George Washington

Template:USnom

For other persons named George Washington, see George Washington (disambiguation).

George Washington

[[Image:{{{image name}}}|225px|center|George Washington]]
1st President of the United States
Term of office	{{{date1}}} – {{{date2}}}
Preceded by	{{{preceded}}}
Succeeded by	{{{succeeded}}}
Date of birth	{{{date of birth}}}
Place of birth	{{{place of birth}}}
Date of death	{{{date of death}}}
Place of death	{{{place of death}}}
Spouse	{{{wife}}}
Political party	None (1789-93) Federalist (1793-1797)

George Washington (February 22 1732 – December 14 1799) was the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1783, and later the first President of the United States, an office to which he was twice elected unanimously (unanimous among the Electoral College) and held from 1789 to 1797.

Washington first gained prominence leading Virginia troops in support of the British Empire during the French and Indian War (1754–1763), a conflict which he inadvertently helped to start. 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 lifetime 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), and hence the difference in his birth year. His birthplace was Popes Creek Plantation, on the Potomac River southeast of modern-day Colonial Beach in Template:USCity. His family had originated in, and taken the name of, the town of Washington, Tyne and Wear, a short distance from Newcastle upon Tyne in North East England. In the 1500s, they moved to Sulgrave Manor in the county of Northamptonshire.

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 gentleman 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 to 1737 was Little Hunting Creek Farm. This property was later taken over by Gus's oldest son, Lawrence, and renamed Mount Vernon. Lawrence had served as an officer in Gooch's Marines, the 61st Foot, which was under the British Admiral Vernon's command in the War of Jenkin's Ear. 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 had. He also had to turn down an offer of becoming a midshipman in the Royal Navy arranged by Lawrence. George Washington would never travel to Europe.

Washington became a volunteer firefighter in Alexandria, Virginia. In 1774, as a member of the Friendship Veterans Fire Engine Company, he bought the first fire engine and gave it to the town. The engine can be seen today at the Friendship Veterans Fire Engine Company Museum in Alexandria .

French and Indian War, 1754–1763

This, the earliest portrait of Washington, was painted in 1772 by Charles Willson Peale, and shows Washington in uniform as colonel of the First Virginia Regiment.

At twenty-two years of age, Washington fired some of the first shots of what would become a world war. The trouble began in 1753, when France began building a series of forts in the Ohio Country, a region also claimed by Virginia. Robert Dinwiddie, the British Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia, had young Major Washington of the Virginia militia journey to the Ohio Country in order to deliver a letter to the French commander, which asked them to leave, and to assess French military strength and intentions. The French declined to leave, but Washington became well-known after his account of the journey was published in both Virginia and England, since most English-speaking people knew little about lands on the other side of the Appalachian Mountains at the time.

In 1754, Dinwiddie sent Washington, now commissioned a Lieutenant Colonel in the newly created Virginia Regiment, on another mission to the Ohio Country, this time to drive the French away. There, Washington and his troops ambushed a French Canadian scouting party. After a short skirmish, Washington's American Indian ally Tanacharison killed Ensign Jumonville, the wounded French commander. 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 released by the French with his promise not to return to the Ohio Country for one year.

One year later, British General Edward Braddock headed a major effort to retake the Ohio Country, with Washington serving as Braddock's aide. 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, guarding the Virginia frontier against American Indian raids, 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 British officer, which had more prestige than serving in the provincial military. 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 Washingtons raised two of Mrs. Washington's grandchildren, Eleanor Parke Custis and George Washington Parke Custis. Washington never fathered any children of his own—an earlier bout with smallpox may have made him sterile. 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

Further information: American Revolution, American Revolutionary War

Washington Crossing the Delaware, by Emanuel Leutze, 1851, Metropolitan Museum

In 1774, Washington was chosen as a delegate from Virginia to the First Continental Congress, which convened in the wake of Britain's punitive measures taken against the colony of Massachusetts. After fighting broke out at Lexington and Concord in April 1775, Washington appeared at the Second Continental Congress in military uniform, signaling that he was prepared for war. To coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies, Congress created the Continental Army on June 14; the next day it selected Washington as commander-in-chief. Massachusetts delegate John Adams had nominated Washington, believing that appointing a southerner to lead what was at this stage primarily an army of northerners would help unite the colonies. Though reluctant to leave his home in Virginia, Washington accepted the command, declaring "with the utmost sincerity, I do not think my self equal to the Command I am honoured with." He asked for no pay other than reimbursement of his expenses.

Washington assumed command of the American forces in Massachusetts on July 3 1775, during the ongoing siege of Boston. Washington reorganized the army during the long standoff, which finally ended on March 17 1776, after artillery was placed upon Dorchester Heights. The British evacuated Boston for temporary refuge in Halifax, and Washington moved his army to New York City. In August 1776, British General William Howe launched a successful campaign to capture New York, beginning a series of devastating defeats for Washington. He lost the Battle of Long Island on August 22, but managed to evacuate most of his forces to the mainland. Several other defeats sent Washington scrambling across New Jersey, leaving the future of the Continental Army in doubt. On the night of December 25 1776, Washington staged a celebrated counterattack, leading the American forces across the Delaware River to capture nearly 1,000 Hessians in Trenton, New Jersey. Washington followed up the assault with a surprise attack on British forces at Princeton. These unexpected victories after a series of losses gave a morale boost to the Revolutionary cause.

George Washington at Princeton, by Charles Willson Peale, 1779

In 1777, General Howe began a campaign to capture Philadelphia. Washington moved south to block Howe's army, but was defeated at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777. On September 26, Howe outmaneuvered Washington and marched into Philadelphia unopposed. Washington's army unsuccessfully attacked the British garrison at Germantown in early October and then encamped at Valley Forge in December, where they stayed for the next six months. Over the winter, 2,500 men (out of 10,000) died from disease and exposure. The next spring, however, the army emerged from Valley Forge in good order, thanks in part to a training program supervised by Baron von Steuben.

Meanwhile, a second British expedition in 1777 had far-reaching consequences. General John Burgoyne had marched from Canada in an effort to sever New England from the other colonies, but was forced to surrender at Saratoga on October 17. This turn of events ultimately convinced France to sign a formal alliance with the United States in 1778. The victory at Saratoga was in stark contrast to Washington's loss of Philadelphia, prompting some members of Congress to secretly discuss removing Washington from command. This episode—later known as the "Conway Cabal"—failed after Washington's supporters rallied behind him.

French entry into the war changed everything. The British evacuated Philadelphia in 1778 and returned to New York City, with Washington attacking them along the way. This was the last major battle in the north; thereafter, the British focused on recapturing the Southern states while fighting the French (and later, the Spanish and the Dutch) elsewhere around the globe. During this time, Washington remained with his army outside New York, looking for an opportunity to strike a decisive blow while dispatching other operations to the north and south. The long-awaited opportunity finally came in 1781, after a French naval victory allowed American and French forces to trap a British army in Virginia. The surrender at Yorktown on October 17 1781 prompted the British to negotiate an end to the war. The Treaty of Paris (1783) recognized the independence of the United States.

This painting by John Trumbull depicts Washington resigning his commission as commander-in-chief.

Washington's contribution to victory in the American Revolution was not that of a great battlefield tactician; in fact, he lost more battles than he won, and he sometimes planned operations that were too complicated for his amateur soldiers to execute. However, his overall strategy proved to be the correct one: keep the army intact, wear down British resolve, and avoid decisive battles except to exploit enemy mistakes. Washington was a military conservative: he preferred building a regular army on the European model and fighting a conventional war.

One of Washington's most important contributions as commander-in-chief was to establish the precedent that civilian elected officials, rather than military officers, possessed ultimate authority over the military. Throughout the war, he deferred to the authority of Congress and state officials, and he relinquished his considerable military power once the fighting was over. In March 1783, Washington used his influence to disperse a group of Army officers who had threatened to confront Congress regarding their back pay. Washington disbanded his army and, on November 2, 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. On December 23 1783, Washington resigned his commission as commander-in-chief to the Congress of the Confederation.

Home in Virginia, 1783–1787

George Washington by John Trumbull, painted in London, 1780, from memory

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 his wife (to whom he had made the promise eight years prior that he would 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 stepson, Jacky Custis, who died of camp fever in 1781 at Yorktown.

Washington was persuaded to attend the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787, even though he was more reluctant to leave his wife and home than at the outset of the Revolution. He was unanimously elected president of the Convention. 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 Founding Fathers 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 City, 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 he 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 was living on them at that time. 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 advisers but; by 1791, he 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 Hamilton. 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 chose the location of the new national capital, which would be located in the South, which was soon named "Washington, District of Columbia".

In 1791, Congress imposed an excise tax on distilled spirits, which led to protests. By 1794, after Washington ordered the protesters to appear in U.S. district court, the protests turned 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 other states. He raised an army of militiamen and marched at its head into the rebellious districts. 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.

In 1793, the revolutionary government of France sent diplomat Edmond-Charles Genêt to America. He 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 Washington sent to London to negotiate an agreement, was a treaty between the United States and Great Britain signed on November 19 1794. The treaty attempted to clear up some of the lingering problems of American separation from Great Britain following the Revolutionary War. The Jeffersonians supported France and strongly attacked the treaty. Washington, however, obtained its ratification by Congress, which was supported by Hamilton. The British had to clear out of their forts around the Great Lakes. The treaty remained in effect until the War of 1812.

Hamilton used Federal patronage to set up a national network of friends of the Administration. This developed into a full-fledged party with Hamilton as 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 the other. He did, however, support Hamiltonian politics over Jeffersonian, but he never made a statement to that effect. Washington was not a member of any party.

Washington had to be persuaded into a second term of office as President, and he very reluctantly agreed to it. However, after two terms Washington refused to run for a third. 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; after his death, it 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 affiliations 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 fact 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 state, "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
• Organized the first United States Cabinet and the Executive Branch

Administration and cabinet

The Lansdowne portrait of President Washington by Gilbert Stuart

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 (1933–1945). 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 1790-1795)
• Samuel Chase - 1796
• Oliver Ellsworth - Chief Justice - 1796

States that Ratified the Constitution

• North Carolina (1789), part of confederation from 1777; 12th to ratify U.S. Constitution
• Rhode Island (1790), part of confederation from 1777; 13th to ratify U.S. Constitution
• Vermont (1791), independent Republic of Vermont, 1777 - 1791, was not part of confederation under the first constitution (Articles of Confederation); 14th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution - only state after the original 13 to do so

States admitted to the Union

• Kentucky (1792) (formerly attached to Virginia, until 1789)
• Tennessee (1796) (formerly attached to North Carolina, until 1789)

Retirement and death

Constantino Brumidi's 1865 fresco The Apotheosis of Washington is found in the rotunda of the United States Capitol

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 (42,000 l) of whiskey and a profit of $7,500 in 1798.

During 1798, 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 actively served, 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; he died on December 14, 1799, at his home. Modern doctors believe that Washington died from either epiglottitis or, since he was bled as part of the treatment, a combination of shock from the loss of five pints 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 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 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 number twenty-six in Michael H. Hart's list of the most influential figures in history. Historians generally regarded him 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 four star and all five-star generals were considered to outrank Washington. 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

File:United States quarter, obverse, 2004.jpg

Washington is commemorated on the U.S. quarter.

File:MtRushmore GW close.JPG

Washington's bust on Mt. Rushmore

File:DSCN3500 georgewashington e.JPG

Tourists pose under the statue of Washington outside the Federal Hall Memorial in lower Manhattan, site of Washington's first inauguration as President

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, which is one of the most notable works of early American art.

Washington, together with Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln, was chosen by President Calvin Coolidge to be depicted in stone at the Mount Rushmore Memorial.

Because of Washington's involvement in Freemasonry, some Masonic lodges maintain publicly visible collections of Washington memorabilia, 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. The palm tree genus Washingtonia is also named after him.

See also: List of places named for George Washington

Summary of military career

• 1753: Appointed a Major in the Virginia Militia
• 1754: Commissioned a Lieutenant Colonel in the Virginia Regiment (a full-time unit, not militia), becomes colonel after death of Colonel Joshua Fry; fights at Jumonville Glen and Fort Necessity
• 1755: Accompanied the disastrous Braddock expedition. Later, promoted to commander in chief of all Virginia forces.
• 1758: Commands Virginia Regiment in the Forbes expedition
• 1759–1775: Retired from active military service
• June 1775: Commissioned General and Commander in Chief of the Continental Army
• 1775–1781: Commanded the Continental Army in over seven major battles with the British
• January 19 1976: Approved by the United States Congress for promotion to General of the Armies
• October 11 1976: Declared the senior most U.S. military officer for all time by Presidential Order of Gerald Ford
• March 13 1978: Promoted by Army Order 31–3 to General of the Armies with effective date of rank July 4 1776.
• December 1783: Resigned 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
• December 14 1799: Died and was listed as a Lieutenant General (r) on the U.S. Army rolls

Personal qualities

Template:POV-check-section 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 affront at the notion he should be King; and after two terms as President, stepping aside.

In recent years, schools and authors have focused more on his weaknesses: his ownership of the family plantation and its slaves and his role in the French and Indian War. Traditionally, students have been taught to look to 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. It is true Washington 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 human, and an ambitious one at that. He ensured that during the Continental Congress, he 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 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 have achieved 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. In his treatment of slaves Washington was typical of his time and place—his slaves worked from dawn until dusk unless injured or ill and they were whipped for running away or for other infractions. Plantation records indicate that his slaves were often poorly clothed and housed—according to one eyewitness they lived in "miserable" huts and another wrote that "it was the sense of all his neighbours that he treated them with more severity than any other man." Although Washington never made any public statement about slavery or the treatment of slaves, it is clear that 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 "Billy" 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 some historians claim 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]</ref> 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 abolition [of slavery]</ref>."

Washington portrait

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 he signed 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, when asked about Washington's beliefs, Abercrombie replied: "Sir, Washington was a Deist!" 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

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

The literature on George Washington is immense. The Library of Congress has a comprehensive bibliography online.

• Burton I. Kaufman, ed., Washington's Farewell Address: The View from the 20th Century (1969); Paul A. Varg, Foreign Policies of the Founding Fathers (1963); Alexander De Conde, Entangling Alliances (1958).
• Comora, Madeleine & Deborah Chandra. George Washington's Teeth. Illustrated by Brock Cole. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003; ISBN 0374325340. A lighthearted chronicle of his dental struggles, aimed at children and adults.
• Deconde, Alexander. Entangling Alliance: Politics & Diplomacy under George Washington (1958)
• Ellis, Joseph J. His Excellency: George Washington. New York: Knopf, 2004. ISBN 1400040310. Powerful interpretation of Washington's career.
• Elkins, Stanley M. and Eric McKitrick, The Age of Federalism. (1994) the leading scholarly history of the 1790s.
• Ferling, John E. The First of Men: A Life of George Washington (1989), solid and scholarly.
• Fischer, David Hackett. Washington's Crossing. (2004), prize-winning military history focused on 1775-1776.
• Flexner, James Thomas. Washington: The Indispensable Man. Boston: Little, Brown, 1974. ISBN 0316286168 (1994 reissue). Single-volume condensation of Flexner's popular four-volume biography.
  • George Washington: the Forge of Experience, 1732-1775 (1965)
• Freeman, Douglas. S. Washington: An abridgement in one volume by Richard Harwell of the seven-volume George Washington by Douglas Southall Freeman (1968), the standard scholarly biography.
  • Freeman, Douglas. S. George Washington vol 1 (1948)
• Grizzard, Frank E., Jr. George! A Guide to All Things Washington. Buena Vista and Charlottesville, VA: Mariner Publishing. 2005. ISBN 0-9768238-0-2. Grizzard is a leading scholar of Washington.
• Grizzard, Frank E., Jr. The Ways of Providence: Religion and George Washington. Buena Vista and Charlottesville, VA: Mariner Publishing. 2005. ISBN 0-9768238-1-0.
• Higginbotham, Don, ed. George Washington Reconsidered (2001).
• Lengel, Edward G. General George Washington: A Military Life. New York: Random House, 2005. ISBN 1400060818.
• Lodge, Henry Cabot. George Washington (vol 2, 1899 covers 1783-99) online at Project Gutenberg old but generally accurate. Freeman and Flexner are much better.
• McDonald, Forrest . The Presidency of George Washington. (1988), Intellectual history showing Washington as exemplar of republicanism.
• Peterson, Barbara Bennett. "George Washington: America's Moral Exemplar", (2005).
• Washington, George and Kitman, Marvin, George Washington's Expense Account. Grove Press. (2001) ISBN 0-8021-3773-3 Account pages, with added humor.
• Wiencek, Henry. An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America. (2003).

External links

• George Washington and Deism
• George Washington: A Life — first chapter of the biography by Willard Sterne Randall
• George Washington for Kids
• George Washington Quotes at Liberty-Tree.ca
• 39 Volume Collection of the Works of George Washington
• Papers of Washington Full versions on-line from the University of Virginia
• Papers of Washington Avalon Project (incl. Inaugural Addresses, State of the Union Messages, and more)
• Armigerous American Presidents Series
• Library of Congress: Washington's Commission as Commander in Chief
• Farewell Address
• Biography of George Washington
• George and Martha Washington Marriage Profile
• A pedigree of George Washington
• George Washington Genealogy on Wikicities
• George Washington's German "Cousin"
• Teaching about George Washington
• The First Presidential Veto Analysis of the first veto by a U.S. President
• General Washington's military rank
• Fact File and Biography of George Washington
• White House Biography
• Works by George Washington. Project Gutenberg
• George Washington: Archontology.org, chronology, dates, terms, election results
• George Washington historic sites in Virginia - Official Tourism Website
• 1st State of the Union Address
• 2nd State of the Union Address
• 3rd State of the Union Address
• 4th State of the Union Address
• 5th State of the Union Address
• 6th State of the Union Address
• 7th State of the Union Address
• 8th State of the Union Address

]] [[Category:Scottish-Americans|Washington, George

Preceded by: (none)	Federalist Party presidential candidate 1789 (won)(a), 1792 (won)(a)	Succeeded by: John Adams
Preceded by: (none) - Cyrus Griffin was President of the Continental Congress	President of the United States April 30 1789(b) – March 3 1797	Succeeded by: John Adams
Preceded by: James Wilkinson	Senior Officer of the United States Army 1798-1799	Succeeded by: Alexander Hamilton
(a) Washington was elected in 1789 and 1792 as an Independent, but the Federalist Party was formed by those most in agreement with continuing his policies.
(b) Washington's term as President is sometimes listed as starting on either March 4 or April 6. March 4 is the official start of the first presidential term. April 6 is the date on which Congress counted the electoral votes and certified a winner. April 30 is the date on which Washington took the oath of office.