Washington as Cincinnatus
George Washington is well known for having relinquished the presidency, setting a standard upheld without a law requiring it for over 140 years. He actually left America's top post twice.
Now that the 2024 election is in the rear-view mirror, I am trying to get back into the habit of reading. As such, I’ve picked Washington: A Life, by Ron Chernow, back up off the desk and find it so interesting, I underline and take notes on nearly every page. I shared a story from the book back in March 2024 related to Washington’s courage under fire and his seemingly Divine protection in battle. In reaching the final pages detailing Washington’s time as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, I’ve realized that Washington didn’t just hand off power by stepping down from the Presidency, but also by returning to private life after time and circumstance handed him fame in the form of military conquest.
The final chapter in the section dedicated to the American Revolution is called “Cincinnatus.” Many, including Washington’s contemporaries, have likened Washington to Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, the Roman leader in the fifth century B.C. who assumed control of Rome and led them to victory at the Battle of Mount Algidus in 458 B.C., only to return to his life of farming, relinquishing all power and potential for supreme rule. Cincinnatus, for whom the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, is named, has long been upheld as an example of civic virtue, although one that is rarely, if ever, mimicked.
Washington stepped down from the opportunity to wield supreme power twice. Most Americans are familiar with him setting the standard for U.S. presidents serving only two terms, which was firmly kept for almost a century and a half until Franklin D. Roosevelt ran for (and won) a third and fourth term amid the Great Depression and World War II. After that, the 22nd Amendment was ratified in 1951 to officially limit presidents to two four-year terms. Prior to the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, there had been talk of making Washington king, an idea he firmly opposed.
Nearing the end of the Revolutionary War, Washington received a letter from Colonel Lewis Nicola, who dangled the prospect of kingship to the General. Chernow captures Washington’s reply:
Be assured, sir, no occurrence in the course of the war has given me more painful sensations than your information of there being such ideas existing in the army as you have expressed and that I must view with abhorrence and reprehend with severity. I am much at a loss to conceive what part of my conduct could have given encouragement to an address which to me seems big with the greatest mischiefs that can befall my country. If I am not deceived in the knowledge of myself, you could not have found a person to whom your schemes are more disagreeable…Let me conjure you then, if you have any regard for your country, concern for yourself or posterity, or respect for me, to banish these thoughts from your mind.
By the end of 1783, Washington, now a victorious hero, had resigned his commission as commander-in-chief and returned to life as a private citizen on his estate at Mount Vernon, Virginia. Like Cincinnatus, Washington declined to capitalize on his fame and victory and returned to the fields from which he came. No one thought that would be done, including King George III. George had inquired of the painter Benjamin West if Washington would be in charge of the army or the state at the end of the Revolution. West informed him that Washington intended to return to his estate and retire from public life. George’s response, again captured by Chernow, is one of the greatest commendations of Washington’s character I’ve read:
If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world.
It is unnatural for humans to deny themselves power and is perhaps the most fatal flaw of government in the world, especially self-government. The father of our country feared despotism and was consistent in his desire to restrain his own impulses, evident in his belief that the military should be subject to civilian authority shown throughout his command. He demonstrated this restraint fully by stepping down from the most powerful positions in the early Republic on two separate occasions.
Free societies are truly blessed when those who govern them desire to relinquish power more than they desire to keep it at all costs.
Which brings to mind the sacrifice of personal freedom and wealth Trump has made for us. I dare say his conviction and courage has been heroic!
Trump has already hinted that he would be open to serving another term or two. And perhaps the times call for it. But I am happy for the presidential term limit. Rather than repeal it, I would prefer modifying it, though I am unsure how to make it an effective check and balance.