pull this nation out of the Great Depression, and draw our own conclusion from there. Anytime economic policies bring about big government, they hurt the American people.
The fact remains that any politician who is in office too long is a danger to this nation. I believe that we need to have term limits in every office there is. When a politician is in office too long, they begin to act like a dictator, and think that they don’t have to answer to anyone. Too much power in any one person’s hands creates greed and evil. Eventually, the United States lawmakers began to argue that term limits were necessary to keep abuse of power in check. FDR passed away on April 12, 1945, less than 3 months into his fourth term. Two years after FDR’s death, Congress passed the 22nd Amendment, limiting presidents to two terms. Then amendment was then ratified in 1951. At the time of FDR’s third presidential run, however, “There was nothing but precedent standing in his way, but, still, precedent, especially as it relates to the presidency, can be pretty powerful,” said Perry. A third consecutive run had been tried by other presidents, but they had failed. People really don’t want that.
The idea of needing term limits was not found among the framers of the Constitution, most of whom did not see the need. I’m sure they never considered man’s ability to be greedy and power-hungry, but Washington saw the importance, thus the precedent in not seeking re-election for a third time. Still, some had tried. Ulysses S Grant lost a third campaign in 1880, when James Garfield clinched the Republican nomination. Theodore Roosevelt lost his bid at a third nonconsecutive term in 1912 to William Howard Taft (he had previously served out the remainder of President William McKinley’s term and then won reelection). And Woodrow Wilson lost the Democratic nomination in 1920. Harry Truman, who succeeded FDR after his death, was president when the 22nd Amendment passed and so was exempt from the new rule. Truman campaigned for a third term in 1952, but withdrew after losing in the New Hampshire primary. Roosevelt’s campaign for a third term took place as the United States had not yet entered World War II, and the president was still trying to hold the line in an isolationist pattern…another of his disastrous policies. And just one more reason to make term limits in all public offices mandatory.
Politics is always a dirty game. That is probably why most of us don’t like career politicians. They will do or say anything to win or further their careers. “Dirty politics” has been around as long as there have been politicians…and politics isn’t even limited to just politicians. There’s office politics, military politics, law enforcement politics, and more.
General George Washington wasn’t even exempt. In October 1777, while serving as the commander of the Continental Army, Washington was informed of a conspiracy to discredit him with Congress and have him replaced by General Horatio Gates. The loosely organized attempt was supposedly led by Brigadier General Thomas Conway, who was an Irish member of the French army. Conway commanded a brigade in Washington’s army, and he was unhappy with Washington’s performance in the Battle of Brandywine. Conway was also bragging about his own feats at the same operation. Conway was even so bold as to request a promotion for himself, to the rank of major general…based on the merits of his “performance” in the battle. Washington protested Conway’s promotion and was irritated by the request, believing it would have disastrous effects on the morale of more senior officers. I think the biggest problem was the arrogance of Conway. It just isn’t right to brag on yourslf so much.
Thomas Conway, would be made inspector general of the United States less than two months later on December 14, but it is my belief that it was in an effort to pigeon-hole hime, because he was an embarrassment. Conway, was born in Ireland, but raised in France. He entered the French army in 1749. Silas Deane, the American ambassador to France, recruited Conway to the Patriot cause. Conway met with Washington at Morristown in May 1777, after which, he was appointed brigadier general and assigned to Major General John Sullivan’s division. Conway served admirably under Sullivan at the battles of Brandywine, in September 1777, and Germantown, in October 1777, before becoming involved in an unconfirmed conspiracy to remove General Washington from command of the Continental Army. It ruined his military career.
Conway wasn’t alone in the cabal. The Continental Army had suffered several defeats in the fall of 1777, and some members of Congress felt it was Washington’s leadership that was to blame. Conway began writing letters to prominent leaders, including General Horatio Gates, that were critical of Washington. After Washington got wind of Conway’s letter to General Gates, he wrote his own letter to Congress in January 1778. Conway was embarrassed, and in March 1778, he offered his resignation as an apology. Nevertheless, he was surprised and humiliated when Congress accepted. After General John Cadwalader wounded him in a duel defending Washington’s honor, Conway returned to France, where he died in exile in 1800…unable to recover his dignity after the horrific Conway Cabal.
The American Revolution was a serious embarrassment to Britain, and especially to King George III. The king had to admit that things weren’t going well in the colonies…at least not where Britain was concerned. By now, the colonists had signed the Declaration of Independence that summer, and they were not going to be moved from achieving their goal to be a sovereign nation.
On this day, October 31, 1776, the king give a speech to the British Parliament, telling them about the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence and the revolutionary leaders who signed it, saying, “for daring and desperate is the spirit of those leaders, whose object has always been dominion and power, that they have now openly renounced all allegiance to the crown, and all political connection with this country.” I’m sure he felt that the colonists were rebels, who were not worth wasting time on by now, and he 
hoped he could walk away from them without losing face any more than he already had. The British never intended for the United States to be anything more than the colones. The king went on to inform Parliament of the successful British victory over General George Washington and the Continental Army at the Battle of Long Island on August 27, 1776, but warned them that, “notwithstanding the fair prospect, it was necessary to prepare for another campaign.” Somehow, the king had the idea that there was still hope to keep the colonies.
Despite George III’s harsh words, General William Howe and his brother, Admiral Richard Howe, still hoped to convince the Americans to rejoin the British empire in the wake of the colonists’ humiliating defeat at the Battle of Long Island. They hoped to do 
thing peacefully, but that was just not to be. The British could easily have prevented Washington’s retreat from Long Island and captured most of the Patriot officer corps, including the commander in chief. However, instead of forcing the former colonies into submission by executing Washington and his officers as traitors, the Howe brothers let them go with the hope of swaying Patriot opinion towards a return to the mother country. The Howe brothers’ attempts at negotiation failed, and the War for Independence dragged on for another four years, until the formal surrender of the British to the Americans on October 19, 1781, after the Battle of Yorktown. The freedom of the United States was not going to be taken from them…and that was a serious embarrassment to Britain.
George Washington and Thomas Jefferson believed that a trans-Appalachian road was necessary to connect this young country. In 1806 Congress authorized construction of the road and President Jefferson signed the act establishing the National Road. It would connect Cumberland, Maryland to the Ohio River. Construction on the road, known in many places as Route 40, and in others as the Cumberland Road, began in 1811 and continued until 1834. It was designed to reach the western settlements, and was the first federally funded road in United States history.
The first contract was awarded in 1811, and included the first 10 miles of road. These days that seems like such a short distance, but in the early 1800s, I’m sure it was considered a big job. By 1818 the road was completed to Wheeling, West Virginia. It was at this point that mail coaches began using the road. By the 1830s the federal government turned over part of the road’s maintenance responsibility to the states through which it ran. In order to help pay for the road’s upkeep, tollgates and tollhouses were built by the states. As work on the road progressed a settlement pattern developed that is still visible. Original towns and villages that were found along the National Road, remain barely touched by the passing of time. The road, also called the Cumberland Road, National Pike and other names, became Main Street in these early settlements, earning the nickname “The Main Street of America.” The height of the National Road’s popularity came in 1825 when it was celebrated in song, story, painting and poetry, but hard times hit in 1834, and construction on the road was tabled. During the 1840s popularity soared again. Travelers and drovers, westward bound, crowded the inns and taverns along the route. Huge Conestoga wagons hauled produce from farms on the frontier to the East Coast, and then returned with staples such as coffee and sugar for the western settlements. Thousands of people moved west in covered wagons and stagecoaches that traveled the road keeping to regular schedules.
In the 1870s, however, the railroads came and some of the excitement of the national road faded. In 1912 the road became part of the National Old Trails Road and its popularity returned in the 1920s with the automobile. Federal Aid became available for improvements in the road to accommodate the automobile. In 1926 the road became part of US 40 as a coast-to-coast highway. As the interstate system has grown throughout America, interest in the National Road again waned. However, now when we want to have a relaxing journey with some history thrown in, we again travel the National Road. Cameras capture old buildings, bridges and old stone mile markers. Old brick schoolhouses from early years sporadically dot the countryside and some are found in the small towns on the National Road. Many are still used, some are converted to a private residence and others stand abandoned.
Historic stone bridges dot their way along the National Road, and they have their own stories to tell. The craftsmanship of the early engineers was amazing. The S Bridge, was so named because of its design and it stands 4 miles east of Old Washington, Ohio. It was built in 1828 as part of the National Road. It is a single arch stone structure. This one of four in the state is deteriorated and is now used for only pedestrian traffic. However the owners of the bridge are attempting to obtain funding for its restoration. The stone Casselman River Bridge still stands east of Grantsville, Maryland. It is a product of the early 19th century federal government improvements program along the National Road, the Casselman River Bridge was constructed in 1813-1814. Its 80-foot span, is the largest of its type in America, and it connected Cumberland to the Ohio River. In 1933 a new steel bridge joined the banks of the Casselman River. The old stone bridge, partially restored by the State of Maryland in the 1950s is now the center of Casselman River Bridge State Park. Mile markers have been used in Europe for more than 2,000 years and our European ancestors continued that tradition here in America. These markers tell travelers how far they are from their destination and were an important icon in early National Road travel. Kids ask what they are fr, and adults nostalgically seek them out for photographing. A drive through National Road towns usually reveals one of these markers, such as the one standing by the historic Red Brick Tavern in Lafayette, Ohio.
In the 1960s Interstate 70, bypassed Route 40 and much of the National Road, leaving many businesses by the wayside. People were looking for faster cars and quicker arrival times. Life runs at a much faster pace these 
days. These old roads are a great way to relax, take your time and see some sights. Traveling the National Road, you can see the timeless little villages with small restaurants where you can get a home cooked meal and a trip back in time. The Interstate often parallels the National Road, but we leave behind the old inns and farmhouses in our rush to arrive about destination.
