"Washington appears to have been one of those rare individuals in world history who fit the needs of his time. What made Washington a great leader was his understanding of what had to be done. As president, Washington realized that the new Constitution had to be made to work if democracy was to take root on American soil. This would not happen if he had chosen to become a lifetime king or if federal laws were ignored. It was also clear to Washington that the new experiment in a representative government would likely fail if the infant nation became involved in European conflicts."
