2/25/2025

Last week’s curation at RealClear’s American Civics portal last week featured articles that celebrate American presidents. At RealClearHistory, historian and Jack Miller Center fellow John Ragosta writes that Presidents’ Day is the time where Americans can rally around a central truth of the American revolution: “We should not have a king.” Ragosta notes that while the founders “struggled” with various aspects of the presidency including the veto and the length of the president’s term, they were in full agreement that the American president was not to be a monarch.

Ragosta points out that George Washington, for one, could have easily taken power and made himself king. But he chose not to, which cause King George III to call him “the greatest man in the world.” Instead, Washington “resigned from the presidency after two terms,” even though he “was remarkably popular and could have been president for life.” But by leaving office, he reminded Americans of their fundamental republican character, urging them not to rely on one man to do the hard work of governing.

A rejection of monarchy was a feature of the writngs and speeches of other founders. At the Constitutional Convention, George Mason said he “hoped that nothing like a Monarchy would ever be attempted in this Country.” He reminded delegates that “a hatred to [monarchy’s] oppressions had carried the people through the late Revolution.” And Thomas Jefferson said, “I am sensible that there are defects in our federal government: yet they are so much lighter than those of monarchies that I view them with much indulgence.”

Other unmonarchical elements of the were the Constitutiuon’s separation of powers and a rejection of a spirit of partisanship.

Ragosta closes by noting that “Presidents’ Day is an opportunity to celebrate the skilled and devoted leaders who have led the nation. It is also a great time to remember that we fought the Revolution so that we would not be ruled by kings. After all, America’s founders were emphatic that the president should never be a monarch.”