As we celebrate Washington’s birthday, the troops of Bashar al-Assad are pounding rebels throughout Syria, while in Libya the rebels who overthrew Moammar Khadafy are fighting among themselves. The era of revolutions that began with the American Revolution still throws up new conflicts. So long as it does, the example of George Washington, first revolutionary leader of the modern world, still matters. What can we learn from him?
Winning matters. Old regimes rarely go peacefully. Most revolutionaries have to prove themselves in battle. But it’s never easy. The last time New York City was attacked before 9/11 was the summer of 1776; George Washington, commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, was in charge of the defense.
And 1776 was even worse for him and for America than 9/11 was for us. The enemy routed Washington in the battles of Long Island and White Plains, and occupied New York for 7 1/2 years. But by improving his own skills and the skills of his troops, and by sheer persistence, Washington finally prevailed.
How you win also matters. There were officers around Washington who pushed for a strategy of guerilla warfare. But he overruled them, knowing it would lead to civil strife.
He dealt with his own troops humanely, too. In 1779 Henry Lee, a cavalry officer, suggested beheading deserters. Washington told him the idea “had better be omitted.” Such savagery would create “disgust,” not better discipline.
Savvy matters. Revolutions are about politics as well as force. The more experience a leader brings to the table, the better. Before becoming commander-in-chief in 1775, Washington had served 16 years in Virginia’s colonial legislature and two terms in the Continental Congress.
He knew how to appeal to voters (the Washington campaign served 160 gallons of liquor on his first winning election day in 1758), and he knew first-hand how legislatures worked — and didn’t. This experience helped him deal with ordinary soldiers, and taught him to be patient on the many occasions when Congress could not supply the army’s needs.
Self-restraint matters. Too many revolutionaries become tyrants themselves. Military men, used to violence and command, are especially liable to temptation.
In 1783, the officers of the Continental Army were desperate. Peace with Britain was coming, but Congress had been unable to pay them for years, and they feared being sent home with worthless IOUs. An anonymous call to action circulated through the army’s camp in Newburgh, NY: “If this . . . be your treatment, while the swords you wear are necessary for the defense of America,” it ran, “what have you to expect from peace?” The meaning was plain: To get what we are owed, we have to threaten Congress.
Washington responded by calling his officers together and appealing to their honor. Capt. Samuel Shaw, who was there, described the scene. “For a dreadful moment, the interests of the army and its General seemed to be in competition! He spoke . . . and the tide of patriotism rolled again.” Washington would not grab for power — and he stopped his men from doing it.
Self-examination matters. Revolutionaries usually say they have principles; often they write them out ahead of time. Do they follow through?
The principles of the American Revolution appear in the opening of the Declaration of Independence, but our enemies were not impressed. Samuel Johnson, the English writer and Tory, scoffed: “Why is it that the loudest yelps for liberty are heard from drivers of Negroes?”
It was a pointed question. Four of America’s five founding father presidents were slave owners: Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe.
At the end of his life, Washington decided to do something about it. In 1799 he drew up a will directing that his slaves — more than one hundred — be freed at his wife Martha’s death. Those who were too old to work would be supported by his estate; those who were too young would be educated and freed at age 25. He singled out one man by name, William Lee, his former body servant, “for his faithful services during the Revolutionary War.”
So Washington at the end of his life acknowledged his and Lee’s shared experience as veterans. Rightly so: They had both fought to uphold the principle that all men are created equal.
Richard Brookhiser’s latest book is “James Madison.”