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GEORGE WASHINGTON
George Washington (1732–1799) composed this letter to his wife, Martha, on June 18, 1775, to inform her that he had reluctantly accepted the Second Continental Congress’s request that he command the Revolutionary army. Although he had not sought the command, he felt it was his duty to serve. Washington’s life was marked by his accession to positions he never actively sought—such as the presidency. Such reticence to obtain power (when his popularity would have easily allowed it) contributed to the national impression of Washington’s unparalleled dignity and civil service, so much so that the eulogist at his funeral, Henry Lee, declared him “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” George Washington was a man’s man and a man of the polis. If Washington could voluntarily give up power, being victorious over what was then the greatest army in the world, the king of England said he would be the greatest man in the world. Washington did exactly that.
I am now set down to write to you on a subject which fills me with inexpressible concern—and this concern is greatly aggravated and increased when I reflect upon the uneasiness I know it will give you. It has been determined in Congress, that the whole army raised for the defence of the American cause shall be put under my care, and that it is necessary for me to proceed immediately to Boston to take upon me the command of it. You may believe me my dear Patsy, when I assure you in the most solemn manner, that, so far from seeking this appointment, I have used every endeavor in my power to avoid it, not only from my unwillingness to part with you and the family, but from a consciousness of its being a trust too great for my capacity and that I should enjoy more real happiness and felicity in one month with you, at home, than I have the most distant prospect of reaping abroad, if my stay were to be seven times seven years. But as it has been a kind of destiny, that has thrown me upon this service, I shall hope that my undertaking of it is designed to answer some good purpose. You might, and I suppose did perceive, from the tenor of my letters, that I was apprehensive I could not avoid this appointment, as I did not even pretend to intimate when I should return—that was the case—it was utterly out of my power to refuse this appointment without exposing my character to such censures as would have reflected dishonor upon myself, and given pain to my friends. This, I am sure, could not, and ought not to be pleasing to you, and must have lessened me considerably in my own esteem.