George Washington - Prevents the Revolt of his Officers (178

At the close of the Revolutionary War in America, a perilous¹ moment in the life of the fledgling American democracy occurred as officers of the Continental² Army met in Newburgh, New York, to discuss grievances³ and consider a possible insurrection against the rule of Congress.,They were angry over the failure of Congress to honor its promises to the army regarding salary, bounties⁴ and life pensions. The officers had heard from Philadelphia that the American government was going broke and that they might not be compensated⁵ at all.,On March 10, 1783, an anonymous⁶ letter was circulated among the officers of General Washington's main camp at Newburgh. It addressed those complaints and called for an unauthorized meeting of officers to be held the next day to consider possible military solutions to the problems of the civilian⁷ government and its financial woes⁸.,General Washington stopped that meeting from happening by forbidding the officers to meet at the unauthorized meeting. Instead, he suggested they meet a few days later, on March 15th, at the regular meeting of his officers.,Meanwhile, another anonymous letter was circulated, this time suggesting Washington himself was sympathetic to the claims of the malcontent⁹ officers.,And so on March 15, 1783, Washington's officers gathered in a church building in Newburgh, effectively holding the fate of democracy in America in their hands.,Unexpectedly, General Washington himself showed up. He was not entirely¹⁰ welcomed by his men, but nevertheless, personally addressed them...,