…showed first 75 words of 421 total…

…showed last 75 words of 421 total…there were means better than self-interest, and causes greater than personal elevation. Over time, Washington's campaign for nationhood, rooted in the fundamental idea that men could be confided to govern themselves without the superintendency of an established church or divinely appointed monarch. That is why he was the man who would not be king. At his best, Washington hoped to illustrate by force of example that men could love their country no less than themselves.