| May 22 |  |
Editor says, what if General Washington had refused the Presidency? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s). This story was published in the December 2012 edition of Changing the Times Magazine.
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In 1782, on this day Colonel Lewis Nicola proposed to General Washington that due to the ineffectiveness of the Congress during the war he should be crowned King of the United States.
A Disagreeable SchemeGeorge Washington replied the same day, stating that he had read Nicola's letter "with a mixture of great surprise and astonishment". Washington continued: "no occurrence in the course of the War, has given me more painful sensations than your information of there being such ideas existing in the Army as you have expressed, and I must view with abhorrence, and reprehend with severity". Washington wrote that he could not think of anything in his own conduct that would suggest that he would consider being king. "You could not have found a person to whom your schemes are more disagreeable".
Five years later at the Philadelphia Convention, he was subjected to a far greater degree of pressure to accept the Presidency and in effect serve as a quasi-King. Instead, he recommend his second-in-command, Henry Knox who was duly elected with James Madison as his Vice President. Unfortunately for all concerned, during his first year of office, Knox died of a fever. Because Madison, and his patron Thomas Jefferson, had not seen service in the Continental Army, they entertained some rather dangerous libertarian ideas. And so General Washington was forced to serve as a mentor to the younger man. And perhaps one of the most visible results of that partnership was the construction of the National University. This is a variant ending to A Disagreeable Scheme, Redux in which Gen Washington also refuses the Presidency
Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
© Alternate Historian, 2004-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Politicians Source: Wikipedia Labels: George Washington, James Madison, Henry Knox, Presidency, Premature Death. Editor says, in reality General Washington agreed to serve as inaugural President although his monarchical style resulted in the accusation from some quarters that he was in effect ruling as King George IV. Thanks to Scott Palter, Chris Oakley, Mike McIlvian and Jeff Provine for their contributions to the development of this article.
~ This could have changed everything...
~ Michael Kurland gave us a glimpse of an America under a monarchical presidency ("His Democratic Majesty," forsooth!), complete with a Prince of Texas, in his novel "The Whenabouts of Burr."
Frankly, I don't buy it. I think it would have meant a second revolution within two or three decades at most, and quite possibly would have blown up the Constitutional Convention.
~ A national university would have been a nice gift from the past -- something that could have hiked higher education in the US at a much faster rate. The king thing, I think, still suffered from the fact that George III was also called king in the same sentence. So, any position approaching that, in the makeup of the former American colonies at the time could have been and very likely eagerly avoided.
Easy to contradict oneself in this one. One day you can see it one way, and tomorrow -- a whole different way.
~ A more moderate Madison could've been a very good thing for this country. Still Jeffersonian with ideals of education and the good of man, yet no getting involved in wars to build a nation.
© Today in Alternate History, 2013-. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
