There ’s a popular recital among American story buff that George Washington , in the waning months of the Revolutionary War , was " offered the crown " of the starter land by a mathematical group of American military military officer fed up with an ineffective Congress . Historians even have Washington’sstrongly worded rejection letterto turn out it .
But a closer reading of original diachronic documents tells a different account . In this version , the far-flung frustration of army police officer gets miscellaneous up with the pro - monarchy castle in the air of one reckless colonel . Washington still come out a hero , but he was never really closelipped to being aking .
To set the scene , the British suffered adecisive frustration at Yorktownto American and French forces in 1781 , resulting in the capture of 7,000 British troops and their leader , General Charles Cornwallis . The destruction of the war was finally near , but the beleaguered American Army , under the command of Washington , was still considered " on duty " until the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783 .
Back in those pre - Constitution days , theArticles of Confederationhanded most power to the states , not the federal regime . Congress had no baron to assess , for object lesson , which was a job when it came to pay and fit out the army . Congress had to constantly request military financing from the State Department , which were often slow to pay up , if at all .
With peace nearly won , the army feared that Congress was going to stiff them on back pay . The officeholder corps were especially distressed about their pension , which they were promised would secure them financially for the rest of their living . Could they trust Congress to keep its tidings and exact payment from the states ?
Among the army officers sweating over his pension in 1782 was Colonel Lewis Nicola , a 65 - year - previous , Irish - born military veteran who loan significant expertise to Washington ’s force during the war . Nicola and Washington check frequently , normally about Nicola ’s duty as air force officer of the Invalid Corps , a William Lloyd Garrison of injured soldier who were still set enough to serve .
ButNicola ’s varsity letter to Washingtonon May 22 , 1782 was something totally different . In this now notorious missive , Nicola opened with a monitor of what ’s at interest if the military was n’t properly compensated . Namely , the threat of open mutiny .
Then Nicola moved on to what he call his " scheme . " He admitted to Washington that he was n’t a " vehement admirer of a republican form of governance , " prefer alternatively a assorted form of government activity with elected representatives ruled by a large-hearted milkweed butterfly . And who better for such a preeminent use than Washington himself ?
Washington ’s response , dated the very same day , was wither .
Washington ’s rejection of an American monarchy was right-down , but was a single letter from a presumptuous colonel the equivalent of being " declare oneself the crownwork , " as many believe ?
Denver Brunsman , a account prof at George Washington University and scholar of the Revolutionary War and Washington , sound out that it would be an " overstatement " to say that Washington was ever seriously pop the question the statute title of king .
" Nicola was not someone who was in the position to do that and I do n’t think he was part of any real , large motion , " say Brunsman . " That does n’t mean there were n’t hoi polloi who had those persuasion and I think Nicola was representative of that . There were other individuals in the officer corps who were highly frustrated with Congress and any Bob Hope for a possible resolution . "
" What ’s most important is Washington ’s reaction to even the opinion [ of being king ] . He shuts down any possibility . I guess that ’s impressive and shows why Washington was able to collect the trust of the American people . "
