General George Washington Announces Retirement And Prays for the States June 8, 1783
In June 1783, as the Revolutionary War drew to a welcome close, General George Washington announced his retirement from the Army. He issued a letter to the Governors of the States (“your Excellency”) to be communicated to their respective legislatures and citizens.
Heavy upon the mind of General Washington lay the burden of preserving the union of states and the form of government that would be established. Many people had fought, been wounded, lost limbs, and died in America’s quest for independence and liberty.
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 encounter’d, without a compensation and that so many sacrifices have been made in vain.
Equally, Washington was concerned that both the union and form of government would be able to secure liberty for generations to come.
…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.
As the details of the American government were being developed, Washington laid out four pillars that he deemed necessary for the success of the new nation:
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.
1st An indissoluble Union of the States under one federal Head.
2ndly A sacred regard to public Justice.
3dly The adoption of a proper Peace Establishment—and
4thly 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.
Read all of General Washington’s Circular to the States here.
Historical Context of George Washington’s Circular To The States
June 8, 1783 – General Washington announced his retirement indicating a longing to “pass the remainder of life, in a state of undisturbed repose.”
May 25 – September 17, 1787 – Constitutional Convention, aka Philadelphia Convention; the U.S. Constitution written.
March 1789 – March 1797 – George Washington serves as the first President of the United States of America.
October 1789 – George Washington Issues The First Thanksgiving Proclamation
1783 Context of “Spirit of subordination & obedience to Government”
George Washington’s prays “that He would incline the hearts of the Citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination & obedience to Government…”. This statement is cringeworthy in the context of any 21th-century-Democrat-administration. But in 1783 no executive branch existed, nor any bloated ideological bureaucracies (which Washington would have abhorred).
Washington’s “Government” implied the citizenry’s role in maintaining a civil society, i.e. national unity, obedience to laws, equal justice, diligence in national security concerns, and respect for one another. The future first president already had in mind, “of, by, and for the people.”
General George Washington Prays for the States, June 8, 1783
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 usefull 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 & 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 pleas’d to dispose us all to do Justice, to love mercy and to demean ourselves, with that Charity, humility & pacific temper of mind, which were the Characteristicks of the Divine Author of our blessed Religion & without an humble immitation of whose example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy Nation.
With the greatest regard and esteem, I have the honor to be Sir Your Excellency’s Most Obedient and most humble Servant
