George Washington
Commander in Chief of the Continental Army (American Revolution) and first
President (Federalist) of the United States of America
"I walk on untrodden ground. There is scarcely any part of my conduct which may not
hereafter be drawn into precedent."
"Integrity and firmness are all I can promise."
Youth and Early Career:
George Washington was born in 1731/32 (Julian/Gregorian Calendars), the eldest child of prosperous
Virginian planters
Augustine and Mary (Ball) Washington at
Wakefield Farm in
Westmoreland County. He
spent his early years at his family's estate on
Pope's Creek, and was educated in many
subjects, such as
classics and `
rules of civility', although his talents were in the area of
mathematics and
surveying. He was a superb
horseman, and enjoyed sports and social
occasions. When he was 11 years old, in 1743, his father (Augustine) died, and George went
to live with Lawrence (his half-brother) at his
Mount Vernon plantation at the age of 21, he
would inherit his father's farm. Lawrence had married into the influential Virginian
Fairfax
family, and it was through this connection that George, aged 16, was able to join a surveying
group hired to survey the
Shenandoah Valley lands of Lord Fairfax. This appointment led to
a successful career as a young surveyor, with George involved in the laying out of
Belhaven
(now
Alexandria), then becoming the surveyor of
Culpeper County. Between 1751 and 1752,
George accompanied Lawrence to
Barbados (
West Indies) in an attempt to have Lawrence's
tuberculosis cured (and almost died of
smallpox himself), but on their return, Lawrence died,
resulting in George inheriting the Mount Vernon estate. By 1753, he was adjutant of a
Virginian district, and held the rank of
major.
Early Military Career:
The year 1753 saw the young Washington play an important role as a military messenger
during the struggles preceding the
French and Indian War. He delivered an ultimatum that
called upon French forces in the
Ohio River valley to withdraw, and also gained critical
information about the French troops in the area. Having completed this mission, and gaining
the rank of
lieutenant colonel, Washington led a militia force to protect workers building a
fort on the Ohio River. By the time he arrived at the scene, the French had already taken the
fort (renamed
Duquesne), and so he waited at
Fort Necessity for reinforcements. The French
forces attacked, and he surrendered, on May 27 1754, consequently leaving the area.
Washington resigned his commission following this defeat, but by May 1755, was an
aide-de-camp to
Edward Braddock, a British general. Setting out to recapture Fort Duquesne,
the force was ambushed by a French/Native Indian alliance at
Monongahela River, and the
general was killed. Washington escaped death by a narrow margin, but was officially
recognised for bravery under fire. It was under General Braddock, too, that Washington
began to educate himself in military matters, by copying Braddock's orders into his
letterbooks.
By August 1755, Washington was the colonel charged with leading the Virginia regiment in
the defense of the western frontier of the colony. It was only in 1756 that war between
France and Britain was officially declared, and Washington succeeded in keeping the 350
mile Virginian frontier safe.
Early Involvement in the American Revolution - Policies:
During the 1730s-40s, the price of tobacco rose considerably, and Washington, with his
Mount Vernon plantation, became extremely wealthy. He married a young, rich
widow,
Martha Custis, in 1759, and their combined assets made Washington one of the
wealthiest men in Virginia. He assumed parental care of Martha's children Martha 'Patsy'
and John Parke 'Jacky'. He was elected to the
House of Burgesses in 1758, where he served
for 17 years, and was
justice of the peace for
Fairfax County.
Washington, along with his fellow planters, disliked the actions of the
British crown and
British Parliament in the 1760s-70s, and in July 1774 presided over a meeting at Alexandria
which saw the adoption of the
Fairfax Resolves (boycott of British imports), which was
followed by a similar action on the part of the
First Continental Congress. His administrative
roles, along with his position against British colonial policies ensured his election to the First
Continental Congress as the Virginian delegate (September/October 1774) and re-election the
the
Second in 1775.
American Revolution Campaigns:
In 1775, fighting broke out between
Massachusetts and the British army, and the response of
Congress was to name Washington as the commander of the newly created Continental army.
He commanded the force against the British in
Boston (mid-July), winning the city by March
1776. He then moved the army to
New York, where he was eventually defeated in August by
British
general William Howe. Following this defeat, Washington removed his forces from
Manhattan to establish a line of defense to the north. By December, the army had retreated to
the safety of
Pennsylvania, having crossed the
Hudson and
Delaware Rivers, and losing
New
Jersey. This retreat had its advantages, however, as Washington noticed the places where the
British forces were overextended, and used this knowledge to his advantage when on
Christmas night the army re-crossed the Delaware to capture
Trenton, and early in the new
year,
Princeton. Morale of the Continental army was boosted with these victories, and 8000
new volunteers were recruited into the army.
In late August, Howe and his army landed at
Chesapeake Bay, and advanced towards
Philadelphia, beating the Continental army at Brandywine Creek. This defeat was followed
by another at Germantown, and the Continental army wintered over at Valley Forge.
These defeats were not viewed in a good light by Congress, and Washington fought to retain
the position of commander of the troops.
By 1778, the
French had entered the American Revolution on the side of the Continental
army, and command of the British troops had changed to Sir
Henry Clinton, who evacuated
Philadelphia, and marched to New York. Washington attempted an attack of the marching
troops at
Monmouth (New Jersey), but this attack failed, and Washington blamed this failure
on the insubordination of General
Charles Lee, as there was much rivalry between the two
leaders.
For the next two years, Washington and his troops camped around the British in New York
City, covering
Connecticut and New Jersey. In 1780, this position changed with the arrival
of 6000
French troops at
Rhode Island under the
comte de Rochambeau, however
Congress
was running out of finance for the Continental army, and Washington knew that if he hadn't
won by 1781, the cause would be lost. Although he wanted to attack New York, he heard
that the French
fleet was attacking at Chesapeake Bay, and wanted land support, and he
agreed to take the troops south.
The movement of 7000 troops from New York State to Virginia in under five weeks was no
mean feat, and in conjunction to this, Washington sent ahead word to the
marquis de
Lafayette (commander in Virginia) to hold the British at
Yorktown. At the end of September,
the two forces merged, and their superior numbers (along with the fact that the French fleet
prevented British auxiliary troops arriving by sea) forced
Lord Cornwallis and his troops to
surrender. The Continental achievement was to be the most significant
battle of the American Revolution, and within two years, British recognition of
American
independence and the ceasing of fighting had occurred. During the end of his command, Washington sent a
letter to the states urging them to combine in creating a national government.
Early Political Life:
In 1783, Washington was finally able to return to Mount Vernon. By 1787, though,
following an armed revolt in Massachusetts (the
Shay's Rebellion), American citizens were
wanting a stronger government. Washington responded to these calls by helping to bring
about the
Constitution Convention of the same year. Arriving as the Virginian delegate,
Washington was elected (1788) as the president of the Convention. His mere presence
at the Convention was important to the ratification of the
Constitution, such was his status.
First Administration:
As the first President of the United States, George Washington had a large task set before
him and he knew it, saying:
"
I walk on untrodden ground. There is scarcely any part of my conduct which may not
hereafter be drawn into precedent."
Many significant steps in the evolution of the United States of America were made by
Washington, including:
- Creating a cabinet (not envisioned by the Constitution)
- Being personally separated from Congress (not involved in factions, nor in developing
courts)
- Appointing respected and able figures (such as Thomas Jefferson and Alexander
Hamilton) to important roles
- Creating a funded national debt
- Creating the Bank of the United States
- Assuming state debts, and controlling taxes
- Pursuing a policy of cooperation and trade with European countries
- Choosing a capital on the Potomac River (to be built by 1800)
- Assisting Congress in adopting a set of amendments (which would become known as the
Bill of Rights)
- During his first administration, Washington also had to deal with a revolt by a group of
confederated Indian peoples, led by the Miami 'Little Turtle'.
Second Administration:
1793 saw George Washington be unanimously re-elected as President, with
John Adams
Vice-President (he would become the next President). During this second term,
Washington's administration negotiated a tentative peace with the Indians.
The Jay Treaty, however, was a watershed in the political life of Washington. The
controversial treaty was seen as ceding too much to Britain, by some parties. Although
ratified by the
Senate, the
House of Representatives attempted to stop it, causing Washington
to speak out against the actions of the House. This cost him his reputation being separate
from Congress, and because he knew that he was shaping the moral role of the Presidency, he
decided to retire. He prepared and published a
farewell address in 1796, which stressed that
the USA should avoid foreign alliances until it was firmly established. Another point of the
farewell address was that Congress should avoid party enmity - Washington was
disappointed by the development of
political parties that had emerged in recent years.
Final Years:
In the final months of 1796, Washington attended to government matters in
Washington (new
federal city proposed in 1790), and left office in 1797, returning to Mount Vernon. His
retirement was cut short the following year, as deteriorating international relation with the
new French government (post-revolution) forced Washington to accept nominal command of
the American armies. Luckily, the impending conflict was averted by the administration of
John Adams.
In December 1799, having toured his Mount Vernon estate on horseback
during harsh winter conditions, Washington developed a bad
throat infection which choked
off his
air supply. In the span of twelve hours, three different doctors managed to drain
Washington of five pints of blood (even though a young doctor suggested performing a
tracheotomy,
this suggestion was not accepted as the new form of surgery was seen as barbaric), and while
it will never be known if the throat infection alone would have caused the death of this great
man, the
bloodletting certainly accelerated the process.
George Washington died, aged 67, on December 14 1799, and was mourned by the nation for
months. In his will, he
emancipated his
slaves.
Additional Facts:
- Thomas Jefferson said of Washington: "{He was} in every sense of the word, a wise, a
good and a great man."... Washington is famed for his integrity.
- General Lighthorse Harry Lee said: "{He was} first in war, first in peace, and first in the
hearts of his countrymen.
- During the Revolution, Continental army soldiers who had not been paid asked Washington
to lead them in a revolt, and to crown himself king!
- During his Presidency, his influence was so great that he could have given himself a position as a dictator.
- And just for fun: George Washington had wooden teeth! In 1795, he had ivory teeth made.
Bibliography:
- The Library of Congress - www.loc.gov
- The White House Online - www.whitehouse.gov
- The Hutchinson Encyclopedia (Helicon - 1996)
- Microsoft Encarta (Microsoft Corporation - 1995)
- George Washington by Brian Williams (Cherrytree Books - 1988)
- The Look-It-Up Book of Presidents by Wyatt Blassingame (Random House - 1990)
- Presidents by James Barber (Dorling Kindersley - 2000)
- Presidents and First Ladies of the United States by Doranne Jacobson (Todtri - 1995)
- The Presidency edited by Michael Nelson (Salamander Books Ltd. - 1996)