George Washington was commander in chief of the American and French forces in the American Revolution and became the first president of the United States.
Background
Ethnicity:
Washington's ancestors were from Sulgrave, England; his great-grandfather, John Washington, had emigrated to Virginia in 1657.
George Washington was born at Bridges Creek, later known as Wakefield, in Westmoreland County, Virginia, United States on February 22, 1732. His father died when George was eleven years old, and the boy spent the next few years with his mother at Ferry Farm near Fredericksburg, with relatives in Westmoreland, and with his half brother at Mount Vernon. Washington inherited local prominence from his family, just as he inherited property and social position. His grandfather and great-grandfather had been justices of the peace, a powerful county position in 18th-century Virginia, and his father had served as sheriff and church warden, as well as justice of the peace. His half brother Lawrence had been a representative from Fairfax County.
Education
Young George was schooled primarily at home because his mother didn’t want to send him to England for his education, as was customary at the time. He was especially interested in mathematics, and that prompted him to learn the art of land surveying. Because he didn’t have a university education, Washington was one of the very few "founding fathers" who didn’t speak French, which was considered to be the language of diplomacy in the eighteenth century.
Career
Virginia governor Robert Dinwiddie appointed the 21-year-old Washington to warn the French moving into the Ohio Valley against encroaching on English territory. Washington published the results of this expedition, including the French rejection of the ultimatum, in the Journal of Major George Washington … (1754). Dinwiddie then commissioned Washington a lieutenant colonel with orders to dislodge the French at Ft. Duquesne, but a superior French force bested the Virginia troops. This conflict triggered the French and Indian War, and Great Britain dispatched regular troops under Gen. Edward Braddock in 1755 to oust the French. Braddock appointed Washington as aide-de-camp.
Later in the year, after Braddock's death, Dinwiddie promoted Washington to colonel and made him commander in chief of all Virginia troops. In 1758, with the title of brigadier, he accompanied British regulars on the campaign that forced the French to abandon Ft. Duquesne. With the threat of frontier violence removed, Washington resigned his commission.
George Washington's entry into politics was based on an alliance with the family of Lawrence's father-in-law, Lord Fairfax. Washington was elected as a representative to the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1758 from Frederick County. From 1760 to 1774 he served as a justice of Fairfax County, and he was a longtime vestryman of Truro parish.
In July 1774 Washington presided at the county meeting which adopted the Fairfax Resolves, which he had helped write. By May 1775 Washington, who headed the Fairfax militia company, had been chosen to command the companies of six other counties. The only man in uniform when the Second Continental Congress met after the battles of Lexington and Concord, he was elected unanimously as commander in chief of all Continental Army forces. From June 15, 1775, until December 23, 1783, he commanded the Continental Army and, after the French alliance of 1778, the combined forces of the United States and France in the War of Independence against Great Britain.
Throughout the Revolutionary years Washington developed military leadership, administrative skills, and political acumen, functioning from 1775 to 1783 as the de facto chief executive of the United States. His wartime experiences gave him a continental outlook, and his Circular Letter to the States in June 1783 made it clear that he favored a strong central government.
Washington returned to Mount Vernon at the end of the Revolution. "I have not only retired from all public employments, " he wrote his friend the Marquis de Lafayette, "but I am retiring within myself." But there was little time for sitting "under the shadow of my own vine and my own fig tree." He kept constantly busy with farming, western land interests, and navigation of the Potomac. Finally, Washington presided at the Federal Convention in 1787.
The position of president of the United States seemed shaped by the Federal Convention on the assumption that Washington would be the first to occupy the office. In a day when executive power was suspect—when the creation of the presidency, as Alexander Hamilton observed in The Federalist, was "attended with greater difficulty" than perhaps any other—the Constitution established an energetic and independent chief executive. Pierce Butler, one of the Founding Fathers, noted that the convention would not have made the executive powers so great "had not many of the members cast their eyes toward General Washington as President, and shaped their ideas of the Powers to be given a President, by their opinions of his Virtue."
After his unanimous choice as president in 1789, Washington helped translate the new constitution into a workable instrument of government: the Bill of Rights was added, as he suggested, out of "reverence for the characteristic rights of freemen"; an energetic executive branch was established, with the executive departments—State, Treasury, and War—evolving into an American Cabinet; the Federal judiciary was inaugurated; and the congressional taxing power was utilized to pay the Revolutionary War debt and to establish American credit at home and abroad.
"Such a Chief Magistrate, " Fisher Ames noted, "appears like the pole star in a clear sky….His Presidency will form an epoch and be distinguished as the Age of Washington."
Despite his unanimous election, Washington expected that the measures of his administration would meet opposition, and they did. By the end of his first term the American party system was developing. When he mentioned the possibility of retirement in 1792, therefore, both Hamilton and Jefferson agreed that he was "the only man in the United States who possessed the confidence of the whole" and "no other person … would be thought anything more than the head of a party." "North and South, " Jefferson urged, "will hang together if they have you to hang on."
Washington's second term was dominated by foreign-policy considerations. Early in 1793 the French Revolution became the central issue in American politics when France, among other actions, declared war on Great Britain and appointed "Citizen" Edmond Genet minister to the United States. Determined to keep "our people in peace, " Washington issued a neutrality proclamation, although the word "neutrality" was not used. His purpose, Washington told Patrick Henry, was "to keep the United States free from political connections with every other country, to see them independent of all and under the influence of none. In a word, I want an American character, that the powers of Europe may be convinced we act for ourselves and not for others."
Citizen Genet, undeterred by the proclamation of neutrality, outfitted French privateers in American ports and organized expeditions against Florida and Louisiana. For his undiplomatic conduct, the Washington administration requested and obtained his recall. In the midst of the Genet affair, Great Britain initiated a blockade of France and began seizing neutral ships trading with the French West Indies. Besides violating American neutral rights, the British still held posts in the American Northwest, and the Americans claimed that they intrigued with the Indians against the United States.
Frontier provocations, ship seizures, and impressment made war seem almost inevitable in 1794, but Washington sent Chief Justice John Jay to negotiate a settlement of the differences between the two nations. Although Jay's Treaty was vastly unpopular—the British agreed to evacuate the Northwest posts but made no concessions on neutral rights or impressment—Washington finally accepted it as the best treaty possible at that time. The treaty also paved the way for Thomas Pinckney's negotiations with Spanish ministers, now fearful of an Anglo-American entente against Spain in the Western Hemisphere. Washington happily signed Pinckney's Treaty, which resolved disputes over navigation of the Mississippi, the Florida boundary, and neutral rights.
While attempting to maintain peace with Great Britain in 1794, the Washington administration had to meet the threat of domestic violence in western Pennsylvania. The Whiskey Rebellion, a reaction against the first Federal excise tax, presented a direct challenge to the power of the Federal government to enforce its laws. After a Federal judge certified that ordinary judicial processes could not deal with the opposition to the laws, Washington called out 12, 000 state militiamen "to support our government and laws" by crushing the rebellion. The resistance quickly melted, and Washington showed that force could be tempered with clemency by pardoning the insurgents.
Nearly all observers agree that Washington's 8 years as president demonstrated that executive power was completely consistent with the genius of republican government. Washington's public service did not end with his retirement from the presidency. During the "half war" with France, President John Adams appointed him commander in chief, and Washington accepted with the understanding that he would not take field command until the troops had been recruited and equipped. Since Adams settled the differences with France by diplomatic negotiations, Washington never assumed actual command. He continued to reside at Mount Vernon, where he died on December 14, 1799, after contracting a throat infection.
At the time of Washington's death, Congress unanimously adopted a resolution to erect a marble monument in the nation's capital "to commemorate the great events of his military and political life"; Congress also directed that "the family of General Washington be requested to permit his body to be deposited under it. " The Washington Monument was finally completed in 1884, but Washington's remains were never moved there.
George Washington is remembered as the first President of the United States. He led the Continental Army to victory in the American Revolutionary War against the Kingdom of Great Britain and saved the nation from the threat of collapse during its most crucial time. For eight years, he governed the newly emerging country with firmness and prudence, helping to bring in stability and setting precedence. His presidency lay down the foundation of the world’s major power, making him one of the greatest Presidents in the American history.
Known as the “Father of the Country”, he left an enduring legacy. It is not only the national capital, which has been named after him; but hundreds of U.S. towns and schools also bear his name. His face appears on the U.S. dollar bill and his statues adorn many parks across the country.
For his entire life, Washington was affiliated with the established Anglican Church of Great Britain. Following the Revolution, in the United States it was dis-established (in Southern states) and reorganized as the Episcopal Church.
Politics
His experience on the Fairfax county court and in the colonial legislature molded his views on Parliamentary taxation of the Colonies after 1763. He opposed the Stamp Act in 1765, arguing that Parliament "hath no more right to put their hands into my pocket, without my consent, than I have to put my hands into yours for money. " As a member of the colonial legislature, he backed nonimportation as a means of reversing British policy in the 1760's, and in 1774 he attended the rump session of the dissolved Assembly, which called for a Continental Congress to take united colonial action against the Boston Port Bill and other "Intolerable Acts" directed against Massachusetts.
The Fairfax Resolves, which he had helped write, influenced the adoption of the Continental Association, the plan devised by the First Continental Congress for enforcing nonimportation of British goods. They also proposed the creation in each county of a militia company independent of the royal governor's control, the idea from which the Continental Army developed.
Presiding at the Federal Convention in 1787, he supported ratification of the Constitution in order to "establish good order and government and to render the nation happy at home and respected abroad."
As chief executive, Washington consulted his Cabinet on public policy, presided over their differences— especially those between Thomas Jefferson and Hamilton— with a forbearance that indicated his high regard for his colleagues, and he made up his mind after careful consideration of alternatives. He approved the Federalist financial program and the later Hamiltonian proposals—funding of the national debt, assumption of the state debts, the establishment of a Bank of the United States, the creation of a national coinage system, and an excise tax. He supported a national policy for disposition of the public lands and presided over the expansion of the Federal union from eleven states (North Carolina and Rhode Island ratified the Constitution after Washington's inaugural) to 16 (Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee were admitted between 1791 and 1796). Washington's role as presidential leader was of fundamental importance in winning support for the new government's domestic and foreign policies.
During his second term, determined to keep "our people in peace," Washington issued a neutrality proclamation, although the word "neutrality" was not used. His purpose, Washington told Patrick Henry, was "to keep the United States free from political connections with every other country, to see them independent of all and under the influence of none. In a word, I want an American character, that the powers of Europe may be convinced we act for ourselves and not for others."
Putting his prestige on the line in an untried office under an untried constitution, Washington was fully aware, as he pointed out in his First Inaugural Address, that "the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered, perhaps, as deeply, as finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people. "
Perhaps Washington's chief strength - the key to his success as a military and a political leader - was his realization that in a republic the executive, like all other elected representatives, would have to measure his public acts against the temper of public opinion. As military commander dealing with the Continental Congress and the state governments during the Revolution, Washington had realized the importance of administrative skills as a means of building public support of the army. As president, he applied the same skills to win support for the new Federal government.
Despite Washington's abhorrence of factionalism, his administrations and policies spurred the beginnings of the first party system. This ultimately identified Washington, the least partisan of presidents, with the Federalist party, especially after Jefferson's retirement from the Cabinet in 1793. Washington's Farewell Address, though it was essentially a last will and political testament to the American people, inevitably took on political coloration in an election year. Warning against the divisiveness of excessive party spirit, which tended to separate Americans politically as "geographical distinctions" did sectionally, he stressed the necessity for an American character free of foreign attachments. Two-thirds of his address dealt with domestic politics and the baleful influence of party; the rest of the document laid down a statement of firs principles of American foreign policy. But even here, Washington's warning against foreign entanglements was especially applicable to foreign interference in the domestic affairs of the United States.
Views
Quotations:
"Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism."
"The Constitution is the guide which I never will abandon."
"My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished from the earth."
"Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all."
"Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company."
Membership
In 1752 Washington became a member of the Freemasons while in Fredericksburg, though his involvement was minimal.
On January 31, 1781, he was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Personality
Washington believed that external appearance should reflect inner merit. He possessed a tall, commanding physical presence that warranted development of grace and public humility. For example, although Washington was actually six feet, three and a half inches tall, he often told people he was only six feet tall. He could be excitable and demonstrated impatience during early campaigns, but learned to channel strong passions through carefully cultivated deportment. Washington aspired to embody the Catonic image of self-mastery portrayed in Joseph Addison's The Tragedy of Cato based upon the life of Roman statesman Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis. In correspondence with close associates, Washington often quoted Cato, who exemplified patriotic virtue.
His ability to mask his "interests" to appear "disinterested" came to exemplify the perfect balance of moderation and detachment admired by later leaders during tumultuous times.
Physical Characteristics:
By the age of seventeen, Washington was growing into a large man, eventually weighing 175 pounds in his prime. As an adult he stood six-foot-two and wore size thirteen shoes. Always fashionably dressed, he was erect in bearing, muscular, and broad-shouldered. He had a long, high-cheekboned face with a large straight nose and a determined chin. His blue-gray eyes were set under heavy brows, and he frequently powdered his dark brown hair, tying it back in a queue. He lost all but one of his teeth, and wore dentures, which were frequently replaced. They were generally made of human teeth or those of animals, sometimes of ivory and sometimes lead, but never did George Washington wear wooden false teeth, as is popularly believed.
Quotes from others about the person
"He is polite with dignity, affable without formality, distant without haughtiness, grave without austerity; modest, wise and good." - Abigail Adams
"Washington wasn't born good. Only practice and habit made him so." - William Bennet
"More than all, and above all, Washington was master of himself. If there be one quality more than another in his character which may exercise a useful control over the men of the present hour, it is the total disregard of self when in the most elevated positions for influence and example." - Charles Francis Adams, Sr.
"George Washington, Commander of the American Armies, who, like Joshua of old, commanded the sun and the moon to stand still, and they obeyed him." - Benjamin Franklin
"His mind was great and powerful, without being of the very first order; his penetration strong, though not so acute as that of Newton, Bacon, or Locke; and as far as he saw, no judgement was ever sounder. It was slow in operation, being little aided by invention or imagination, but sure in conclusion." - Thomas Jefferson
"To add brightness to the sun or glory to the name of Washington is alike impossible. Let none attempt it. In solemn awe pronounce the name, and in its naked deathless splendour leave it shining on." - Abraham Lincoln
Interests
George Washington loved riding horses, playing ball, working on his farm, playing his flute, writing in his journal, and collecting paintings. The fox-hunt was something he liked very much. He bred his own dogs and had special jumper horses for the hunts.
Connections
Washington married the widow Martha Custis, and devoted himself to life at Mount Vernon.
Martha Washington had two young children from her first marriage, Martha and John. She had no children with George Washington, because he had mumps in his childhood, but the couple adopted four children, but two of them died very young. Only two survived - John "Jacky" Parke Custis and Martha "Patsy" Parke Custis. Washington thought it his duty as a stepfather to be "generous and attentive," and expensive orders to London merchants during the childhoods of "Jacky" and "Patsy" reveal doting, caring parents.
Martha Washington was highly indulgent toward her children. Patsy had everything a teenage girl would want in that day—countless clothes, her own piano, a parrot, and dancing lessons. However, by her adolescence, it was plain that Patsy was epileptic. In 1773, the sixteen-year-old girl died during a seizure, and a distraught Martha promptly turned all her attention to her son. Jacky did poorly in school, grew up soft and lazy, and did little during the Revolution. He horrified friends by teaching his two-year-old child to sing obscene songs at adult parties. Against his stepfather's wishes, he visited the Continental army encampment shortly before the Battle of Yorktown. Such camps were rife with diseases, and Jacky soon died, again devastating his mother. His two young children were raised by the Washingtons at Mount Vernon.
