5 Great Books on George Washington
During the early days of the Revolutionary War, in August 1775, General George Washington sent a letter protesting the treatment of American officers to the British commander, General Thomas Gage. Washington objected to the British practice of throwing American officers into jails with common criminals.
Gage responded by saying he refused to recognize ranks among Americans “for I acknowledge no rank that is not derived from the king.” Angered by Gage’s barbarous policy, Washington controlled his temper and coolly replied, “You affect, Sir, to despise all rank not derived from the same source with your own. I cannot conceive any more honorable than that which flows from the uncorrupted choice of a brave and free people — the purest source and original fountain of all power…I shall now, Sir, close my correspondence with you, perhaps forever.”
This brief but remarkable exchange shows that George Washington, almost a year before the writing of the Declaration of Independence, believed that the people — and not a hereditary monarch — were the true source of authority. This was a radical idea at the time. And it was perhaps even more incredible that the idea was being defended by a conservative planter from Virginia. Another Virginian, Thomas Jefferson, described Washington as “our first and greatest revolutionary character, whose preeminent services had entitled…
