American Biography – George Washington (1732-1799) George was born on his father’s plantation in Virginia. His father was one of the wealthiest plantation owners in the colony. Very little is known about George’s youth. The stories about his chopping down a cherry tree with his little axe and confessing what he had done by saying, “I will never tell a lie” or about his reluctance to fight were made up long after he had died. He had little formal education. He was taught by private tutors, learning practical mathematics and some Latin, and reading of the English classics of the day. When he was 11 years old his parents died. He was taken in by his older brother, who was married to the niece of an English nobleman, Lord Fairfax. Fairfax owned more than two million hectares of frontier land in western Virginia and he wanted his land surveyed. George was sent with the surveyors as an apprentice. George soon became a professional surveyor, working at this craft for the next few years. While on the frontier he became very interested in the possibilities of settling the land. He began to “speculate” in frontier land. George remained a speculator in western or frontier land throughout his life. When George was 20 years old, his brother died and George inherited the estate, which was called Mount Vernon. It included 18 slaves. Over the next twenty years, he expanded and improved his land. By 1760, it exceeded 3000 ha and had 49 slaves. About the same time as he inherited Mount Vernon, Washington entered the Virginia militia. At the onset of the French and Indian Wars, he was appointed a Lieutenant Colonel. After he saw action against the French in 1754, he was promoted to Colonel. In the next year, he took part in General Braddock’s campaign against the French. After Braddock was killed in battle, Washington, although ill himself, led the disorganized British troops and Virginian militia to safety. After his resignation from the army, he married Martha Curtis, an extremely wealthy widow who owned about 6000 ha of land and many slaves. He became the wealthiest planter in Virginia. Because of his social status, he was elected to the House of Burgesses in 1760. He remained a member for the next 14 years. As well, he was a justice of the peace of the county in which he lived. Around this time, a friend described him as “straight as an Indian, measuring six feet two inches in his stockings.” He was very muscular and broad-shouldered, with penetrating blue-gray eyes and sunken cheeks (because his wooden false teeth pulled his cheeks inward). He was obviously a country gentleman and an excellent horseman. He was very reserved and somewhat aloof. British policies after 1774 slowly caused him to support independence. He was appointed by the House of Burgesses as one of its delegates to the Continental Congress of 1774 and 1775. Even before the Declaration of Independence was issued, George was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the rebel army. His was a “political” appointment. It was part of a bargain made by Virginian and Massachusetts rebels that the commander of the rebel forces had to be a Virginian. George was chosen because of previous military experience and his social standing. Historians debate whether George was a brilliant, or even a good general. He was a stern disciplinarian, however; he whipped, branded and hanged unruly soldiers. Also, he served without pay during the revolution. He had been offered a salary of $500 a month. He refused preferring to be paid an expense account. In 1783, he submitted a bill to Congress for $414 000. On the other hand, he kept the rebel army intact, despite terrible hardships and many military defeats, and kept the hopes of the rebels, and therefore, the revolution itself alive. When he resigned from the army he was the best known person in the new independent nation. He spent the next few years in retirement working his plantation and speculating in western lands. Efforts by his old army colleagues, especially Alexander Hamilton, to persuade him to re-enter political life failed. However, in 1786, they convinced him that the new Republic was on the brink of economic collapse, political disintegration, and ever social warfare. George was a delegate from Virginia to the Convention of 1786 that hammered out a new Constitution. In that new Constitution, the position of President was created with Washington specifically in mind. After the new Constitution was adopted by the thirteen states in 1787, he was elected as the first President of the new government. He was very aware that his every action set a precedent for the behaviour of future presidents. Therefore, he was very careful and cautious in what he did. During his first term the foundations of the new government were laid and made solid. He was persuaded by Hamilton to serve a second term. However his second term was far less happy for him than his first had been. The most prominent members of his cabinet, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, bitterly attacked one another. Washington tried to act as a referee between the two. When it was suggested that he should have a third term, he refused, saying, “What does anyone see in the office?” Nevertheless, his Farewell Address to the Nation, in which he advised his countrymen to avoid “permanent alliances” with other nations (especially Europe), shaped American foreign policy for then next one hundred years. Worn out, he retired to his plantation where he died two years later. After his death, Congress proclaimed that Washington was “first in war, first in peace, and first in the heart of his countrymen”. He was not an exceptionally brilliant man (one contemporary said he was “stolid as wood”). Nor was he a great general. But he was an honest and honourable leader. He established the tradition of rule of law under the new Constitution and by civilians. In his day he was the only common man to serve as the head of a large state. For that achievement alone, Americans owe him a great debt of gratitude. Question for Thought: Was Washington the right person to be the first president of the United States? Why do you think so?