Image courtesy of VA250
The Virginia 250 logo for the celebration of America's 250th birthday.
July 4th has just passed; freedom and the birth of our nation are top of mind. Our nation is now celebrating its 250th year.
As we celebrate, it bears remembering how this American experiment actually began, how our foundation almost did not come to be. If we take things for granted, a few pillars of our founding could be lost.
The creation of our country is a miraculous story, a story of great courage and unknown outcomes. And that story involved the City of Alexandria, Virginia, a few miles south of Washington, DC.
Founded in 1749, Alexandria turned 276 years old over the weekend, and we celebrated with our annual gathering in a big city park along our historic waterfront, a port where George Washington sold his tobacco. The event included our Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, cannons that fired during the symphony’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture,” and stunning fireworks over the Potomac River.
Sitting along the waterfront with thousands of others, I wondered how many folks in Alexandria, and across the country, know the role of Alexandria and the revolutionary document, the Fairfax Resolves.
When we think about our country’s Independence and the Revolutionary War, most Americans might think about the Boston Tea Party in 1773, or Washington crossing the Delaware in 1776, or Thomas Jefferson writing the Declaration of Independence in 1776, but most may not know about another stroke of genius.
In response to the Boston Tea Party, the British Parliament passed four draconian laws called the Intolerable Acts to punish a rebellious Massachusetts and send a signal to the other colonies. In early 1774, concerned about their own future and the colonies in general, Virginians wanted to show solidarity with those in Boston.
George Washington and George Mason and other local notables met in the pubs of Old Town Alexandria to discuss their growing frustration and disgust with King George of England and how the colonies were being mistreated. These men ate, drank, and talked at length about the political situation, issues of the day, and possible solutions. One of the pubs, Gadsby’s Tavern, is still open for business, and in fact, you can order the drink that Washington favored. The tavern still has the recipe. (And I have tried it.)
For some, it might be difficult to think of General Washington spending so much time in Old Town Alexandria, but in addition to his love for his family and his Mount Vernon estate down the road about nine miles, he had properties and numerous dear friends in Old Town, and there are engraved plaques on walls of numerous houses where his lawyer, doctor, banker, and aide-de-camp lived. He is a hometown hero of Alexandria as well as a national hero.
Sitting in our pubs of Old Town with our cobblestone streets, Washington and Mason and other gentlemen gathered to discuss their options. In spite of the significant risk involved, they decided to put pen to paper. George Mason took the lead and wrote the first draft of what became known as the Fairfax Resolves, and he and Washington went over the document at Washington’s Mount Vernon estate and made their edits.
The Fairfax Resolves listed their numerous grievances under the heavy thumb of the King of England and daringly declared the Constitutional rights of the colonies, including: fighting against taxation without representation; demanding representation in elected government; and preserving the colonists’ “lives, liberties, and fortunes.” These basic tenets of our democracy were set forth in the Fairfax Resolves, many of which were later incorporated into the Declaration of Independence.
The Fairfax Resolves became a key document that set a path forward for the colonies to unite around and stand up to the king. It became a blueprint for resistance and ultimately the revolution. With the Fairfax Resolves, the colonists took on the King of England and the greatest power in the world.
All those who signed the document, and especially the co-authors Mason and Washington, put their lives, their assets, and their names at risk. They threw down the gauntlet and defied the king and British Parliament’s actions against the colonies. The document alone could have been seen as treason by the king.
The king could have sent his troops to the homes of those who signed the Fairfax Resolves and taken the men away and hung them for treason. The king could have seized their land and other assets. The king could have done whatever he wanted. He was not accustomed to being challenged.
As we know from history, the resulting Revolutionary War lasted over seven years; the colonists prevailed, defying the greatest odds.
Today, most Americans do not know about the Fairfax Resolves nor of George Mason’s crucial role and his longtime bond of friendship with Washington and how both of them were stewards of this document that propelled the rights of the colonies forward. All of the Virginians who signed the document were and are heroes.
In addition, how lucky were we that our Founding Fathers were men of letters – Washington, Mason, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, and our other founders. How lucky that they were learned and well-read. Their letters are astounding to read. They had libraries of their own. There were many others who wrote and helped the cause of independence, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Paine among them.
They all believed in the power of the pen, the power of ideas, and the importance of controlling one’s own destiny. This last point was groundbreaking, but we know the Declaration of Independence did not resolve the question of slavery and its inhumanity. These men, while heroic, were imperfect. The issue of slavery would take decades to address and ultimately resulted in the Civil War. Our country miraculously survived. We are still grappling with the legacy of slavery.
After the brutal Revolutionary War, General Washington, who bravely and ably led our troops and could have continued as a military leader, gave up his military uniform, and he served as our first president. While he could have stayed in office, he limited himself to two terms (1789-1797) and went back to being in charge of his business interests in part to demonstrate the limits of his power and that he was not a king. He led by example. His actions were prescient. His wisdom on many fronts has guided us well.
Alexandria and Virginia played a critical role in our nation’s formative years. Today, when we walk these streets of Old Town and see countless houses and buildings that have stood the test of time, we can easily imagine how Washington and Mason and others strolled under the gas lamps and envisioned what was possible against all odds. Together, with the other Founding Fathers, they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their good names so that we could embark on this unlikely American experiment.
Allison Silberberg is a writer and public affairs/public policy consultant. She served as mayor of Alexandria, Virginia, 2016-2019. Her work includes working on staff on Capitol Hill for Senator Lloyd M. Bentsen (D-TX). She is the author of “Visionaries In Our Midst: Ordinary People who are Changing our World,” which hit #1 on Amazon’s List for Philanthropy & Charity. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Dallas Morning News, on PBS.org.
