Why Community Mattered to George Washington
Community: How did George Washington value community?
America was formed through communities that grew into settlements and eventually states. A community is defined as a group of people living and working together. ‘Community’ can also be a feeling, as well as a set of relationships among people. People form and maintain communities to meet their needs and the needs of others. Community members should have a strong sense of trust, belonging, safety, and togetherness. These concepts are the hallmarks of strong community bonds and bridges that were especially pronounced during the American Revolution and during the founding of our nation.
Community members should have an individual as well as a collective understanding of how they can influence their environment and others within that environment. For the American Patriots and statesmen, their versions of community included their states (and all the people living in them), their governments, as well as theie families, and their neighbors.
One really important idea is community. America was, and still is, being shaped by and through communities.
Washington retired from the presidency in March of 1797. Following the end of his second term, he refused to entertain any further notions of holding the position any longer. Once again, he sought to set a precedent that United States presidents do not hold onto power forever. This compelled even King George III to call him “the greatest character of the age” for again giving up his power so selflessly.
In his 1796 Farewell Address, he warned against partisan and regional division, as well as foreign influence and corruption. For George Washington, preserving the union, independence, and freedom for which Americans sacrificed and together attained was most important.
