Good Counsel College - Vestigia Yearbook (White Plains, NY)

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QFQ V IE SQT IgG bA wK9 support of a righteous desire for liberty, he realizes the injustice of the mother land and so he rides to Philadelphia to the First Continental Congress. He sees the blow at Lexington struck and the people rush to arms and he says, Unhappy it is that a brother's sword has been sheathed in a brother's heart. He becomes comrnanderfinfchief of the American forces. After seven years of war he is the deliverer of his country. The old Confederation of States passes away. The Constitution is established and he is twice chosen President of these United States. Thus may we briefly consider the career of George Washington, and now let us consider one out' standing characteristic which contributed so vitally to the success of that career. Of Washington it may be said, perhaps more truly than of any other great man, that it was his character rather than his abilities which won for him first place. The predominating note in that character was courage. It runs like a golden chain throughout his entire career. It took physical courage for the youth, Washington, to set out toward a world of stern adventures in the French' English wars. It took the more mature courage of the soldier, Washington, to stand forth at the head of raw volunteers, hungry to the point of famine, ragged almost to nakedness, and defeat the trained bands and veteran generals of Europe. It took genuine courage to stand loyal to a just cause when he found at times enemies instead of friends. And then, when the last grim battle had been cleared, when the colonies had become free and independent states, it took the moral courage of the patriot, the Father of his Country, to turn away from the serene and contented life of an aristocratic farmer, which was his right, and to answer the call of a free but frightened people for guidance. His indeed was a true courage, for it was a courage of the heart. Under the enemy's gun at Boston he did not forget to give generously to his needy neighbors at home. The sufferings of his bleeding comrades and of women and children thrown adrift by war pierced his very soul even while it gave him a still stronger incentive to go on. He accepted no pay for his services and was glad to aid in the erection of an educational institution at Lexington for the care of the children of deceased comrades. As statesman, soldier, patriot, he stands, solitary and unapproached, No estimate can be made of Washington's character that does not exhaust language. Grand and manifold as were its phases, yet it was simple, natural, unaffected. We would do well, however, to remember that Washington's path was not always blessed with success. The first general engagement of the Revolution, at Long Island, started a succession of disasters and retreats. But with the courage that remoulds broken opportunities into greater ones, he proceeded to conduct the greater military and civil enterprise of his age. Had his career ended here, Gmsffgmbgbsm ax s s 7 as QZMMEQKBGNEJB W 114

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JEQ V IE SQT IgG QA QFXQ W ashington, the Courageous QWinning essay in the Washington Bicentennial Oratorical Contestl Two hundred years ago on February 22nd, 1732, Augustine and Mary Washington received into their arms their lirstfborn child to whom the name of George was given. Little did these parents imagine that their babe would go out into the world, from the seclusion of his home amid the forests of the Potomac, to render the name of Washington the most illustrious in the annals of our race. We are passing through a period of anxiety, unrest, and bewilderment. To restore the world to normalcy conferences have been called, committees have been formed, yet little has been accomplished thus far. Why is it that we seem so unable to cop: with this present situation? What quality is lacking in the public men of today which prevents their rallying their forces to victory? Is it Courf agen? I think it might very well be and, because of my belief, I am going to ask you to utake pattern from the past, as it were, and bear with me as I offer Washington, the Courageous. However, before I enter into a detailed discussion of this subject may I present a short sketch or outline of the public life of George Washington. We might discuss his childhood and the happy hours spent in a home where the influences of domestic and Christian virtues tended to ennoble him. We might tell of his young manhood when, at the age of nineteen, he was regarded as one of the promif nent men of the State of Virginia. But I keep that period just a bit out of the public eye. I hold sacred those days spent amid the quiet and peace of friends and family. I do not say, let us forget them. Ah! No-for surely those days which contribute so definitely and clearly to the moulding of the man, must never be forgotten. Rather do I plead that when we consider the Character of Washington we recall the environment and influences which played so vital a part in the makefup of that character. In 1759, Mount Vernon welcomes back the soldier of twentyfseven, whose name is revered throughout the colonies. A few quiet years roll by and we see our hero as the planter,the merchant, the justice of Virginia county court. When, in 1774, the need of united action on the part of the Colonists is imminent, Washington does not hesitate to sacrifice home ties and service in his own colony. Sad at parting with the friends and surroundings he loved, yes, but happy to rush to the 6 5e?6i5sf9f an Q as is JBSRSQZSSXQEK W 113

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W VF Sf If T am none other would have surpassed it, yea, whose could have equaled it? But where the fame of so many successful warriors found conclusion, his indeed took new flight upward. Many believe that it was in the conflict that succeeded the dark days of the Revolution that the real greatness and courage of Washington was shown. Then it was that the perils thickened, and the crisis came. The recon' struction of the country, the formation of the government, the binding together of the states, called for even greater foresight and courage than was needed during the terrible siege of the Revolution. Washington looked to the future and saw not one head but thirteen and as a father, he spoke to his children. He set forth the need of a union and he pointed out the blessings that would come from their collective wisdom. He warned that mutual concessions and sacrifices must be made and that supreme power must be lodged in one unit to regulate and govern the concerns of all. He saw a young nation tending to grow weary and restless when confronted with the problems of its newly won independence and, by his courage, he prevented it from becoming tainted with the blood of Civil War. Only once, perhaps, in all those days of tumult and disorder do we hear the longing cry of the human Washington, while speaking before a group of his officers he pauses, puts on his spectacles and says, I have grown gray in your service and now find myself growing blind. The fame of George Washington stands apart from that of any other character in history, shining with a truer luster and a more benignant glory. It seems as if Providence had endowed him in a pre' eminent degree with the qualities of a character which fitted him so nobly for the high destinies he was called upon to fulfill. May this and all future generations crown, with the grandest crown that veneration has ever lifted to the brow of glory, L'Washington, the Courageous whom America has given to the world and to the ages, whom liberty herself has anointed as the first citizen in the great Republic of Humanity. AKATHLBEN KEENAN gxgbefgmmfagw as s 1 7 se JBSEEJSGXQEQKD W 115