A fast for peace and freedom

May 15, 2024

While 90% of this Substack focuses on the founding father of India, Mohandas Gandhi, today I want to talk about the founding father of the United States, George Washington. While both struggled to win independence from the British Empire, Gandhi’s fight was a nonviolent one. He was determined to persuade and convert India’s oppressors. Washington, on the other hand, was charged with subverting British rule through military force.

On May 15, 1776, General George Washington issued a general order that "all officers, and soldiers" should observe a day of fasting. This predated the Declaration of Independence, so the shared sacrifice was to generate moral power for the "United Colonies." It also predated Gandhi’s use of group fasts by 143 years.

The use of fast days was not uncommon in early America. As I’ve written elsewhere,

[Thomas] Jefferson drafted a resolution calling for a day of fasting on June 1, 1774. Among the goals were “to give us one Heart and one Mind”—establish a shared intention—and to inspire Parliament “with Wisdom, Moderation, and Justice.” It passed with with unanimous support in the Virginia legislature, and George Washington noted in his diary, “Went to church, fasted all day.”

Another similarity in their use is the inclusion of prayer as an aspect of the day of fasting. One of Gandhi’s aims was to unite Hindus and Muslims; people should pray in accordence with their religion. For Washington, Christianity was a unifying force, and the target of his orders included "the mercy of Almighty God." The fast for peace, on the other hand, is strictly secular. Individuals can incorporate prayer or mediation into their day, but it’s an independent component.

Washington informed his troops that the ultimate purpose of the group fast was to "establish the peace and freedom of America, upon a solid and lasting foundation." His methods were violent: contrast this to Gandhi’s description: “[N]o nation has ever been made without sacrifice, and we are trying an experiment of building up ourselves by self-sacrifice without resorting to violence in any shape or form. This is satyagraha.”

The difference in their tactics is reflected in their outcomes. When the British left India, they did so as friends. When the British left America, it was with such harsh feelings that the two countries went to war again a few decades later. However, it should also be observed that it took more than 25 years for Gandhi’s persuasion to succeed; Washington’s military force did it in less than 10.

Today’s discussion question: was that a good trade-off: expediency in exchange for simmering hostility?