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Washington's
Legacy. - Washington's circular letter addressed to the
governors of all the States on disbanding the army was felt by him
to be so important that, supposing himself at the time to be finally
retiring from public life, he spoke of it as his legacy. The
feelings with which it was written, as well as its own contents and
character, naturally prompt a comparison of it with the farewell
address of 1796. The occasion of the letter was a much more critical
occasion than that of the farewell address. It was the time, as
Washington well said, of the "political probation" of the American
people. " This is the moment," he said, "when the eyes of the whole
world are turned upon them; this is the moment to establish or ruin
their national character forever. . . . With this conviction of the
importance of the present crisis, silence in me would be a crime."
He then proceeds to the discussion of those things which he
considered essential to the well-being and to the existence of the
United States as an independent power. The effect of the letter upon
the country, in the disordered condition of the time, was important.
The legislatures that were then in session passed resolves in honor
of the commander-in-chief; and the governors of the States wrote
letters expressing the public gratitude for his great services.
For the conditions under which this address appeared, see Irving's
Life of Washington, iv., 426. For an account of the discontents in
the army just previous, which for a time threatened such serious
dangers, see Irving, iv., 406; Marshall, iv., 585; and Sparks,
viii., appendix xii., on The Newburg Addresses. See in this general
collection Washington's letters to the president of Congress, March
19, and April 18, 1783; to Benjamin Harrison, governor of Virginia,
March 18, 1783; to Lafayette, April 5, 1783, and his farewell
address to the armies, Nov. 2, 1783 (Sparks, viii., 396, 403, 411,
421, 491). Washington's deep sense of the obligations of the country
to the officers and soldiers of the army, which finds such strong
expression in this circular letter, may be further studied in The
Life, Journal, and Correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, vol. i.,
chap. iv.; in Cone's Life of Gen. Rufus Putnam; and in the
St. Clair
Papers.
The following is the text of the address:
HEADQUARTERS, NEWBURG, June 8, 1783.
Sir. - The great object, for which I had the
honor to hold an appointment in the service of my country, being
accomplished, I am now preparing to resign it into the hands of
Congress, and to return to that domestic retirement which, it is
well known, I left with the greatest reluctance; a retirement for
which I have never ceased to sigh, through a long and painful
absence, and in which (remote from the noise and trouble of the
world) I meditate to pass the remainder of life, in a state of
undisturbed repose. But before I carry this resolution into effect,
I think it a duty incumbent on me to make this my last official
communication; to congratulate you on the glorious events which
Heaven has been pleased to produce in our favor; to offer my
sentiments respecting some important subjects, which appear to me to
be intimately connected with the tranquility of the United States;
to take my leave of your Excellency as a public character; and to
give my final blessing to that country in whose service I have spent
the prime of my life, for whose sake I have consumed so many anxious
days and watchful nights, and whose happiness, being extremely dear
to me, will always constitute no inconsiderable part of my own.
Impressed with the liveliest sensibility on this
pleasing occasion, I will claim the indulgence of dilating the more
copiously oil the subjects of our mutual felicitation. When we
consider the magnitude of the prize we contended for, the doubtful
nature of the contest, and the favorable manner in which it has
terminated, we shall find the greatest possible reason for gratitude
and rejoicing. This is a theme that will afford infinite delight to
every benevolent and liberal mind, whether the event in
contemplation be considered as the source of present enjoyment or
the parent of future happiness; and we shall have equal occasion to
felicitate ourselves on the lot which Providence has assigned us,
whether we view it in a natural, a political, or moral point of
light.
The citizens of America, placed in the most
enviable condition, as the sole lords and proprietors of a vast
tract of continent, comprehending all the various soils and climates
of the world, and abounding with all the necessaries and
conveniences of life, are now, by the late satisfactory
pacification, acknowledged to be possessed of absolute freedom and
independency. They are, from this period, to be considered as the
actors on a most conspicuous theatre, which seems to be peculiarly
designated by Providence for the display of human greatness and
felicity. Here they are not only surrounded with everything which
can contribute to the completion of private and domestic enjoyment;
but Heaven has crowned all its other blessings, by giving a fairer
opportunity for political happiness than any other nation has ever
been favored with. Nothing can illustrate these observations more
forcibly than a recollection of the happy conjuncture of times and
circumstances, under which our republic assumed its rank among the
nations. The foundation of our empire was not laid in the gloomy age
of ignorance and superstition; but at an epocha when the rights of
mankind were better understood and more clearly defined than at any
former period. The researches of the human mind after social
happiness have been carried to a great extent; the treasures of
knowledge, acquired by the labors of philosophers, sages, and
legislators, through a long succession of years, are laid open for
our use, and their collected wisdom may be happily applied in the
establishment of our forms of government. The free cultivation of
letters, the unbounded extension of commerce, the progressive
refinement of manners, the growing liberality of sentiment, and,
above all, the pure and benign light of Revelation, have had a
meliorating influence on mankind and increased the blessings of
society. At this auspicious period the United States came into
existence as a nation; and, if their citizens should not be
completely free and happy, the fault will be entirely their own.
Such is our situation, and such are our
prospects; but, notwithstanding the cup of blessing is thus reached
out to us; notwithstanding happiness is ours, if we have a
disposition to seize the occasion and make it our own; yet it
appears to me there is an option still left to the United States of
America, that it is in their choice, and depends upon their conduct,
whether they will be respectable and prosperous, or contemptible and
miserable, as a nation. This is the time of their political
probation; this is the moment when the eyes of the whole world are
turned upon them; this is the moment to establish or ruin their
national character for ever; this is the favorable moment to give
such a tone to our federal government, as will enable it to answer
the ends of its institution, or this may be the illfated moment for
relaxing the powers of the Union, annihilating the cement of the
confederation, and exposing us to become the sport of European
politics, which may play one State against another, to prevent their
growing importance, and to serve their own interested purposes. For,
according to the system of policy the States shall adopt at this
moment, they will stand or fall; and by their confirmation or lapse
it is yet to be decided, whether the revolution must ultimately be
considered as a blessing or a curse; a blessing or a curse, not to
the present age alone, for with our fate will the destiny of unborn
millions be involved.
With this conviction of the importance of the
present crisis, silence in me would be a crime. I will therefore
speak to your Excellency the language of freedom and of sincerity
without disguise. I am aware, however, that those who differ from me
in political sentiment may perhaps remark that I am stepping out of
the proper line of my duty, and may possibly ascribe to arrogance or
ostentation what I know is alone the result of the purest intention.
But the rectitude of my own heart, which disdains such unworthy
motives; the part I have hitherto acted in life; the determination I
have formed, of not taking any share in public business hereafter;
the ardent desire I feel, and shall continue to manifest, of quietly
enjoying, in private life, after all the toils of war, the benefits
of a wise and liberal government, will, I flatter myself, sooner or
later convince my countrymen that I could have no sinister views in
delivering, with so little reserve, the opinions contained in this
address. There are four things which, I humbly conceive, are
essential to the well-being, I may even venture to say, to the
existence of the United States, as an independent power
First. An
indissoluble union of the States under one federal head.
Second. A
sacred regard to public justice.
Third. The
adoption of a proper peace establishment; and,
Fourth. The
prevalence of that pacific and friendly disposition among the people
of the United States which will induce them to forget their local
prejudices and policies; to make those mutual concessions, which are
requisite to the general prosperity; and, in some instances, to
sacrifice their individual advantages to the interest of the
community.
These are the pillars on which the glorious
fabric of our independency and national character must be supported.
Liberty is the basis; and whoever would dare to sap the foundation,
or overturn the structure, under whatever specious pretext he may
attempt it, will merit the bitterest execration and the severest
punishment which can be inflicted by his injured country.
On the three first articles I will make a few
observations, leaving the last to the good sense and serious
consideration of those immediately concerned.
Under the first head, although it may not be
necessary or proper for me, in this place, to enter into a
particular disquisition on the principles of the Union, and to take
up the great question which has been frequently agitated, whether it
be expedient and requisite for the States to delegate a larger
proportion of power to Congress, or not; yet it will be a part of my
duty, and that of every true patriot, to assert without reserve, and
to insist upon, the following positions. That, unless the States
will suffer Congress to exercise those prerogatives they are
undoubtedly invested with by the Constitution, every thing must very
rapidly tend to anarchy and confusion. That it is indispensable to
the happiness of the individual States that there should be lodged
somewhere a supreme power to regulate and govern the general
concerns of the confederated republic, without which the Union
cannot be of long duration. That there must be a faithful and
pointed compliance, on the part of every State, with the late
proposals and demands of Congress, or the most fatal consequences
will ensue. That whatever measures have a tendency to dissolve the
Union, or contribute to violate or lessen the sovereign authority,
ought to be considered as hostile to the liberty and independency of
America, and the authors of them treated accordingly. And lastly,
that unless we can be enabled, by the concurrence of the States, to
participate of the fruits of the revolution; and enjoy the essential
benefits of civil society, under a form of government so free and
uncorrupted, so happily guarded against the danger of oppression, as
has been devised and adopted by the Articles of Confederation, it
will be a subject of regret that so much blood and treasure have
been lavished for no purpose, that so many sufferings have been
encountered without a compensation, and that so many sacrifices have
been made n vain.
Many other considerations might here be adduced
to prove that, without an entire conformity to the spirit of the
Union, we cannot exist as an independent power. It will be
sufficient for my purpose to mention but one or two, which seem to
me of the greatest importance. It is only in our united character,
as an empire, that our independence is acknowledged, that our power
can be regarded, or our credit supported among foreign nations. The
treaties of the European powers with the United States of America
will have no validity on a dissolution of the Union. We shall be
left nearly in a state of nature; or we may find, by our own unhappy
experience, that there is a natural and necessary progression from
the extreme of anarchy to the extreme of tyranny, and that arbitrary
power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty, abused to
licentiousness.
As to the second article, which respects the
performance of public justice, Congress have, in their late address
to the United States, almost exhausted the subject; they have
explained their ideas so fully, and have enforced the obligations
the States are under, to render complete justice to all the public
creditors, with so much dignity and energy that, in my opinion, no
real friend of the honor and independency of America can hesitate a
single moment, respecting the propriety of complying with the just
and honorable measures proposed. If their arguments do not produce
conviction, I know of nothing that will have greater influence;
especially when we recollect that the system referred to, being the
result of the collected wisdom of the continent, must be esteemed,
if not perfect, certainly the least objectionable of any that could
be devised; and that, if it shall not be carried into immediate
execution, a national bankruptcy, with all its deplorable
con-sequences, will take place, before any different plan can
possibly be proposed and adopted. So pressing are the present
circumstances, and such is the alternative now offered to the
States.
The ability of the country to discharge the
debts, which have been incurred in its defense, is not to be
doubted; and inclination, I flatter myself, will not be wanting. The
path of our duty is plain before us; honesty will be found, on every
experiment, to be the best and only true policy. Let us then, as a
nation, be just; let us fulfill the public contracts, which Congress
had undoubtedly a right to make for the purpose of carrying on the
war, with the same good faith we suppose our-selves bound to perform
our private engagements. In the mean time, let an attention to the
cheerful performance of their proper business, as individuals and as
members of society, be earnestly inculcated on the citizens of
America; then will they strengthen the hands of government, and be
happy under its protection; every one will reap the fruit of his
labors, every one will enjoy his own acquisitions, without
molestation and without danger.
In this state of absolute freedom and perfect
security, who will grudge to yield a very little of his property to
support the common interest of society, and insure the protection of
government? Who does not remember the frequent declarations, at the
commencement of the war, that we should be completely satisfied if,
at the expense of one-half, we could defend the remainder of our
possessions? Where is the man to be found who wishes to remain
indebted for the defense of his own person and property to the
exertions, the bravery, and the blood of others, without making one
generous effort to repay the debt of honor and gratitude? In what
part of the continent shall we find any man, or body of men, who
would not blush to stand up and propose measures, purposely
calculated to rob the soldier of his stipend, and the public
creditor of his clue? And were it possible that such a flagrant
instance of injustice could ever happen, would it not excite the
general indignation, and tend to bring down upon the authors of such
measures the aggravated vengeance of Heaven? If, after all, a spirit
of disunion, or a temper of obstinacy and perverseness should
manifest itself in any of the States; if such an ungracious
disposition should attempt to frustrate all the happy effects that
might be expected to flow from the Union; if there should be a
refusal to comply with the requisitions for funds to discharge the
annual interest of the public debts; and if that refusal should
revive again all those jealousies and produce all those evils which
are now happily removed, Congress, who have, in all their
trans-actions, shown a great degree of magnanimity and justice, will
stand justified in the sight of God and man; and that State alone,
which puts itself in opposition to the aggregate wisdom of the
continent, and follows such mistaken and pernicious counsels, will
be responsible for all the consequences.
For my own part, conscious of having acted, while
a servant of the public, in the manner I conceived best suited to
promote the real interests of my country; having, in consequence of
my fixed belief, in some measure pledged myself to the army, that
their country would finally do them complete and ample justice; and
not wishing to conceal any instance of my official conduct from the
eyes of the world, I have thought proper to transmit to your
Excellency the enclosed collection of papers, relative to the
half-pay and commutation granted by Congress to the officers of the
army. From these communications, my decided sentiments will be
.clearly comprehended, together with the conclusive reasons which
induced me, at an early period, to recommend the adoption of the
measure, in the most earnest and serious manner. As the proceedings
of Congress, the army, and myself, are open to all, and contain, in
my opinion, sufficient information to remove the prejudices and
errors, which may have been entertained by any, I think it
unnecessary to say anything more than just to observe, that the
resolutions of Congress, now alluded to, are undoubtedly as
absolutely binding upon the United States as the most solemn acts of
confederation or legislation.
As to the idea which, I am informed, has in some
instances prevailed, that the half-pay and commutation are to be
regarded merely in the odious light of a pension, it ought to be
exploded forever. That provision should be viewed, as it really was,
a reasonable compensation offered by Congress, at a time when they
had nothing else to give to the officers of the army for services
then to be performed. It was the only means to prevent a total
dereliction of the service. It was a part of their hire. I may be
allowed to say, it was the price of their blood, and of your
independency; it is therefore more than a common debt, it is a debt
of honor; it can never be considered as a pension or gratuity, nor
be cancelled until it is fairly discharged.
With regard to a distinction between officers and
soldiers, it is sufficient that the uniform experience of every
nation of the world, combined with our own, proves the utility and
propriety of the discrimination. Rewards, in proportion to the aids
which the public derives from them, are unquestionably due to all
its servants. In some lines, the soldiers have perhaps generally had
as ample compensation for their services, by the large bounties
which have been paid to them, as their officers will receive in the
proposed commutation; in others, if, besides the donation of lands,
the payment of arrearages of clothing and wages (in which articles
all the component parts of the army must be put upon the same
footing), we take into the estimate the bounties many of the
soldiers have received, and the gratuity of one year's full pay,
which is promised to all, possibly their situation (every
circumstance being duly considered) will not be deemed less eligible
than that of the officers. Should a further reward, however, be
judged equitable, I will venture to assert, no one will enjoy
greater satisfaction than myself, on seeing an exemption from taxes
for a limited time (which has been petitioned for in some
instances), or any other adequate immunity or compensation granted
to the brave defenders of their country's cause; but neither the
adoption nor rejection of this proposition will in any manner
affect, much less militate against, the act of Congress, by which
they have offered five years' full pay, in lieu of the half-pay for
life, which had been before promised to the officers of the army.
Before I conclude the subject of public justice,
I cannot omit to mention the obligations this country is under to
that meritorious class of veteran non-commissioned officers and
privates who have been discharged for inability, in consequence of
the resolution of Congress of the 23d of April, 1782, on an annual
pension for life. Their peculiar sufferings, their singular merits,
and claims to that provision, need only be known, to interest all
the feelings of humanity in their behalf. Nothing but a punctual
payment of their annual allowance can rescue them from the most
complicated misery; and nothing could be a more melancholy and
distressing sight than to behold those, who have shed their blood or
lost their limbs in the service of their country, without a shelter,
without a friend, and without the means of obtaining any of the
necessaries or comforts of life, compelled to beg their daily bread
from door to door. Suffer me to recommend those of this description,
belonging to your State, to the warmest patronage of your Excellency
and your legislature.
It is necessary to say but a few words on the
third topic which was proposed, and which regards particularly the
de-ence of the republic; as there can be little doubt that Congress
will recommend a proper peace establishment for the United States,
in which a due attention will be paid to the importance of placing
the militia of the Union upon a regular and respectable footing. If
this should be the case, I would beg leave to urge the great
advantage of it in the strongest terms. The militia of this country
must be considered as the palladium of our security, and the first
effectual resort in case of hostility. It is essential, therefore,
that the same system should pervade the whole; that the formation
and discipline of the militia of the continent should be absolutely
uniform, and that the same species of arms, accoutrements, and
military apparatus, should be introduced in every part of the United
States. No one, who has not learned it from experience, can conceive
the difficulty, expense, and confusion, which result from a contrary
system, or the vague arrangements which have hitherto prevailed.
If, in treating of political points, a greater
latitude than usual has been taken in the course of this address,
the importance of the crisis, and the magnitude of the objects in
discussion, must be my apology. It is, however, neither my wish nor
expectation, that the preceding observations should claim any
regard, except so far as they shall appear to be dictated by a good
intention, consonant to the immutable rules of justice, calculated
to produce a liberal system of policy, and founded on whatever
experience may have been acquired by a long and close attention to
public business. Here I might speak with the more confidence, from
my actual observations; and, if it would not swell this letter
(already too prolix) beyond the bounds I had prescribed to myself, I
could demonstrate, to every mind open to conviction, that in less
time, and with much less expense, than has been incurred, the war
might have been brought to the same happy conclusion, if the
re-sources of the continent could have been properly drawn forth;
that the distresses and disappointments, which have very often
occurred, have, in too many in-stances, resulted more from a want of
energy in the Continental government, than a deficiency of means in
the particular States; that the inefficacy of measures arising from
the want of an adequate authority in the supreme power, from a
partial compliance with the requisitions of Congress in some of the
States, and from a failure of punctuality in others, while it tended
to damp the zeal of those, who were more willing to exert
themselves, served also to accumulate the expenses of the war, and
to frustrate the best concerted plans; and that the discouragement
occasioned by the complicated difficulties and embarrassments, in
which our affairs were by this means involved, would have long ago
produced the dissolution of any army, less patient, less virtuous,
and less persevering, than that which I have had the honor to
command. But, while I mention these things, which are notorious
facts, as the defects of our federal constitution, particularly in
the prosecution of a war, I beg it may be understood, that, as I
have ever taken a pleasure in gratefully acknowledging the
assistance and support I have derived from every class of citizens,
so shall I always be happy to do justice to the unparalleled
exertions of the individual States on many interesting occasions.
I have thus freely disclosed what I wished to
make known, before I surrendered up my public trust to those who
committed it to me. The task is now accomplished. I now bid adieu to
your Excellency as the chief magistrate of your State, at the same
time I bid a last farewell to the cares of office, and all the
employments of public life.
It remains, then, to be my final and only
request, that your Excellency will communicate these sentiments to
your legislature at their next meeting, and that they may be
considered as the legacy of one, who has ardently wished, on all
occasions, to be useful to his country, and who, even in the shade
of retirement, will not fail to implore the Divine benediction upon
it.
I now make it my earnest prayer, that God would
have you, and the State over which you preside, in his holy
protection; that he would incline the hearts of the citizens to
cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government; to
entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another, for their
fellow-citizens of the United States at large, and particularly for
their brethren who have served in the field; and finally, that he
would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to
love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and
pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine
Author of our blessed religion, and without an humble imitation of
whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy
nation.
I have the honor to be, with much esteem and
respect, sir, your Excellency's most obedient and most humble
servant,
GEORGE WASHINGTON. |