What Would George Say about Our Dis-United States? Perhaps “We’ve Been Here Before…”

Political turmoil. Scathing media attacks. Mounting distrust—of our federal government, and of each other. Sound familiar? The challenges faced by the new American government in its first decade bore some similarities to what we face today. And they were no less alarming.

The first generation of Americans after independence was flawed, divided, and prone to its share of political brawls, just like us. Although George Washington was unanimously elected president in 1788, the honeymoon was short.

How should we address state debts and repair the economy? Would we be a nation of farmers or traders? Would our sympathies lie with our French revolutionary allies, or with the English family we were still feuding with?

To Washington’s consternation, his personal popularity wasn’t enough to prevent the development of opposing factions, which were embodied in the dueling visions of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson.

They certainly weren’t perfect, and they knew it, notwithstanding some of the omniscience we sometimes attribute to our Revolutionary heroes. But despite their flaws, they persevered, and succeeded in transforming the idea of government.

In this imagined conversation in Williamsburg’s King’s Arms Tavern, President George Washington reveals his concerns about the effect disunity is having on the country. It’s an anxious time. First Lady Martha Washington offers encouragement as they try to see the country through difficult times. Remember, they didn’t know how it would turn out.

As we find ourselves in the midst of an especially partisan election season, it’s worth keeping in mind that we’ve been here before. But it’s also important to remember that it’s up to us—We, the People—to determine how it all turns out.