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[00:00:00] As we celebrate America's 250th birthday [00:00:03] this year, the organization known as [00:00:05] More Perfect has commissioned a series [00:00:07] of essays about American presidents and [00:00:09] first ladies written and read by public [00:00:12] officials, journalists, and historians. [00:00:14] The project is called In Pursuit. Its [00:00:17] goal is to bring American history to [00:00:18] life through compelling stories. Here's [00:00:21] one of those essays. [00:00:24] George Washington by George W. Bush. For [00:00:28] a leader, humility is the ultimate [00:00:30] strength. [00:00:31] As America begins to celebrate our 250th [00:00:34] anniversary, I am pleased to have been [00:00:36] asked to write about George Washington's [00:00:38] leadership. [00:00:39] As president, I found great comfort and [00:00:41] inspiration reading about my [00:00:43] predecessors and the qualities they [00:00:45] embodied. Abraham Lincoln's resolve, [00:00:49] Harry Truman's decisiveness, Ronald [00:00:51] Reagan's optimism, and others reminded [00:00:54] me of the challenges America has faced [00:00:57] and of the values that have helped us [00:00:59] overcome them. [00:01:01] Few qualities have inspired me more than [00:01:03] Washington's humility. I have studied [00:01:06] the corrupting nature of power and how [00:01:08] retaining power for power's sake has [00:01:10] infected politics for generations. Our [00:01:13] first president could have remained all [00:01:15] powerful, but twice he chose not to. In [00:01:18] so doing, he set a standard for all [00:01:20] presidents to live up to. His life with [00:01:23] all its flaws and achievements should be [00:01:26] studied by all who aspire to leadership. [00:01:29] George Washington's humility in giving [00:01:31] up power willingly remains among the [00:01:34] most consequential decisions and [00:01:36] important examples in American politics. [00:01:40] After leading the United States to [00:01:42] victory over Great Britain in the [00:01:43] Revolutionary War, George Washington was [00:01:46] at the height of his power. Some [00:01:48] suggested he should become the king. [00:01:51] Instead, George Washington resigned his [00:01:53] military commission in 1783. [00:01:56] When King George III of Great Britain [00:01:58] learned of his vanquishers intentions, [00:02:00] he reportedly said, "If he did, he will [00:02:03] be the greatest man in the world." [00:02:06] What Washington did on that cold [00:02:08] December afternoon in Annapolis shaped [00:02:10] the foundation and future of American [00:02:12] democracy and he was just getting [00:02:15] started. [00:02:16] Washington's path to greatness was not [00:02:18] always easy. His father died when he was [00:02:21] 11. Rather than receiving a classical [00:02:24] education in London like his older half [00:02:27] brothers, young George had to help his [00:02:29] mother on Ferry Farm where he learned [00:02:31] the value of hard work. His father's [00:02:34] death and his own lack of education bred [00:02:37] an insecurity. That insecurity in turn [00:02:40] led to an insatiable hunger for [00:02:41] knowledge. Largely self-taught, he [00:02:44] became a voracious reader. [00:02:47] As a boy, he schooled himself in the [00:02:49] gentlemanly arts by copying the 110 [00:02:52] maxims from the rules of civility and [00:02:54] decent behavior in company and [00:02:56] conversation, which helped shape his [00:02:58] character for the rest of his life. [00:03:00] Many of the qualities that came to be [00:03:02] associated with Washington's leadership, [00:03:04] from self-control and courteousness to [00:03:07] modesty and diplomacy can be traced to [00:03:09] that short book on manners. When he was [00:03:12] 20, Washington's interest shifted from [00:03:14] the field of surveying to the field of [00:03:16] battle. He started his military career [00:03:19] as a young officer in the Virginia [00:03:21] militia. During a single battle in the [00:03:24] French and Indian War, four musk balls [00:03:26] ripped through his coat and his horse [00:03:28] was shot from underneath him. He never [00:03:31] received a commission in the British [00:03:33] Army. [00:03:34] As the American commander of the [00:03:36] Continental Army for more than eight [00:03:37] years, Washington's humility led him to [00:03:40] listen, a very different style from [00:03:42] British leadership. [00:03:44] As Washington wrote to Major General [00:03:46] Sterling, "A people unused to restraint [00:03:49] must be led. They will not be drove. [00:03:53] Washington listened and learned not just [00:03:55] from top military brass but from his [00:03:58] soldiers down the ranks. In one case [00:04:00] asking their advice on whether to [00:04:02] advance after crossing the Delaware [00:04:04] River and taking Trenton, New Jersey. [00:04:07] Subsequent leaders learned from that [00:04:09] lesson, including Abraham Lincoln, who [00:04:12] made sure to listen to privates as much [00:04:14] as his generals. [00:04:16] Despite commanding badly outmanned [00:04:18] soldiers and losing more battles than he [00:04:20] won, America under Washington's [00:04:23] leadership emerged victorious in a war [00:04:25] that changed the trajectory of world [00:04:27] history. [00:04:29] With Washington, character was key. In [00:04:32] this case, his humility, perseverance [00:04:34] despite difficult odds, indomitable [00:04:36] will, and the loyalty he inspired in [00:04:39] others. [00:04:40] In early 1783, that loyalty would be [00:04:43] tested. His men were tired and homesick [00:04:46] and angry about unpaid wages. Their [00:04:49] frustration with the Continental [00:04:50] Congress was boiling over, and there was [00:04:53] talk of mutiny among the officers. On [00:04:56] March 15th, in a speech to the troops, [00:04:59] Washington spoke about their common [00:05:00] cause, their duty to each other, and the [00:05:03] righteousness of their mission. He also [00:05:06] stressed his personal bond with them, [00:05:08] refusing to elevate himself above his [00:05:11] men. [00:05:13] Before he made history, Washington had [00:05:15] studied it. He was especially drawn to [00:05:17] Roman leaders and generals wary of [00:05:20] power. So like Lucius Cinetus, who [00:05:23] retired to his farm after saving Rome in [00:05:25] battle, Washington returned to Mount [00:05:27] Vernon after winning the war. It was the [00:05:31] place that centered him, provided him [00:05:33] with happiness, and enabled him to spend [00:05:35] time with his beloved wife Martha. [00:05:38] But before long, duty once again [00:05:41] summoned him. The young republic was in [00:05:44] crisis. The Articles of Confederation [00:05:46] were failing with the federal government [00:05:48] equally powerless. [00:05:50] In 1787, Washington was called back to [00:05:53] public life where he presided over the [00:05:55] Constitutional Convention in [00:05:57] Philadelphia. [00:05:59] He was asked to serve because he was a [00:06:00] national hero and a unifying figure, [00:06:03] trusted by all and unmatched in his [00:06:05] ability to forge consensus. [00:06:08] He could be given power because of his [00:06:10] character because everyone knew he would [00:06:12] not abuse power. [00:06:14] Out of the convention emerged a new [00:06:16] constitution and a new office, the [00:06:18] presidency. Washington was the obvious [00:06:21] choice and twice was unanimously [00:06:23] elected. The only president so elected [00:06:26] in American history. He accepted the [00:06:29] presidency because the office needed [00:06:30] him, not because he needed the office. [00:06:34] Our first president stabilized the [00:06:36] economy and the nation's finances, [00:06:38] asserted the authority of the federal [00:06:40] government, and assured passage of the [00:06:42] Bill of Rights. He kept America out of [00:06:45] the French Revolutionary Wars, [00:06:47] successfully put down an insurrection in [00:06:49] Western Pennsylvania, and assembled and [00:06:51] skillfully managed a cabinet of [00:06:53] brilliant but contentious individuals. [00:06:56] He delivered a foundational message on [00:06:58] religious tolerance to a synagogue in [00:07:00] Rhode Island. He signed legislation to [00:07:03] create the nation's court system and the [00:07:06] first executive departments. [00:07:08] The question we must all ask is how did [00:07:11] he accomplish these things? By most [00:07:13] historian accounts, one of the reasons [00:07:15] why Washington achieve all of this was [00:07:17] by admitting he might not be up to the [00:07:19] task. He summoned experts and let [00:07:22] debates play out in front of him. For [00:07:25] me, that lesson meant recognizing what I [00:07:27] didn't know as president and surrounding [00:07:29] myself with advisers who did know what I [00:07:32] didn't know and listening to them. [00:07:35] Like all presidents, Washington had his [00:07:37] faults. He made tactical errors, [00:07:40] especially early in his military career. [00:07:42] He could be prickly and naturally [00:07:44] irritable, in the words of Thomas [00:07:46] Jefferson. But worst of all, he was, as [00:07:49] were many of his generation, a lifelong [00:07:52] slave owner who never publicly condemned [00:07:54] the institution. [00:07:56] His views evolved over time, expressing [00:07:59] private misgivings about slavery later [00:08:02] in his life. It's been said he made the [00:08:05] most public anti-slavery statement after [00:08:07] his death by freeing the slaves he owned [00:08:10] in his will, which is more than most [00:08:12] people of his generation did. [00:08:15] Still, slavery is a stain on an [00:08:17] otherwise sterling private and public [00:08:19] life. [00:08:21] But Washington, like all of us, should [00:08:23] be taken in totality of his acts and of [00:08:25] his life in his times. By that standard, [00:08:28] his life was exceptional. The founding [00:08:31] generation considered Washington to be [00:08:33] the indispensable man. Without him, [00:08:36] there would be no America, and without [00:08:37] America, the world would be a very [00:08:39] different and much darker place. [00:08:42] As Doug Bradburn, president and CEO of [00:08:45] George Washington's Mount Vernon put it, [00:08:47] "His perseverance, steadfast optimism, [00:08:50] and ultimately his wisdom drew upon a [00:08:53] deep integrity and humility, which over [00:08:55] many trials created in him the character [00:08:58] of the greatest political leader of the [00:09:00] revolutionary age. [00:09:02] As America's first president, Washington [00:09:04] knew the first of everything in our [00:09:06] situation will serve to establish a [00:09:08] president. So after two terms in office, [00:09:12] with the distrust of long-seated rulers [00:09:14] still fresh on America's soul, [00:09:16] Washington chose not to run again for [00:09:18] president. And by once again [00:09:21] relinquishing power rather than holding [00:09:23] on to it, he ensured America would not [00:09:26] become a monarchy or worse. [00:09:29] Our first leader helped define not only [00:09:31] the character of the presidency, but the [00:09:34] character of the country. [00:09:36] Washington modeled what it means to put [00:09:38] the good of the nation over [00:09:40] self-interest and selfish ambitions. He [00:09:43] embodied integrity and modeled why is [00:09:45] worth aspiring to. And he carried [00:09:48] himself with dignity and self-restraint, [00:09:50] honoring the office without allowing it [00:09:52] to become invested with near mythical [00:09:54] powers. [00:09:56] I often say that the office of president [00:09:58] is more important than the occupant. [00:10:00] That the institution of the presidency [00:10:02] gives ballast to our ship of state. For [00:10:05] that stability, we are indebted to the [00:10:07] wisdom of our founding father's [00:10:09] governing charter and the humility of [00:10:11] our nation's first president. It has [00:10:13] guided us for 250 years, and it will [00:10:16] strengthen us for our next 250 years. [00:10:20] This essay is part of a series [00:10:22] commissioned by the organization known [00:10:24] as More Perfect. As America celebrates [00:10:27] its 250th birthday this year, public [00:10:30] officials, journalists, and historians [00:10:32] are writing about presidents and first [00:10:34] ladies with the goal of bringing [00:10:36] American history to life through [00:10:38] compelling stories. We'll hear more of [00:10:40] these essays through the year on C-SPAN. [00:10:43] And to learn more about the project, go [00:10:45] to inpursuit.org.