Happy Birthday George, for realz
On this day of February 22, in 1732, 279 years ago today, George Washington, the first President of the United States, was born on his family's Pope's Creek Estate near present-day Colonial Beach in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was the first child born to Augustine Washington (1694–1743) and his second wife, Mary Ball Washington (1708–1789). How does one summarize the life of George Washington in a few short paragraphs? He was the greatest military and political leader of his generation. He led his country to victory over a vastly superior British force in the American Revolutionary War as commander in chief of the Continental Army. He presided over the writing of the Constitution in 1787. As the unanimous choice to serve as the first President of the United States, he developed a form of government that have been used ever since. He selected the first cabinet system and delivering the first inaugural address. As President, he built a strong, well-financed national government that avoided war, suppressed rebellion and won acceptance among Americans of all types. Washington is now known as the "Father of his country". Not a bad resume at all.
In Colonial Virginia, Washington was born into a wealthy, well connected family that owned tobacco plantations and kept slaves. He was home schooled by his father and older brother, and pursued a career as a surveyor and soldier. He became a senior officer of the colonial forces during the first stages of the French and Indian War. Washington's leadership of the Patriot cause in Virginia, and his political base in the largest colony made him the obvious choice of the Second Continental Congress in 1775 as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army to fight the British in the American Revolution.
As a Revolutionary War commander, Washington forced the British out of Boston in 1776, but was defeated and nearly captured later that year when he lost New York City. After crossing the Delaware River in the dead of winter, he defeated the enemy in two battles, retook New Jersey, and restored momentum to the Patriot cause. Because of his strategy, Revolutionary forces captured two major British armies at Saratoga in 1777 and Yorktown in 1781. He managed to hold together a tenuous army and a fragile nation amid the threats of disintegration and invasion. Historians give Washington high marks for his selection and supervision of his generals, his encouragement of morale, his coordination with the state governors and state militia units, his relations with Congress, and his attention to supplies, logistics, and training. After victory had been finalized in 1783, Washington resigned rather than seize power, and returned to his plantation at Mount Vernon, expressing his opposition to dictatorship and his commitment to republican government.
Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention that drafted the United States Constitution in 1787 because of his dissatisfaction with the weaknesses of Articles of Confederation that had impeded the war effort. Washington became the first President of the United States in 1789. He attempted to bring rival factions together to unify the nation. He supported Alexander Hamilton's programs to pay off all state and national debt, implement an effective tax system, and create a national bank, despite opposition from Thomas Jefferson. Washington proclaimed the U.S. neutral in the wars raging in Europe after 1793. He avoided war with Britain and guaranteed a decade of peace and profitable trade by securing the Jay Treaty in 1795. Washington's "Farewell Address" was a stern warning against partisanship, sectionalism, and involvement in foreign wars.
At his death, Washington was eulogized as "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." The Federalists made him the symbol of their party and he was immortalized with the construction of the Washington Monument. As the leader of the first successful revolution against a colonial empire in world history, Washington became an international icon for liberation and nationalism. Historical scholars consistently rank him as one of the two or three greatest presidents.
A new website that someone put me on to about George Washington can be found here.
In Colonial Virginia, Washington was born into a wealthy, well connected family that owned tobacco plantations and kept slaves. He was home schooled by his father and older brother, and pursued a career as a surveyor and soldier. He became a senior officer of the colonial forces during the first stages of the French and Indian War. Washington's leadership of the Patriot cause in Virginia, and his political base in the largest colony made him the obvious choice of the Second Continental Congress in 1775 as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army to fight the British in the American Revolution.
As a Revolutionary War commander, Washington forced the British out of Boston in 1776, but was defeated and nearly captured later that year when he lost New York City. After crossing the Delaware River in the dead of winter, he defeated the enemy in two battles, retook New Jersey, and restored momentum to the Patriot cause. Because of his strategy, Revolutionary forces captured two major British armies at Saratoga in 1777 and Yorktown in 1781. He managed to hold together a tenuous army and a fragile nation amid the threats of disintegration and invasion. Historians give Washington high marks for his selection and supervision of his generals, his encouragement of morale, his coordination with the state governors and state militia units, his relations with Congress, and his attention to supplies, logistics, and training. After victory had been finalized in 1783, Washington resigned rather than seize power, and returned to his plantation at Mount Vernon, expressing his opposition to dictatorship and his commitment to republican government.
Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention that drafted the United States Constitution in 1787 because of his dissatisfaction with the weaknesses of Articles of Confederation that had impeded the war effort. Washington became the first President of the United States in 1789. He attempted to bring rival factions together to unify the nation. He supported Alexander Hamilton's programs to pay off all state and national debt, implement an effective tax system, and create a national bank, despite opposition from Thomas Jefferson. Washington proclaimed the U.S. neutral in the wars raging in Europe after 1793. He avoided war with Britain and guaranteed a decade of peace and profitable trade by securing the Jay Treaty in 1795. Washington's "Farewell Address" was a stern warning against partisanship, sectionalism, and involvement in foreign wars.
At his death, Washington was eulogized as "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." The Federalists made him the symbol of their party and he was immortalized with the construction of the Washington Monument. As the leader of the first successful revolution against a colonial empire in world history, Washington became an international icon for liberation and nationalism. Historical scholars consistently rank him as one of the two or three greatest presidents.
A new website that someone put me on to about George Washington can be found here.