Larry Mendte Curtis Sliwa America 250th July 03

Curtis explains that in 1782, Newburgh, New York, was George Washington's headquarters during the final days of the Revolutionary War. The soldiers were frustrated because they hadn't been paid, but Washington helped keep the army united until the war officially ended.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Curtis and Larry celebrate two fifty stories They've made America
on seventen wa wow. And this was the defining moment
of our American Revolution. It's one year before the end
seventeen eighty two. General Washington and the troops are camped

(00:21):
out in Newburgh, upstate New York, mid Hudson Valley, and
the officers write a letter and they say to him, look,
you should be king. You should be the person that
leads this new nation, because increasingly it was looking like
you the Continental Army would beat the Brits. We're not

(00:45):
getting paid by the Continental Congress. They've done what typically happens.
They promised to pay us who have not been paid.
We know that you, General Washington will take care of
us in the country. And General Washington said a thousand times, no, no, no.
The reason we have this revolution is to get rid
of the crown of George the Third and not create

(01:09):
a new crown. So then a few months later Alexander
Hamilton led a wing a very influential colonialists, and they said, look, look,
you can serve in a constitutional monarchy. Actually, the way
a constitutional monarchy works is if you look at Norway

(01:30):
now with the Netherlands, they said, and we'll use the
British model, except it'll be an American monarchy, and you
get elected to be king, and you're king for life
unless you have bad behavior, and then we can impeach
you and get rid of you. And again General George

(01:52):
Washington said to Alexander Hamilton a thousand times no, no. No.
John Adams, who would become the nation's first first president,
vice president and eventually the second president, said we should
address the president as his Highness the President, and again
George Washington said a thousand times no. So on Thursday,

(02:17):
April thirtyeth seventeen eighty nine, he was sworn in on
the balcony of Federal Hall, which is right non Wall Street,
Pearl and Broad, and the vice president was John Adams.
In order to get to his swearing in in New
York City, Judge Washington had to borrow money to make

(02:37):
the trip, even though he owned a plantation of sixty
thousand acres and he had three hundred slaves. He served
eight years. It was just one term of eight years.
It didn't have as we have now a four year
term and then a new election cycle. But after eight
years he left and he went back to his plantation
in Virginia. That decision saved us from following in the

(03:03):
footsteps of the UK and so many other countries who
had monarchies. Can you imagine if that was offered to
FDR or Donald Trump. You really think they would have
said no. That's why George Washington will forever be the
greatest president because he could have been king and he

(03:26):
chose not to be. Thank God, George Washington made that
decision and said no, no, no, a thousand times. No,
I will not be your king. I will be your president.