A Humble Hero
On March 15th, 1783, George Washington faced a group of angry officers, upset that they had not been paid yet for their years of fighting in the Revolutionary War. Congress had no funds and the new states were refusing to pay the pensions that had been promised to the soldiers. As the soldiers sat around their camp in Newburgh, New York contemplating mutiny against the U.S. government, Washington wrote a speech that would become known as the Newburgh Address. He called his officers together and begged them not to, “open the flood gates of civil discord.”
As Washington began to read a letter to the officers, he stumbled over the words. He paused as the officers looked around uneasily, then to the astonishment of his audience, he pulled out a pair of glasses. “Gentlemen, you must pardon me,” he said softly. “I have grown gray in the service of my country, and now find myself growing blind.” Reminded of Washington’s own sacrifices, the soldiers fought back tears and later voted to give Congress more time. This astonishing moment in history, where an outbreak of mutiny was prevented by a simple act of humility, is a wonderful lesson for the classroom. Teachers’ Institute alumnist, Stacia Smith, has written an elementary school lesson plan, “Washington’s Newburgh Address,” where students examine primary and secondary sources in order to learn more about the Newburgh Crisis, which she presented at the NCHE conference in Boston this past weekend.
Tags: 1783, Newburgh, Revolutionary War, Stacia Smith
