Today, we should come to praise the man who could have been Caesar, in hopes that his deeds will never be buried, but remain first in the hearts of his posterity.
For, on this President’s Day, friends, Americans, countrymen, we commemorate not just the birth, but also the character, of George Washington.
Character was a lifelong concern of Washington. He was unflinching in exemplifying it himself and was devoted to its development throughout the nation.
Many Americans know a fair amount about our first president. Washington could have been king, but chose not to be, because he was a statesman who loved the republic, rather than a tyrant who loved his own glory.
