George Washington was the man who established the American republic. He led the revolutionary army against the British Empire, he served as the first president, and most importantly he stepped down from power.
In an era of brilliant men, Washington was not the deepest thinker. He never wrote a book or even a long essay, unlike George Mason, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Adams. But Washington made the ideas of the American founding real. He incarnated liberal and republican ideas in his own person, and he gave them effect through the Revolution, the Constitution, his successful presidency, and his departure from office.
Whats so great about leaving office? Surely it matters more what a president does in office. But think about other great military commanders and revolutionary leaders before and after WashingtonCaesar, Cromwell, Napoleon, Lenin. They all seized the power they had won and held it until death or military defeat.
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Give the last word to Washingtons great adversary, King George III. The king asked his American painter, Benjamin West, what Washington would do after winning independence. West replied, They say he will return to his farm.
If he does that, the incredulous monarch said, he will be the greatest man in the world.
