All opinions expressed in this article are solely the opinions of the contributors.
Significant events have occurred over the holiday season throughout American history. At the top of that list is Founding Father and first U.S. President George Washington leading American troops to an unlikely key victory in the Revolutionary War on Christmas night of 1776. Although Washington faced personal struggles during the holiday seasons, including the death of his stepson, he nonetheless continued the fight for a new America.
Straight Arrow News contributor Star Parker believes that Americans should be inspired by George Washington and how he persevered through difficult holidays to help raise and guide the newborn nation.
For much of his life, the holiday season was a time of action and hardship for President George Washington. When he was just eight years old, his home reportedly burnt down on Christmas Eve. The family took shelter in a detached kitchen.
In 1776, during one of the darkest moments of the American Revolution, Washington famously led his army across the Delaware River. The following Christmas, George Washington and his soldiers camped during the brutal winter at Valley Forge.
Six years later, Washington would be greeted with another bittersweet Christmas. Even though he had just defeated [General Charles] Cornwallis and won the Revolutionary War, he and his wife Martha were mourning the death of their son, Jacky. Even though Jacky was through Martha’s first marriage, Washington had raised him through most of his life as his own son.
Yet, in the midst of all of this, George Washington would shock the world, resigning as commander-in-chief.
What a novel idea. George Washington did something that was antithetical to centuries of humanity’s ambition and greed — he gave power back to the people.
