A Civil War: Military Virtue and the Ultimate Sacrifice
The Society of the Cincinnati - The Society of the Cincinnati
Eighteenth century Americans understood the concept of virtue differently than Americans today. At the creation of our American republic, citizens strongly valued civic virtue, a tradition that has deep roots in ancient Rome. Citizenship in the new republic, enshrouded in civic virtue, required civic obligations such as participation in the political process and placing the good of the republic before personal gain. Evidence of the centrality of this value can be seen through architecture, declarations of rights, art and more. Early Americans revered George Washington as the embodiment of civic virtue, imagining him as the modern Cincinnatus.