Posted by
Patrick Baldwin on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 10:00:00 PM
A week ago President's Day came and went, and this year even more than usual, due to his 200th birthday, we were deluged with commentary on how wonderful Abe Lincoln was, and how historians regard him as our greatest president. This coming on the heels of Barak Obama's election and the plethora of comparisons to Obama and Lincoln, it all just makes me scream....Enough already, how about we take some time to remember the man who was our greatest president, George Washington! Let's take just a few moments to compare these men, and see if we can identify who really should be honored on President's Day?
Abraham Lincoln has become more myth than reality, a myth who might not be so highly regarded had he not been assassinated. Far from being the poor rail splitter, living in a log cabin, Lincoln was his times equivalent to a corporate lawyer, whose house in Springfield was the first one with indoor plumbing in the city. While we all agree that his actions to end slavery were a good thing, few seem to recall or discuss his statement, "If I could save the union without freeing any slave, I would." When asked why he would not just let the secessionist states go quietly, Lincoln replied, "Then who would pay for the government?" It can certainly be argued, on historical fact, that the Civil War was as much about the federal government gaining control over southern agricultural wealth, as it was about ending slavery.Lincoln suspended habeus corpus and during the war imprisoned hundreds for nothing but dissenting speech. Let us also not forget that it was Lincoln who signed the first income tax into law....and we all know what that has led to. Lincoln was a skilled orator who spoke of important and positive things, while at the same time taking many actions of a far darker nature. Lincoln was not well loved in his time, and it was nearly 20 years after his death before the great myth building began. Had he not met with violence that April night at Ford's Theatre, it is doubtful that this man, who led us into our bloodiest war ever, would have his face on Mt. Rushmore or share a day of honor with Washington!
George Washington was not a poor log cabin man, nor a highly trained military genius. He was a working man, a surveyor, who, when he could, was a hands on planter at Mount Vernon. He had suffered losses and victories in the French and Indian War, but he was respected for his service. He was a man who treasured his state of Virginia and who loved the United States of America. He was a patriot, at a time when being a patriot meant far more than today. When he stood as the most recognizable face of our revolution, his patriotism could have cost him his life for treason. While others dithered in endless argument during the War, Washington walked amongst his troops, holding his army together only by his strength of personality. He was on the battlefield, even having a horse shot out from under him, and he fought for our right to self-determination, to free us from unjust taxation and give us our cherished liberty. Washington spoke of the rights of the sovereign states and their power to stand together with a limited federal government. He humbly accepted the presidency, and promised to step down, and did, after two terms, commenting that a president should not be as a King. He was clear in his beliefs that the federal government should not usurp power from the states and that the rights of the individual should be held as most sacred. He was a man humbled by the honor of having the new nation's capital named in his honor. Washington was also the only Founding Father to speak out against and advocate for the abolition of slavery. Though critics point out that he held slaves, his writings reveal that the laws of the time prevented him from outright freeing them without breaking up families, however, he did order, in his will, that his slaves be freed upon the death of his wife and that until that time that they be cared for by his heirs. George Washington was not a complex man with hidden agendas, he was what he has always appeared to be, a patriot and a president whom we should remember with honor.