Three Debates Americans Have Had for 250 Years

Americans declared their freedom in 1776 and ratified it in 1788. They’re still arguing about what it means.

“Washington as Statesman at the Constitutional Convention,” 1856, by Junius Brutus Stearns, oil on canvas, at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Public Domain

“Washington as Statesman at the Constitutional Convention,” 1856, by Junius Brutus Stearns, oil on canvas, at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Public Domain

George Washington rode west from Philadelphia in command of 13,000 troops on a mission that would test his leadership unlike any previous campaign.

These men were not soldiers in the Continental Army. They were citizen militiamen—forerunners of the National Guard—called up from Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Jersey. And Washington was no longer simply a general. He was president of the United States.