We honor George Washington as an important figure in the early American republic, but few people have any idea just how important he was to the cause. Following the Revolution, few people abroad believed America would succeed. Additionally, many in the country doubted the likelihood of its continued existence without it fracturing into different parts. Washington was, quite simply, the only man that could keep the country united together. He was one of the unique people in history that absolutely commanded respect. It's difficult for us to conceive, but citizens of different colonies considered themselves citizens of different countries entirely. A Virginian would never have said he was an American, and someone from Massachusetts would be considered a complete foreigner. Only for Washington were people willing to set aside their differences and live together in a single political whole. You must remember that the president was not the head of his political party almost another decade. Washington and many Americans initially shunned parties as hotbeds for dishonesty and backhand deals after witnessing the rampant corruption of the British political parties in Georgian Great Britain.

So why was he so important? He was seen as the ideal "restrained" gentleman. Today Americans love John Adams because he was the outspoken, tempestuous one that screamed at all of the rich aristocrats until something got done. However, in the 18th century, this was not the ideal citizen. "Self-government" showed a superior person; one who could govern their passions was considered the better man. Washington had this quality in spades, and so all respected him. The pinnacle of this quality was a "disinterestedness" when in power. Like a British king, Washington saw himself as a leveling force. As people pulled the republic in all different directions, Washington stayed at the top, rarely giving his input or taking sides. He was an impartial arbiter, a bastion of stability.

The problem was pretty much everyone else. In his government the fracturing into political parties happened almost immediately with the drafting of the Constitution in 1787. You have the Federalists who supported ratification (Hamilton, Adams, and originally Madison) and the Anti-Federalists (who almost immediately followed Jefferson). The problem was that nearly all of these men were in Washington's cabinet and he had vowed not to get involved because he was the presiding force of stability that the nation badly needed.

He eventually leaned more with Hamilton and the Federalists, but seeing the vile, rude, and slanderous things written about opposing parties in the newspapers, not to mention the political scandals that rocked his own cabinet drove him to the point of breaking. For this reason he begged his compatriots not to let parties consume them and to think of the country over their own faction, lest the nation be torn apart.

John Adams attempted to continue Washington's disinterested persona, but with Jefferson it was completely thrown out. America had already witnessed the rise of the first political parties and they were not going away. Most politicians, especially of the younger generations, took stances with the many or the few and saw no issue with it. Most Americans ate up the propaganda in the newspapers and similarly joined parties, eager to participate in the political process but often too misinformed to truly understand the political theories of their leaders.

Sources: Presidents Above Party: The First American Presidency, 1789-1829 by Ralph Ketcham

Cincinnatus by Garry Wills.