George Washington Biography
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George Washington (February 22, 1732 –
December 14, 1799) was the successful Commander-in-Chief of the
Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1783,
and later became the first President of the United States, an office to
which he was elected, unanimously, twice and remained in from 1789 to
1797. Washington first gained prominence as an officer during the French
and Indian War and as a leader of colonial militia supporting the
British Empire. After leading the American victory in the Revolutionary
War, he refused to lead a military regime, though encouraged by some of
his peers to do so. He returned to civilian life at Mount Vernon.
In 1787, he presided over the
Constitutional Convention that drafted the current United States
Constitution, and, in 1789, was the unanimous choice to become the first
President of the United States. His two-term administration set many
policies and traditions that survive today. After his second term
expired, Washington again voluntarily relinquished power, thereby
establishing an important precedent that was to serve as an example for
the United States and also for other future republics.
Because of his central role in the founding
of the United States, Washington is often called the "Father of his
Country". Scholars rank him with Abraham Lincoln among the greatest of
United States presidents.
****
Early life
According to the Julian calendar,
Washington was born on February 11, 1731; according to the Gregorian
calendar, which was adopted during Washington's life and is used today,
he was born on February 22, 1732 (Washington's Birthday is celebrated on
the Gregorian date.) At the time of his birth, the English year began
March 25 (Annunciation Day, or Lady Day), hence the difference in his
birth year. His birthplace was Popes Creek Plantation, on the Potomac
River southeast of modern-day Colonial Beach in Westmoreland County,
Virginia.
George Washington was the oldest child from
his father's second marriage. Washington had two older half-brothers:
Lawrence and Augustine, Jr. "Austin" and four younger siblings: Betty,
Samuel, John Augustine "Jack", and Charles. Washington's parents
Augustine Washington "Gus" (1693–April 12, 1743) and Mary Ball
Washington (1708–August 25, 1789) were of British descent. Gus
Washington was a slave-owning planter in [[Virginia]} who later tried
his hand in iron-mining ventures. Considered members of the gentlemen
class they were not nearly as wealthy as the neighboring Carters and
Lees. Washington spent much of his boyhood at Ferry Farm in Stafford
County, near Fredericksburg and visited his Washington cousins at
Chotank in King George County. One of Gus Washington's properties where
the family resided from about 1735-1737 was Little Hunting Creek Farm.
This property was later taken over by Gus's oldest son, Lawrence, and
renamed Mount Vernon. The death of Gus Washington left the family in
difficult circumstances and prevented young George from receiving an
education in England as his older brothers Lawrence and Austin did.
George Washington would never travel to Europe.
An early biography of Washington by Parson
Weems, who met Washington and interviewed people who knew Washington as
a young man, included a story about his honesty as a child. In the
story, he wanted to try out a new axe, so he chopped the bark of his
father's cherry tree; when questioned by his father, he admitted
responsibility and uttered the famous words: "I can't tell a lie.” The
story first appeared in 1800 in Weems's biography (titled "Life of
Washington"). The work of Parson Weems is believed to be pure allegory,
though the story indeed depicted the strict integrity that was a
hallmark of Washington's life.
He was home schooled, often tutored by his
older brothers, and eventually trained as a surveyor, obtaining his
certificate from the College of William and Mary. He surveyed the
Shenandoah Valley in western Virginia for Lord Fairfax, a relative of
Washington's brother Lawerence by marriage, and retained a lifelong
interest in western lands, particularly the areas reached from the
Potomac River as his thinking was that this water source was the central
entrance for oceanic ships. His only foreign trip was a short visit to
Barbados with Lawrence in 1751, during which George Washington survived
an attack of smallpox although his face was scarred by the disease. He
was initiated as a Freemason in Fredericksburg on February 4, 1752. Upon
Lawrence Washington's death from tuberculosis in July 1752, George
Washington rented and eventually inherited the estate, Mount Vernon, in
Fairfax County (near Alexandria). Washington would spend the next thirty
years adding on to the house and the surrounding acerage.
French and Indian War: 1754-1763
At twenty-two years of age, Washington
fired some of the first shots of what would become a war between
colonial powers. The trouble began in 1753, when France began building a
series of forts in the Ohio Country, a region also claimed by Virginia.
This was part of an overall strategy by the French, with the support of
the indigenous population, to destabilize the American frontier and tie
up British military forces in the American colonies. Robert Dinwiddie,
the governor of Virginia, had young Major Washington deliver a letter to
the French commander, asking them to leave. After the publication of
Washington's accounts of this tale appreared in local newspapers, he
became a legend. The French refused, and so, in 1754, Dinwiddie sent
Washington, now promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in the First Virginia
Regiment, on another mission to the Ohio Country. There, Washington and
his troops ambushed a French Canadian scouting party. After a short
skirmish, Washington's American Indian ally Tanacharison killed the
wounded French commander Ensign Jumonville. Washington then built Fort
Necessity, which soon proved inadequate, as he was compelled to
surrender to a larger French and American Indian force. The surrender
terms that Washington signed included an admission that he had
"assassinated" Jumonville. (The document was written in French, which
Washington could not read.) The "Jumonville affair" became an
international incident and helped to ignite the French and Indian War, a
part of the worldwide Seven Years' War.
Washington was later released by the
French, on parole, with his promise not to return to the Ohio Country
for one year.
Washington was always eager to serve in the
British Army, which, on the other hand, had a low regard for colonials.
His opportunity came in 1755, when he accompanied the Braddock
Expedition, a major effort by the British to retake the Ohio Country.
The expedition ended in disaster at the Battle of the Monongahela.
Washington distinguished himself in the debacle—he had two horses shot
out from under him, and four bullets pierced his coat—yet he sustained
no injuries and showed coolness under fire in organizing the retreat. In
Virginia, Washington was acclaimed as a hero, and he commanded the First
Virginia Regiment for several more years, although the focus of the war
had shifted elsewhere. In 1758, he accompanied the Forbes Expedition,
which successfully drove the French away from Fort Duquesne.
Washington's goal at the outset of his
military career had been to secure a commission as a regular British
officer—rather than staying a mere colonial militia officer. The
promotion did not come, and so, in 1759, Washington resigned his
commission and married Martha Dandridge Custis, a wealthy widow with two
children. Washington raised her two children, John Parke Custis and
Martha Parke Custis, affectionately called "Jacky" and "Patsy". Later
the Washington's raised two of Mrs. Washington's grandchildren, Eleanor
Parke Custis and George Washington Parke Custis, or "Nelly" and "Washy".
Washington himself never fathered any of his own. The newlywed couple
moved to Mount Vernon where he took up the life of a genteel farmer and
slave owner. He held local office and was elected to the Virginia
provincial legislature, the House of Burgesses.
American Revolution: 1774-1783
In 1774, Washington was chosen as a
delegate from Virginia to the First Continental Congress, convened in
the wake of the Boston Tea Party, the British government's punitive
closure of Boston Harbor, and the annulment of legislative and judicial
rights in Massachusetts. After fighting broke out at Lexington and
Concord in April, 1775, Washington appeared at the Second Continental
Congress in military uniform—the only delegate to do so, signaling his
interest in becoming commander of the colonial forces. Washington was
the unanimous selection, on June 15, 1775. The Massachusetts delegate
John Adams suggested his appointment, citing his "skill as an officer...
great talents and universal character." He assumed command of the
American forces at Cambridge, Massachusetts on July 3.
Washington drove the British forces out of
Boston on March 17, 1776, by stationing artillery captured at
Ticonderoga on Dorchester Heights, overlooking Boston and its harbor.
The British army, led by General William Howe, retreated to Halifax,
Canada. Washington moved his army to New York City in anticipation of a
British offensive there. In August, the British invaded in overwhelming
numbers and Washington led a clumsy retreat that almost failed. He lost
the Battle of Long Island on August 22 but managed to move most of his
forces to the mainland. However, several other defeats sent Washington
scrambling across New Jersey, leaving the future of the Revolution in
doubt.
On the night of December 25, 1776,
Washington staged a brilliant comeback, the Battle of Trenton. He led
the American forces across the Delaware River to smash the Hessian
forces in Trenton, New Jersey. Washington followed up the assault with a
surprise attack on General Charles Cornwallis' forces at Princeton on
the eve of January 2, 1777. The successful attacks built morale among
the pro-independence colonists.
In summer 1777, the British launched a
three-pronged attack, with Burgoyne marching south from Canada while
Howe attacked the national capital of Philadelphia. Washington moved
south, but was badly defeated at the Battle of Brandywine on September
11. An attempt to dislodge the British, the Battle of Germantown, failed
as a result of fog and confusion, and Washington was forced to retire to
winter quarters at the miserably inadequate Valley Forge.
The winter of 1777-1778 was seen as the low
point for the Continental Army (and as a result, for the Revolution as a
whole), due to their string of crushing losses, and their wretched
living conditions. Washington, however, stood steadfast, demanding more
supplies from Congress. His men recovered their morale despite the harsh
winter conditions. A new system of drill and training was established by
Baron Friedrich von Steuben, who had served on the Prussian general
staff. Von Steuben's task was to improve the army’s fighting
capabilities so that it could match the British in the field. As a
result, Valley Forge proved to be a watershed for the fledgling
Continental Army which emerged more battle ready than when they first
encamped.
Washington attacked the British army moving
from Philadelphia to New York at the Battle of Monmouth on June 28,
1778, a drawn contest, but the British effort to disrupt the national
government had failed. Burgoyne’s invading army, meanwhile, was captured
at Saratoga in October, giving the British a crushing defeat. It now
seemed likely that the British would never re-conquer the new nation,
and France signed a formal alliance with the U.S.
After 1778, the British made one last
effort to split apart the new nation, this time focused on the southern
states. Rather than attack them there, Washington's forces moved to West
Point in New York. In 1779, Washington ordered a fifth of the army to
carry out the Sullivan Expedition, an offensive against four of the six
nations of the Iroquois Confederacy that had allied with the British and
attacked American settlements along the frontier. There were no battles,
but at least forty Iroquois villages were destroyed and the hostile
Indians moved permanently to Canada. In 1781, American and French forces
and a French fleet trapped General Cornwallis at Yorktown in Virginia.
Washington had quick-marched south, taking command of the American and
French forces on September 14, and pressed the siege until Cornwallis
surrendered on October 17. It was the end of significant fighting,
though British forces remained in New York City and a few other places
until the final peace was ratified in 1783.
In March 1783, Washington learned about a
conspiracy planned by some of his officers who were upset about back pay
in the Continental Army's winter camp at Newburgh, New York. They were
plotting a coup against the Continental Congress. He was able to
convince them (through use of theatrics) that he had suffered equally or
more than they. He was thus able to instill loyalty, and thus end the
plot.
Later in 1783, by means of the Treaty of
Paris, the British recognized American independence. Washington
disbanded his army and on November 2 at Rockingham House in Rocky Hill,
New Jersey, gave an eloquent farewell address to his soldiers. A few
days later the British evacuated New York City, and Washington and the
governor took possession of the city; at Fraunces Tavern in the city on
December 4, he formally bade his officers farewell.
Home in Virginia 1783-1787
On December 23, 1783, General Washington
resigned his commission as Commander in Chief of the Army to the
Congress of the Confederation, which was then meeting at the Maryland
State House in Annapolis. This action was of great significance for the
young nation, establishing the precedent that civilian elected
officials, rather than military officers, possessed ultimate authority
over the military. Washington firmly believed that the people are
sovereign and that no one should ever come to power in America because
of military force, or because of birth in a noble family.
General George Washington returned home to
Mount Vernon arriving at the gates of his estate around candlelight on
Christmas Eve, 1783. He had been absent from his beloved home in service
to his country since he assumed command of the Army in 1775. Waiting to
greet him was the wife he made the promise to eight years prior to be
home by Christmas and four step-grandchildren all born during his
absence. The end of the war also took with it George Washington's
step-son, Jacky Custis. The boy he raised died of camp fever in 1781 at
Yorktown.
At the time of Washington's departure from
military service, he was listed on the rolls of the Continental Army as
"General and Commander in Chief." (See Retirement, death, and honors
section below for more on this topic.)
Although the nation was at peace in the
late 1780s, Washington worried that the fledgling nation had such a weak
central government that it could not survive a future war. He therefore
endorsed plans to create a new constitution. His support guaranteed it
would happen and he presided over the Constitutional Convention in
Philadelphia in 1787. For the most part, he did not participate in the
debates involved, but his prestige was great enough to maintain
collegiality and to keep the delegates at their labors. He adamantly
enforced the secrecy adopted by the Convention during the summer. Many
believe that the Framers created the Presidency with Washington in mind.
After the Convention, his support convinced many, including the Virginia
legislature, to support the Constitution.
Washington farmed roughly 8,000 acres (32
km²). Like many Virginia planters at the time, he had little cash on
hand and was frequently in debt, even though he owned much land. He
eventually had to borrow $600 to relocate to New York, then the center
of the American government, to take office as president.
Presidency: 1789-1797
Beginnings
George Washington was elected unanimously
by the Electoral College in 1789, and remains the only person ever to be
elected president unanimously (a feat which he duplicated in 1792). As
runner-up with 34 votes, John Adams became Vice President-elect. The
First U.S. Congress voted to pay Washington a salary of $25,000 a year—a
significant sum in 1789. Washington was perhaps the wealthiest American
at the time; his western lands were potentially valuable--but no one
lived on them as yet. He declined his salary. It was part of his
self-structured image as Cincinnatus, the citizen who takes on the
burdens of office as a civil duty. Washington attended carefully to the
pomp and ceremony of office, making sure that the titles and trappings
were suitably republican and never emulated European royal courts.
Washington's election was a disappointment
to Martha Washington, the First Lady, who wanted to continue living in
quiet retirement at Mount Vernon after the war. Nevertheless, she
quickly assumed the role of hostess, opening her parlor and organizing
weekly dinner parties for as many dignitaries as could fit around the
presidential table.
Policies
In the beginning of his term, he met
individually with his advisors, but, by 1791, held regular cabinet
meetings. Washington had to referee between the Treasury's Alexander
Hamilton, who had bold plans to establish the national credit and build
a financially powerful nation, and Thomas Jefferson and James Madison,
who usually opposed him. Hamilton won most of these battles and, after
Washington denounced the Democratic-Republican societies as dangerous,
he was hailed as the leading figure in the new Federalist Party.
Jefferson did win the location of the new national capital, which would
be located in the South, in what was soon named "Washington, District of
Columbia".
In 1791, Congress imposed an excise tax on
distilled spirits, leading to protests. By 1794, after Washington
ordered the protesters to appear in U.S. district court, the protests
turning into full-scale riots, and outright rebellion. On August 7,
Washington invoked the Militia Law of 1792 to summon the militias of
Pennsylvania, Virginia and several states. He raised an army of
militiamen, and marched at its head into the rebellious districts,
making him the only sitting US President to march at the head of a
column of troops. There was no fighting, but Washington's forceful
action proved the new government could protect itself. In leading the
military force against the rebels Washington became the only president
to personally lead troops in battle while commander-in-chief. It also
marked the first time under the new constitution that the federal
government had used strong military force to exert authority over the
states and citizens.
The United States had acquired title to the
Northwest Territory from Great Britain in the Revolutionary War, but the
American Indians who lived there were not consulted. Violence often
resulted, the largest conflict being the Northwest Indian War, in which
the Indians won victories until being defeated at the Battle of Fallen
Timbers in 1794.
In 1793, the revolutionary government of
France sent diplomat Edmond-Charles Genêt, who attempted to turn popular
sentiment towards American involvement in the war against Great Britain.
Genêt was authorized to issue letters of marque and reprisal to American
ships and gave authority to any French consul to serve as a prize court.
Genêt's activities forced Washington to ask the French government for
his recall.
The Jay Treaty, named after Chief Justice
of the United States John Jay who was sent by Washington to London to
negotiate an agreement, was a treaty between the United States and Great
Britain signed on November 19, 1794 that attempted to clear up some of
the lingering problems of American separation from Great Britain
following the American Revolutionary War. The Treaty was strongly
attacked by supporters of France, led by the Jeffersonians, but
Washington, supported by Alexander Hamilton, obtained its ratification
by Congress. The British had to clear out of their forts around the
Great Lakes. It remained in effect until the War of 1812.
Alexander Hamilton used Federal patronage
to set up a national network of friends of the Administration. This
developed into a full-fledged party, with Hamilton the key leader. The
Federalist party elected John Adams president in 1796. Washington
himself spoke often against the ills of political parties, and thus
never declared his support one way or another. He did, however, support
Hamiltonian politics over Jeffersonian, but never made a statement to
that effect. Washington was more or less not a member of any party in
existence at that time.
Washington had to be talked into a second
term of office as President, and very reluctantly agreed to it. However,
after two terms, Washington refused to run for a third term in office.
By refusing a third term, Washington established a firm, but unwritten
precedent of a maximum of two terms for a U.S. president. It was broken
by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1940, but after his death was formally
integrated into the Federal Constitution by the 22nd Amendment.
Washington's Farewell Address (issued as a
public letter) was the defining statement of Federalist party principles
and one of the most influential statements of American political values.
Most of the Address dealt with the dangers of bitter partisanship in
domestic politics. He called for men to put aside party and unite for
the common good. He called for an America wholly free of foreign
attachments, as the United States must concentrate only on American
interests. He counseled friendship and commerce with all nations, and
warned sternly against involvement in European wars. Long-term alliances
should be avoided, but he said the 1778 alliance with France had to be
observed. The Address quickly entered the realm of "received wisdom."
Many Americans, especially in subsequent generations, accepted
Washington's advice as gospel and, in any debate between neutrality and
involvement in foreign issues, would invoke the message as dispositive
of all questions. Not until 1949 would the United States again sign a
treaty of alliance with a foreign nation.
At John Adams' inauguration, Washington is
said to have approached Adams afterwards and stated "Well, I am fairly
out and you are fairly in. Now we shall see who enjoys it the most!"
Washington also declined to leave the room before Adams and the new Vice
President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, establishing the
principle that even a former president is, after all, only a private
citizen.
Major presidential acts
Signed Judiciary Act of 1789
Signed Indian Intercourse Acts, starting in
1790
Signed Residence Act of 1790
Signed Bank Act of 1791
Signed Coinage Act of 1792 or Mint Act
Signed Fugitive Slave Act of 1793
Signed Naval Act of 1794
Administration and Cabinet
OFFICE NAME TERM
President George Washington 1789–1797
Vice President John Adams 1789–1797
Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson
1789–1793
Edmund Randolph 1794–1795
Timothy Pickering 1795–1797
Secretary of the Treasury Alexander
Hamilton 1789–1795
Oliver Wolcott, Jr. 1795–1797
Secretary of War Henry Knox 1789–1794
Timothy Pickering 1795–1796
James McHenry 1796–1797
Attorney General Edmund Randolph 1789–1793
William Bradford 1794–1795
Charles Lee 1795–1797
Postmaster General Samuel Osgood 1789–1791
Timothy Pickering 1791–1795
Joseph Habersham 1795–1797
Supreme Court appointments
As the first President, Washington
appointed the entire Supreme Court, a feat almost repeated by President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt during his four terms in office (1933–45).
Washington appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of the
United States:
John Jay - Chief Justice - 1789
James Wilson - 1789
John Rutledge - 1790
William Cushing - 1790
John Blair - 1790
James Iredell - 1790
Thomas Johnson - 1792
William Paterson - 1793
John Rutledge - Chief Justice, 1795 (an
associate justice since 1790)
Samuel Chase - 1796
Oliver Ellsworth - Chief Justice - 1796
States admitted to the Union
North Carolina (1789)
Rhode Island (1790)
Vermont (1791)
Kentucky (1792)
Tennessee (1796)
Retirement and death
After retiring from the presidency in March
1797, Washington returned to Mount Vernon with a profound sense of
relief. He established a distillery there and became probably the
largest distiller of whiskey in the nation at the time, producing 11,000
gallons of whiskey and a profit of $7,500 in 1798.
During that year, Washington was appointed
Lieutenant General in the United States Army (then the highest possible
rank) by President John Adams. Washington's appointment was to serve as
a warning to France, with which war seemed imminent. While Washington
never saw active service, upon his death one year later, the U.S. Army
rolls listed him as a retired Lieutenant General, which was then
considered the equivalent to his rank as General and Commander in Chief
during the Revolutionary War.
Within a year of this 1798 appointment,
Washington fell ill from a bad cold with a fever and a sore throat that
turned into acute laryngitis and pneumonia and died on December 14,
1799, at his home. Modern doctors believe that Washington died from
either a streptococcal infection of the throat or, since he was bled as
part of the treatment, a combination of shock from the loss of blood,
asphyxia, and dehydration. One of the physicians who administered
bloodletting to him was Dr. James Craik, one of Washington's closest
friends, who had been with Washington at Fort Necessity, the Braddock
expedition, and throughout the Revolutionary War. Washington's remains
were buried at Mount Vernon.
After his death
Congressman Henry Light Horse Harry Lee, a
Revolutionary War comrade, famously eulogized Washington as "a citizen,
first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his
countrymen."
Washington set many precedents that
established tranquility in the presidential office in the years to come.
His choice to peacefully relinquish the presidency to John Adams, after
serving two terms in office, is seen as one of Washington's most
important legacies.
He was also lauded posthumously as the
"Father of His Country" and is often considered to be the most important
of Founding Fathers of the United States. He has gained fame around the
world as a quintessential example of a benevolent national founder.
Americans often refer to men in other nations considered the Father of
their Country as "the George Washington of his nation" (for example,
Mahatma Gandhi's role in India).
Washington was ranked #26 in Michael H.
Hart's list of the most influential figures in history. He is generally
regarded by historians as one of the greatest presidents.
Even though he had been the highest-ranking
officer of the Revolutionary War, having in 1798 been appointed a
Lieutenant General (now three stars), it seemed, somewhat incongruously,
that all later full (that is, four star) generals in U.S. history
(starting with General Ulysses S. Grant), and also all five-star
generals of the Army, were considered to outrank Washington. General
John J. Pershing had attained an even higher rank of six-star general,
General of the Armies (above five star—though the most stars Pershing
actually ever wore were four). This issue was resolved in 1976 when
Washington was, by act of Congress, posthumously promoted to the rank of
General of the Armies, outranking any past, present, and future general,
and declared to permanently be the top-ranked military officer of the
United States.
Monuments and memorials
Today Washington's face and image are often
used as national symbols of the United States, along with the icons such
as the flag and great seal. Perhaps the most pervasive commemoration of
his legacy is the use of his image on the one dollar bill and the
quarter-dollar coin. The image used on the dollar bill is derived from a
famous portrait of him painted by Gilbert Stuart, itself one of the most
notable works of early American art.
Because of Washington's involvement in
Freemasonry, some publicly visible collections of Washington memorabilia
are maintained by Masonic lodges, most notably the George Washington
Masonic Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia. The museum at Fraunces Tavern
Museum in New York City includes specimens of Washington's false teeth
(contrary to the widespread myth, they were not wooden - see the trivia
section below).
The capital city of the United States,
Washington, D.C., is named for him. The District of Columbia was created
by an Act of Congress in 1790, and Washington was deeply involved in its
creation, including choosing the site for the White House. The
Washington Monument, one of the most well-known landmarks in the city,
was built in his honor. The George Washington University, also in D.C.,
was named after him, and it was founded in part with shares Washington
bequeathed to an endowment to create a national university in
Washington.
The only state named for a president is the
state of Washington in the U.S. Pacific Northwest.
Washington selected West Point, New York,
as the site for the United States Military Academy. The United States
Navy has named three ships after Washington; the one currently serving
is a Nimitz Class nuclear powered aircraft carrier, commissioned on July
4, 1992.
Other examples include the George
Washington Bridge, which extends between New York City and New Jersey,
and the palm tree genus Washingtonia is also named after him.
See also: List of places named for George
Washington
Summary of military career
1753: Commissioned a Major in the Virginia
Militia
1754: Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in the
Virginia Militia
1754: Led abortive expedition to Fort
Duquesne, later served as aide to General Edward Braddock
1755: Promoted to Colonel and named
Commander of all Virginia Forces. Commissioned a Brigadier General later
that year
1759–75: Resigned from active military
service
June 1775: Commissioned General and
Commander in Chief of the Continental Army
1775–81: Commands the Continental Army in
over seven major battles with the British
December 1783: Resigns commission as
Commander in Chief of the Army
July 1798: Appointed Lieutenant General and
Commander of the Provisional Army to be raised in the event of a war
with France
14 December 1799: Dies and is listed as a
Lieutenant General (r) on the U.S. Army rolls
19 January 1976: Approved by the United
States Congress for promotion to General of the Armies
11 October 1976: Declared the senior most
U.S. military officer for all time by Presidential Order of Gerald Ford
13 March 1978: Promoted by Army Order 31-3
to General of the Armies with effective date of rank July 4, 1776.
Personal qualities
Washington was long considered not just a
military and revolutionary hero, but a man of great personal integrity,
with a deeply held sense of duty, honor and patriotism. He was upheld as
a shining example in schoolbooks and lessons: as courageous and
farsighted, holding the Continental Army together through eight hard
years of war and numerous privations, sometimes by sheer force of will;
and as restrained: at War's end taking afront at the notion he should be
King; and after two terms as President, stepping aside.
Recent years have seen schools and authors
focus more on his weaknesses: his reliance on the family plantation and
its slaves; his role in sparking the French and Indian War. Yet the
grandparents and great-great-grandparents of today's students were
taught of Washington as a character model more even than war hero or
founding father. To them, Washington was notable for his modesty and
carefully controlled ambition. He never accepted pay during his military
service with the Continental Army, and was genuinely reluctant to assume
any of the offices thrust upon him. When John Adams recommended him to
the Continental Congress for the position of general and commander in
chief of the Continental Army, Washington left the room to allow any
dissenters to freely voice their objections. In later accepting the
post, Washington told the Congress that he was unworthy of the honor.
However, it should be remembered that Washington was always an ambitious
man. He ensured that during the Continental Congress he arrived and was
always present wearing his old colonial uniform so as to make it clear
to all that he was deeply interested in commanding the continental
troops. Congress actually made him the commander of the continental army
before they authorized an army for him to command. In reality, no one
else could have ensured that the southern colonies would assist the
northern ones unless Washington was part of the equation; aside from a
few other, less endearing leaders, Washington was likely, overall, the
only choice that would achieve this.
It is often said that one of Washington's
greatest achievements was refraining from taking more power than was
due. He was conscientious of maintaining a good reputation by avoiding
political intrigue. He had no interest in nepotism or cronyism,
rejecting, for example, a military promotion during the war for his
deserving cousin William Washington lest it be regarded as favoritism.
Thomas Jefferson wrote, "The moderation and virtue of a single character
probably prevented this Revolution from being closed, as most others
have been, by a subversion of that liberty it was intended to
establish."
Washington and slavery
Historians' perceptions of Washington's
stand on slavery tend to be mixed. Although he advocated humane
treatment of his slaves, according to an eyewitness, his slaves lived in
"miserable" huts, and were often poorly clothed, according to plantation
records. As he progressed in life, he became increasingly uneasy with
the "peculiar institution", and historian Roger Bruns wrote, "As he grew
older, he became increasingly aware that it was immoral and unjust."
According to historians such as Clayborne
Carson and Gary Nash, Washington's professed hatred of slavery was
offset by his denial of freedom to even those slaves, like William Lee,
who fought with Washington for eight years. Lee lived at Mount Vernon as
a slave although his wife was a free woman from Philadelphia, named
Margaret Thomas. Although it is said by some historians that it is not
known whether she lived with him on the plantation, most sources
indicate that she did not. Billy Lee was the only slave freed outright
in Washington's will. According to one of his most notable biographers,
Joseph Ellis, Washington possessed no moral anxiety over owning slaves.
According to Ellis Washington talked and thought about his slaves as "a
Species of Property," very much as he described his dogs and horses. The
view by this historian might suggest that Washington's professed love of
liberty would not extend out to those who worked on his plantation.
After the Revolution, Washington told an
English visitor, "I clearly foresee that nothing but the rooting out of
slavery can perpetuate the existence of our [Federal] union by
consolidating it on a common bond of principle." The buying and selling
of slaves, as if they were "cattle in the market," especially outraged
him. He wrote to his friend John Francis Mercer in 1786, "I never
mean... to possess another slave by purchase; it being among my first
wishes to see some plan adopted, by which slavery in this country may be
abolished by slow, sure, and imperceptible degrees." Ten years later, he
wrote to Robert Morris, "There is not a man living who wishes more
sincerely than I do to see some plan adopted for the gradual abolition
[of slavery]."
As President, Washington was mindful of the
risk of splitting apart the young republic over the question of slavery.
He did not advocate the abolition of slavery while in office, but did
sign legislation enforcing the prohibition of slavery in the Northwest
Territory, writing to his good friend the Marquis de la Fayette that he
considered it a wise measure. Lafayette urged him to free his slaves as
an example to others— Washington was held in such high regard after the
revolution that there was reason to hope that if he freed his slaves,
others would follow his example. Lafayette purchased an estate in French
Guiana and settled his own slaves there, and he offered a place for
Washington's slaves, writing "I would never have drawn my sword in the
cause of America if I could have conceived thereby that I was founding a
land of slavery." Washington did not free his slaves in his lifetime,
but included a provision in his will to free the slaves upon the death
of his wife. Mrs. Washington did not wait on this and instead freed the
Washington slaves on January 1, 1801. Billy Lee was the only slave freed
outright upon George Washington's death.
One of Washington's slaves, Oney Judge
Staines, escaped the Executive Mansion in Philadelphia in 1796 and lived
the rest of her life free in New Hampshire.
Religious beliefs
Washington's religious views are a matter
of some controversy. There is considerable evidence that indicates he,
like numerous other men of his time, was a Deist—believing in God but
not believing in revelation or miracles. As a young man, before the
Revolution, when the Church of England was still the state religion in
Virginia, he served as a vestryman (lay officer) for his local church.
He spoke often of the value of prayer, righteousness, and seeking and
offering thanks for the "blessings of Heaven". He sometimes accompanied
his wife to Christian church services; however there is no record of his
ever becoming a communicant in any Christian church, and he would
regularly leave services before communion—with the other
non-communicants. When Rev. Dr. James Abercrombie, rector of St. Peter's
Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, mentioned in a weekly sermon that
those in elevated stations set an unhappy example by leaving at
communion, Washington ceased attending at all on communion Sundays. Long
after Washington died, asked about Washington's beliefs, Abercrombie
replied: "Sir, Washington was a Deist!" His step-granddaughter, Eleanor
Parke Custis Lewis, and several others have said, however, that he was,
indeed, a Christian. Various prayers said to have been composed by him
in his later life are highly edited. He did not ask for any clergy on
his deathbed, though one was available. His funeral services were those
of the Freemasons at the request of his wife, Martha.
Washington was an early supporter of
religious pluralism. In 1775, he ordered that his troops should not burn
the pope in effigy on Guy Fawkes Night. In 1790, he wrote to Jewish
leaders that he envisioned a country "which gives to bigotry no
sanction, to persecution no assistance.... May the Children of the Stock
of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good
will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit under his own
vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid."
Public offices held
Surveyor for Culpeper County, Virginia
Distinguished himself as General Braddock's
aide-de-camp in the French and Indian War, 1755
Named commander in chief of the Virginia
militia, 1755
Elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses,
1759
Unanimously chosen commander in chief of
the Continental Army, June 1775
Masterminded the American victory at
Yorktown, October 1781
Unanimously elected President of the
Constitutional Convention 1787
Unanimously elected President of the United
States twice, 1789 and 1792
Trivia
George Washington stood amost 6'3" and had
red hair.
A popular belief is that Washington wore a
wig, as was the fashion among some at the time. He did not. He did,
however, powder his hair, as represented in several portraits, including
the well-known unfinished Gilbert Stuart depiction.
It has been suggested in the journal
"Fertility and Sterility" that Washington had no children because he was
sterile, most probably resulting from a case of tuberculosis; he
seemingly contracted it from his brother who later died from
tuberculosis when he went to Barbados at age 19. His wife Martha had
four children from a previous marriage (two died before they were four,
the others died at age 16 and 28, respectively. Due to Mrs. Washington
having four children of her own, it is generally assumed that she was
capable of having more children. However, childbirth was extremely
difficult in the Washington's day and any labor could cause irrevocable
damage to a mother's ability to have more offspring. Mrs. Washington
also suffered a case of the german measles shortly after her marriage to
George Washington. Either the difficult birth of her last child, Patsy,
and or the german measles could have comprised Mrs. Washington's
fertility. The Washington's however were surrounded by children. In
addition to Mrs. Washington's son and daughter, two of her four
grandchildren where raised by George and Martha Washington and many
nieces, nephews, and custodial wards came under the care of the
Washington couple. The children of Mount Vernon include: John Parke
Custis (son), Martha Parke Custis (daughter), Amelia Posey (ward),
Frances Bassett (niece), George Augustine Washington (nephew), Harriot
Washington (niece), Eleanor Parke Custis, (granddaughter), George
Washington Parke Custis (grandson), and George Washington Lafayette
(ward/son of the Marquis who lived with the Washington's during the
French Reign of Terror).
A number of younger men were essentially
surrogate sons to the childless Washington, including Alexander
Hamilton, Lafayette, Nathanael Greene, and George W. P. Custis,
Washington's step-grandson. George Washington Parke Custis' daughter
Mary would eventually become the wife of General Robert E. Lee.
Washington was a cricket enthusiast and was
known to have played the sport, which was popular at that time in the
British colonies.
Through his father's family, Washington was
a direct descendant of King Edward III and William the Conqueror of
England. George Washington's Royal descent {for reference only}
One story about Washington has him throwing
a silver dollar across the Potomac River. He may have thrown an object
across the Rappahannock River, the river on which his childhood home,
Ferry Farm, stood. However, the Potomac is over a mile wide at Mount
Vernon. Also silver dollars did not exist then.
Grew hemp, a common crop at the time used
for fiber production, specifically to make rope.
Washington's teeth were not made out of
wood, as usually said. They were made out of teeth from different kinds
of animals, specifically elk, hippopotamus, and human. One set of false
teeth that he had weighed almost three pounds and were made out of lead.
In the first Presidential inauguration,
Washington took the oath as prescribed by the Constitution but added
several religious components to that official ceremony. Before taking
his oath of office, a local Masonic Bible was hurriedly borrowed on
which to take the oath; Washington added the words “So help me God!” to
the end of the oath, and then leaned over and kissed the Bible.
While Washington did not accept pay while
the Commander of the Continential Army, he did claim expenses. He
provided Congress with a complete expense account which, after some
grumbling, Congress paid in full.
An attempt was made to kidnap George
Washington while he was commander-in-chief of the army during the
American Revolution. The governor of New York, William Tryon, and the
mayor of New York City, David Matthews, both Tories, were involved in
the plot, as was one of Washington's bodyguards, Thomas Hickey, Hickey
was court-martialed and hanged for mutiny, sedition, and treachery, on
June 28, 1776.
Washington was a Freemason. He participated
in the laying of the cornerstone of the Capitol Building as a Mason, was
Master of Alexandria Masonic Lodge and was buried with Masonic honors.
He was even suggested for the position of General Grand Master of Masons
in America (which he did not pursue). It is generally accepted that if
he would have taken the position that the individual state grand lodges
would have united into one Grand Lodge of the United States.
Washington was considered to be the finest
horseman of his day. His favorite horse was named Nelson.
The most famous man of his day, George
Washington received hundreds of guest to his home every year. In 1798,
677 visitors passed through Mount Vernon. Washington commented that his
home had become a "well-resorted tavern".
George Washington was referred to as
General Washington and not President Washington once he retired from the
executive office. General was the title he preferred and protocol
dictates that there is only one President. All former Presidents return
to their previous highest ranking title.
George Washinton's nickname for his wife
was "Patsy".
Mrs.
Washington burned the correspondance between her husband and herself
following his death. Only two letters survive.
****
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