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Leadership is something that many aspire to, but few achieve in full measure. It has been defined as being a combination of charisma, integrity, determination, flexibility, resourcefulness, creativity, self-confidence, a sense of responsibility, the ability to communicate, and consistency. George Washington had all these qualities, and it is therefore somewhat ironic that although he was truly a great leader, he never aspired to be one.
Washington’s greatness can be judged by the way in which he fulfilled three important roles during the foundation and early years of the United States; Firstly, as commander in chief of the Continental Army, secondly as president of the Constitutional Convention, and thirdly as the first President of the country. Washington was unanimously elected by the delegates to the Continental Congress “to command all the continental forces, raised, or to be raised for the defence of American liberty.” on June 15, 1775.
The reasons given can be gleaned from the writings of those who were there, and in the main they appear to be George Washington’s character, his trustworthiness, and his reputation as being the best colonial military commander. Washington created the Continental Army; his organisational and administrative skills, coupled with the trust of his citizen soldiers, enabled him to weld them into a fighting force able to take on the British … and win.
Had it not been for Washington, a large part of the Continental Army would have left at the end of their enlistments just after the Battle of Trenton, and his leadership on the battlefield was never better demonstrated than at the Battle of Monmouth, when he took command and not only stopped the American retreat but forced the British to fall back to New York. In the end, Washington’s determination to win the war was greater than that of the British not to lose it.
As president of the Constitutional Convention, George Washington exhibited the same leadership qualities he had shown on the battlefield, and it is little wonder that his ideas – a written constitution, a strong union with an elected legislature, an executive with the power to enforce the rule of law, the supremacy of national laws over state laws, and the creation of a permanent army controlled by the civil power – became central to the creation of the United States. It is small wonder, therefore, that Washington was unanimously elected to be the first President of the United States of American, and that four years later he was re-elected.
But in some ways Washington’s true greatness can be measured by what happened afterwards. He retired to his estate at Mount Vernon to resume his career as a farmer and, with the exception of a short period when President John Adams asked him to serve as commander-in-chief of the United States Army, Washington took no further part in national affairs. Only a truly great leader would have done that.
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