Not long ago, the Imperial War Museum in England held a vote so people could tell who they thought was Britain's greatest enemy. Not greatest in the sense of good and evil, but in the sense of impact and consequences. They had some pretty formidable candidates such as Napoleon and Hitler. One that is not well known among Americans is Michael Collins. He probably isn't that well known among Britishers any more, but he had a profound effect on Britain.
Michael Collins led the Irish to independence from Britain. Napoleon and Hitler had threatened Britain's independence for a brief but troubled time, but Michael Collins broke the British Isles asunder. For close to 800 years, England had dominated Ireland, but at the latest, by April 1949, that relationship came to an end. Michael Collins basically ended England's rule over Ireland which began in 1171, when Pope Adrian IV allegedly gave Ireland to England in exchange for Henry enforcing the authority of the Roman Church. (As with all things Irish, there is controversy over this.)
Anyway, in the end the British people did not vote Michael Collins as their greatest enemy. They voted for George Washington.
George Washington is one of the very few political figures for whom I have unqualified admiration. That is based on all I know and have read and heard about him. And I believe that the vast majority of Americans do not realize how great, in most senses of the word, he truly was.
They talk about the "Founding Fathers", they may even call Washington "Father of our country", but I don't think they realize how true that is. The fact is, it is quite possible, even likely, that the United States, as we know it, would not exist without George Washington.
When the Revolutionary War ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1783, and the independence of the United States was established, there was one figure alone who dominated the thirteen former colonies, who even then were known as the United States of America, although the Union was as yet unestablished, and the Constitution as yet unwritten.
In the eyes of most Americans, George Washington was all powerful. He was the hero that led them to freedom. As the original, and in my opinion best American national anthem, "Hail Columbia" says of Washington: With equal skill, with God-like pow'r/He governs in the fearful hour/Of horrid war, or guides with ease/The happier time of honest peace.
Americans at that time knew of political theories, but in practical terms they had lived under a king who was subject to the authority of an elected parliament. They had no constitution. It hadn't even been publically argued at that point. The various colonies had different forms of government and authority. It was not yet established what form of government America would have, except that it would be in some way democratic, but even that was somewhat vague.
George Washington could easily have become king. He was all the colonists really knew. Almost everything about what the United States became was in Washington's hands. He functioned like an ancient Roman dictator. During the Roman Republic, when Rome was threatened, they called upon one of their patricians to lead them against their enemy, and when the danger was over, he would give up his authority and go back to his own estate. Almost the exact opposite of how we think of a dictator today.
From everything thing I have read or heard, Washington was a compassionate, merciful, but strong commander and leader in war, and a capable administrator in peace. He believed the United States should be a democracy. He believed the United States should be a Republic. Despite what you may have heard from some people, who must have failed US government when they took social studies in junior high, they are two very different things. A democracy is how a government is chosen. It can be a democracy, an autocracy (which means one guy, or on rare occasions, one gal, chooses and runs the whole shebang), or an oligarchy (which means several guys run everything). Britain was a democracy and a kingdom. The United States was to be a democracy and a republic.
Washington believed a President should not serve more than two terms. He was not only the Father of his Country, but also its teacher, its guide, and its counselor. And yet, his birthday is no longer honored.
America's Anthems
I think its correct to say that America has had three main national anthems. Even as late as the 1950s many considered "My Country 'Tis of Thee" as the national anthem. It has some pretty good American words, set to the tune of "God Save the King (or Queen)".
For this reason, in 1931, the United States adopted the "Star Spangled Banner", which seems in some ways an odd choice. Even in the 1950s, "My Country 'Tis of Thee" seemed more favored by many and its lyrics seem more appropriate. The words of the "Star Spangled Banner" were warlike even though they were penned by an objector to the war who was just glad the British did not overcome the defenses of Baltimore.
The tune was the song of an English tavern society who had disbanded because some duchess caught them singing what she regarded as inappropriate words (you know, what might be called risqué). An interesting side-fact is that part of the lyrics are, according to some experts, very politically incorrect, and I am not referring to the bombs bursting in air. But I won't go into that.
In my opinion, the best possible anthem would be "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", but that would upset a lot of atheists, agnostics, non-Christians, heathens in general, and some southerners.
The very best national anthem the United States had, which I understand was used through much of the 1800s, is "Hail Columbia". Even before the United States came into existence, the name Columbia was used for the North American colonies. It became the poetic and historical name for the United States. That's why we have the Columbia Broadcasting Service, Columbia Pictures, Columbia University, and many other examples. The South American country with similar but not identical spelling came into existence years later.
These are the usual words to "Hail Columbia". While the tune is not outstanding or unique it is still good and appropriate.
I have put a link to a version of the anthem. Hail Columbia! If you agree with me that this would be better as the National Anthem of the United States please let me know.
As the father of his country, George Washington may also be responsible for its flag. While it is true that the United States flag looks amazingly similar to the flag of the British East India company as it looked at the time of the revolution, the only noticeable difference was that the canton, the rectangle on the upper left, had the Union Jack, like the flag of Hawaii, not stars, Washington's family crest had features reminiscent of the Stars and Stripes.
The Washington family shield or crest, which dates back to the 1200s, had a white background with pierced mullets on top. A mullet is a star of the type on the U.S. flag, not one with wavy points. Coincidentally, although the crest was ancient, three stars would be symbolic of George Washington who was the third surviving son of Augustine Washington. Below that it had two red bars.
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