Hey look! A comic! A comic that should have been done and uploaded before Friday! A comic that is being retroactively uploaded for Friday so you can view it on the Fourth of July when it is relevant! Hooray!
Sure this is, technically, a history comic but there are such things as American myths. People like to think that just because something is current it can’t be myth, but I’m here to tell you, that isn’t so. There are plenty of things currently believed by people all around the world that are either completely falsified or at least wildly inaccurate. Washington is a great example.
George Washington, one of the key figures of the founding of The United States is heralded as one of the greatest men in our history. Because of him, the addle-brained rabble were unable to instill yet another monarchy. Because of him, we won the war for independence. Because of him the world was given a beacon of hope in the form of the most free country on earth! Well…that last bit is a little off. Most people know that Washington didn’t free the slaves (we had a war to settle that a hundred years later) but we also don’t really talk about it a great deal. Content to spin yarns about a cherry tree and the man’s wooden teeth, we avoid substantive issues like the slave trade during the founding of the country to make ourselves feel better about our history. See, America is a funny place, there’s so much nationalism and pride here and questioning it, while not illegal, is considered crass in a lot of places. Unfortunately, getting caught up in nationalism and zeal leads to problems. We forget our history and the flaws in those that made our nation and we repeat mistakes for a long time and in a variety of ways.
Washington was certainly a decent man and a skilled leader. He was, however, also a slave owner who worked his slaves hard. When it came time to show the world real freedom, our founding fathers, Washington included, conveniently overlooked those poor individuals who’d been ripped from their lands and forced to work in the fields. Supposedly, it was to save the already fragile nation from internal struggle, but it paved the way for a brutal Civil War that left hundreds of thousands dead. History is what it is and we are the culmination of what has come before. There’s no way to say which way was right but it’s helpful to be familiar with it and remember it.
That said, we do live in a decent country with mostly harmless people. We finally have a black president and that is something. It certainly doesn’t make up for years of slavery but it’s a step in the right direction. America is one of the few places that is truly a melting pot of different cultures and I, for one, am glad I live here. To be able to see people of all different colors on the streets of Boston is a marvelous thing and something I’ve taken for granted at times. I hope other people get to experience it as well, because we’re all human and we’re all free no matter what anyone says.
Happy Fourth of July, America. Now let’s all get blackout drunk and light some shit on fire.
i feel i must be a dick and mention that Washington didnt have slaves…
but he WAS prone to hulking out to the point where the Native-Americans gave him the nickname of “Caunotaucarius” or “Town Destroyer”
Washington did have slaves. Lots of them. He was even painted alongside one. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_and_slavery?wasRedirected=true
To be fair, unlike a lot of the other founding fathers (Thomas Jefferson especially), some historians have found evidence suggesting that George Washington was honestly somewhat anti-slavery, and was seriously considering freeing his slaves (and possibly even freeing all slaves) as part of the creation of the new government. Unfortunately, this resulted in severe conflict, as several of the colonies (and some of the founding fathers) said they would back out of the union if slavery was made illegal. And made a fuss whenever certain major figures did anything to suggest an anti-slavery opinion.
Ben Franklin, of course, practically told them to GTFO.
You’re absolutely right. Of the lot, Washington was one of the better men and more true to the ideals of freedom. As I said, he wasn’t a terrible man by any stretch of the imagination. It’s just that our idea of him as this titanic figure and a symbol for freedom everywhere is a bit off from the truth.
He -did- eventually free his slaves in his will. He made it very clear that they were all to be released after the death of his wife. Not amazing, but it’s still something, especially during that time.
Also, hey, check out these cool nested comments!
As I recall, his wife Martha actually freed them before her death, for fear that the promise of freedom might cause her to “accidentally” kick the bucket early, so to speak.
Well it should also be mentioned that several of the founding fathers, George Washington included, tried to get abolitionist laws into the constitution, they were over ruled. Good ol’ George actually TRIED to free his slaves earlier than in his will, but was prevented from doing so by his step-children who didn’t want to lose that vast amount of wealth invested into the slaves.
Unable to free them earlier, he actually used the “God Myth” that was already beginning to grow around him (look at portraits of him before and after the Revolutionary War and tell me somebody wasn’t sticking Washington’s head onto the greek ideal and then placing a halo on it. The Painting “Washington Crossing the Delaware” has one so huge that you don’t immediately notice it
) to ensure that his slaves DID get freed, eg: people might defy washington while he was alive, but they would never defy the will of the general who fought off the British.
Other examples of proof that there was a god-myth that was growing about him and Washington knowing of it (and being appalled by it), is the tomb under the white house named “Washington’s Tomb” where every president’s corpse is kept before the funeral. Washington put in his will that he was to be buried by his wife on his estates, not to be interred under the white house.
So no, he wasn’t this epic pure and perfect paragon, but he really did try to get freedom for all the people he could, circumstances simply prevented him from doing so 80% of the time.
Your work is fantastic, and after stumbling upon it earlier I clicked through and enjoyed every comic you have posted (sometimes twice). Thank you for sharing your art with the feeble world!
Walt
Happletea is history too.
Nice post.
Step aside Kate Beaton! I’m takin’ over! lololjk
This is one of the reasons I love this comic. It’s hilarious and political at the same time (plus there’s mythology!) Seriously, I look forward to reading this comic every week. Scott your comics are all so awesome. I’m gonna take a look at this shop and try to buy something to support your site.