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George Washington
The Weight of Precedent
Decision 1 of 3 · ≈5 minutes
NEWBURGH, NEW YORK · MARCH 1783
Your men haven't been paid in months, and some are ready to turn the army on Congress to get what they're owed. Stand with them, and the republic you just fought to build may not survive it.
The officers are meeting within the hour, and you weren't invited.
Read the situation below and make your decision
The war is effectively over, but Congress has no power to tax and has not paid the army in months. Officers who gave years of their lives are facing discharge with nothing to show for it.
An anonymous letter has circulated through the camp, urging the officers to refuse to disband, or worse, to march on Congress and force its hand. A meeting has been called to decide what the army will do.
Washington was not invited. His own men assume he won't understand, or that he might even be on their side.
You know only what Washington knew in 1783.
YOUR DECISION
Step in and defuse it
Confront the officers directly and persuade them to stand down from the brink of mutiny.
And the men who trusted you most may feel you chose Congress over them.
Let the pressure stand
Allow the officers' threat to push Congress into finally paying what it owes.
And if it tips into outright mutiny, the republic may not survive its first real crisis.
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