[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 8 (Monday, February 26, 2007)]
[Pages 182-183]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Honoring President George Washington's 275th Birthday in Mount 
Vernon, Virginia

February 19, 2007

    Thank you all for coming. Laura and I are honored to be with you in 
this historic place on this special anniversary. I feel right at home 
here. After all, this is the home of the first George W. [Laughter] I 
thank President Washington for welcoming us today. He doesn't look a day 
over 275 years old. [Laughter]
    We're really glad you're here. I look out and see a lot of the kids 
who are here today. When I was your age, I was a little fellow from 
Midland, Texas, and my grandmother brought me here. And then Laura and I 
brought our daughters here. And the reason I bring this up, this is a 
good place for Americans to come and bring your families. And we welcome 
you here today.
    You know, we're celebrating around the country President's Day, but 
the folks that work here call it Washington's birthday. We've been 
celebrating this holiday for more than two centuries, and this morning 
we continue this tradition by honoring a man who was our first 
President, the Father of our Country, and a champion of liberty.
    I appreciate Gay Gaines and the--regent of Mount Vernon Ladies 
Association. I appreciate Jim Rees, who is the executive director. I 
thank Togo West, who is the chairman of the Mount Vernon Advisory 
Committee. I appreciate the military who have joined us. General, thank 
you for being here today with us. I thank the members who work hard to 
make sure that Mount Vernon is preserved for the future. And I thank all 
of you all for being here.
    You know, George Washington was born about 80 miles down the river 
from Mount Vernon in the year 1732. As a young man, he went West and 
explored the frontier, and it changed his life. As he grew older, he 
became convinced that America had a great westward destiny as a nation 
of free people, independent of the empires of Europe. George Washington 
became the central figure in our Nation's struggle for independence. At 
age 43, he took command of the Continental Army. At age 51, he was a 
triumphant hero of the war. And at age 57, he was the obvious and only 
choice to be the first President of the United States.
    With the advantage of hindsight, it is easy to take George 
Washington's successes for granted and to assume that all those events 
were destined to unfold as they did. Well, the truth is far different. 
America's path to freedom was long, and it was hard, and the outcome was 
really never certain. Honoring George Washington's life requires us to 
remember the many challenges that he overcame and the fact that American 
history would have turned out very differently without his steady 
leadership.
    On the field of battle, Washington's forces were facing a mighty 
empire, and the odds against them were overwhelming. The ragged 
Continental Army lost more battles than it won, suffered waves of 
desertions, and stood on the brink of disaster many times. Yet George 
Washington's calm hand and determination kept the cause of independence 
and the principles of our declaration alive.
    He rallied his troops to brilliant victories at Trenton and 
Princeton. He guided them through the terrible winter at Valley Forge. 
And he marched them to Virginia for the war's final battle at Yorktown. 
In the end, General Washington understood that the Revolutionary War was 
a test of wills, and his will was unbreakable.
    After winning the war, Washington did what victorious leaders rarely 
did at the time--he voluntarily gave up power. Many would have gladly 
made George Washington the king of America. Yet all he wanted to do was 
return here to Mount Vernon and to be with his loving wife, Martha. As 
he wrote with satisfaction to his friend Lafayette, ``I am become a 
private citizen on the banks of the Potomac and under the shadow of my 
own vine and my own fig tree.''

[[Page 183]]

    George Washington's retirement did not last long. In the years after 
the Revolution, America's freedom was still far from secure. There were 
uprisings and revolts. States argued over their borders. And under the 
Articles of Confederation, the Federal Government was virtually 
powerless. With the United States in crisis, George Washington was 
called back to public life to preside over a Convention of the States. 
And the result was the United States Constitution and a new executive 
office called the Presidency.
    When the American people chose Washington for the role, he 
reluctantly accepted. He wrote a friend, ``My movement to the chair of 
government will be accompanied by feelings not unlike those of a culprit 
who is going to the place of his execution.'' George Washington accepted 
the Presidency because the office needed him, not because he needed the 
office.
    As President, George Washington understood that his decisions would 
shape the future of our young Nation and set precedent. He formed the 
first Cabinet, appointed the first judges, and issued the first veto. He 
also helped oversee the construction of a new Federal city between the 
Northern and Southern States. The Nation's new Capital would take his 
name, and George Washington hoped it would inspire Americans to put the 
welfare of their Nation above sectional loyalties.
    This son of Virginia had come to see himself first and foremost as 
an American, and he urged his fellow citizens to do the same. More than 
two centuries later, the story of George Washington continues to bring 
Americans together. Every year, about a million people visit Mount 
Vernon to learn about this good man's life. We find the best of America 
in his spirit and our highest hopes for ourselves in his character. His 
honesty and courage have become the stuff of legend. Children are taught 
to revere his name and leaders to look to him for strength in uncertain 
times.
    George Washington's long struggle for freedom has also inspired 
generation of Americans to stand for freedom in their own time. Today, 
we're fighting a new war to defend our liberty and our people and our 
way of life. And as we work to advance the cause of freedom around the 
world, we remember that the Father of our Country believed that the 
freedoms we secured in our Revolution were not meant for Americans 
alone. He once wrote, ``My best wishes are irresistibly excited 
whensoever, in any country, I see an oppressed nation unfurl the banners 
of freedom.''
    President Washington believed that the success of our democracy 
would also depend on the virtue of our citizens. In his farewell address 
to the American people, he said, ``Morality is a necessary spring of 
popular government.'' Over the centuries, America has succeeded because 
we have always tried to maintain the decency and the honor of our first 
President.
    His example guided us in his time; it guides us in our time; and it 
will guide us for all time. Thank you for coming, and may God bless.

Note: The President spoke at 10:04 a.m. at the Estate Mansion.