George Washington (February 22,
1732 - December 14, 1799) was the first (1789-1797) President of the United
States of America and is recognized by Americans as "The Father of His
Country." (The earliest known image in which Washington is identified as
such is on the cover of the circa 1778 Pennsylvania German almanac,
Lancaster:
Gedruckt bey Francis Bailey. This identifies Washington as "Landes
Vater" or
Father of the Land.)
George Washington
 |
| Order: |
1st President |
| Term of Office: |
April 30, 1789 - March 4, 1797 |
| Succeeded by: |
John Adams |
| Date of Birth |
February 22, 1732
(Gregorian Calendar) |
| Place of Birth: |
Westmoreland County, Virginia |
| Date of Death: |
Saturday, December 14, 1799 |
| Place of Death: |
Mount Vernon, Virginia |
| First Lady: |
Martha Dandridge Custis |
| Occupation: |
farmer, soldier |
| Political Party: |
no affiliation |
| Vice President: |
John Adams |
|
George Washington's birthday is celebrated on February 22 using the
Gregorian Calendar, but under the Julian Calendar, which was in use throughout
Britain and its colonies at the time of this birth, he was born on February
11.
Career
Washington was part of the economic and cultural elite of the slave owning
planters of Virginia. His parents Augustine Washington (1693 - April 12,
1743) and Mary Ball (1708 - August 25, 1789) were of English descent.As
a youth, he was trained as a surveyor and helped survey the Shenadoah valley
in Virginia.
French and Indian War
Washington was commissioned in 1754 as a Colonel in the Virginia Militia
and built a series of Forts in the western frontier of Virginia. He accompanied
the Braddock Expedition of the British Army during the French and Indian
War. During the battle of the Wilderness near the Monongahela he had three
horses shot out from under him. He showed his coolness under fire in organizing
the retreat from the debacle. Washington then organized the First Virginia
Regiment, which saw service through the war; however, Washington left the
Regiment to serve in the House of Burgesses.
Between wars
Following his miltiary service, in 1757 he married Martha Dandridge Custis,
the wealthy widow of Daniel Parke Custis. The newlywed couple moved to
his estate Mount Vernon where he took up the life of a genteel farmer.
He became a member of the House of Burgesses. He was initiated as a Freemason
in Fredericksburg, Virginia, on 4 February 1752.
American Revolution
On July 3, 1775 he assumed command of the Continental Army in the American
Revolutionary War. After successfully driving the British out of Boston,
Washington lost the Battle of Long Island in 1776 and retreated to Valley
Forge, outside of British-held Philadelphia, where the American forces
recovered. On December 25, 1776, Washington led the American forces crossing
the Delaware to attack Hessian forces in Trenton, New Jersey. The successful
attack built morale among the pro-independence colonists.
Washington retained an army in being throughout the Revolution, keeping
British forces tied down in the center of the country while Generals Gates
and Benedict Arnold won the battle of Saratoga in 1777. This victory led
to French recognition of the United States.
In 1781, Washington, commanding both American and French forces, besieged
General Cornwallis at Battle of Yorktown, Virginia. The British surrender
there was the effective end of British attempts to quell the Revolution.
In 1783, by means of the Treaty of Paris, Great Britain recognized American
independence.
Postwar activities
After the war, he presided over the American Constitutional Convention
in 1787. He was elected President on February 4, 1789 and 1792. Washington
remains the only president unanimously elected by the Electoral College.
His election as president was a disappointment to his wife, the first
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.
Washington held the first Cabinet meeting of any US President on February
25, 1793.
Events during Washington's administration
Citizen Genet
In 1793, the revolutionary government of France sent diplomat Citizen Genet,
who attempted to turn popular sentiment towards American involvement in
the war against Great Britain. Genet also 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. Genet's activities forced Washington
to ask the French government for his recall
The "Whiskey Rebellion"
In 1791, the Federal government imposed an excise tax on whiskey. This
tax was highly unpopular on the American frontier, and in July, 1794, in
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, a Federal marshal was attacked by a mob
and a regional inspector's house was burned. On August 7, 1794, Washington
called out the militias of several states and led a force of 13,000 to
suppress the unrest. The event has gone down in history as the "Whiskey
Rebellion".
Personal information
Washington's estate, Mount Vernon, is located in what is now a suburb of
Washington, D.C..
Admirers of Washington circulated an apocryphal (and questionable) story
about his honesty as a child. In the story, he wanted to try out a new
axe and chopped down his father's cherry tree. When questioned by his father,
he gave the famous non-quotation "I cannot tell a lie. It was I who chopped
down the cherry tree." The story first appeared after Washington's death
in a naive "inspirational" children's book by Parson Mason Weems, who had
been rector of the Mount Vernon parish.
In 1790 Washington sent a letter to the Jewish community in Rhode Island.
He wrote that he envisioned a country "which gives bigotry no sanction
... persecution no assistance". For the first time in history, Jews lived
in a country where they enjoyed full and equal human and political rights
- as a birthright of citizenship ([1]).
In recent years Washington's image has been unfairly tarnished by anti-Semites
who attempt to use his name to further their goals. Many anti-Semitic Arab
and Neo-Nazi books, journals and websites offer forged "quotes" supposedly
by America's founding fathers, especially George Washington and Benjamin
Franklin. These supposed quotes have been debunked as forgeries by historians.
Example of an Anti-Semitic website pushing fraudulent quotes from America's
founding fathers
Egyptian government sponsored press spreads Anti-Semitic forgeries about
Washington and Franklin
Urban Legends website debunks the anti-Semitic Washington quote forgery
Because of Washington's involvement in Freemasonry, some publicly visible
collections of Washington memorabilia are maintained by Masonic lodges.
The museum at Fraunces Tavern Museum in New York City includes specimens
of Washington's false teeth.
George Washington was plagued thoughout his adult life with bad teeth,
losing about 1 tooth a year from the age of 24. In his later years he consulted
a number of dentists and had a number of sets of false teeth, (but none
of wood). For a more or less definitive chronicle of his struggles see
George
Washington's Teeth, Madeleine Comora and Deborah Chandra, illustrated
by: Brock Cole, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003, hardcover, ISBN 0374325340.
Legacy in the contemporary U.S.
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 the siting of
the White House. At this time, the future site of the capital was a swamp,
and Washington remained largely marshland well into the 19th century. The
capital was placed in the South, rather than in the major towns of the
North, as a compromise during the writing of the United States Constitution
in order to get Southern votes for important compromises.
Washington also selected West Point, New York, as the site for the United
States Military Academy.
Washington State in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. is also named
for him, the only state named for a president.
Numerous ships of United States Navy have been named USS George Washington
in honor of the man, or USS Washington in honor of the state named
in honor of the man.
His image is on the one dollar bill and the quarter-dollar coin.
Places named for George Washington
-
Washington County, Alabama
-
Washington County, Florida
-
Washington County, Indiana
-
Washington County, Maryland
-
Washington County, New York
-
Washington County, Oregon
-
Washington County, Utah
Supreme Court appointments
-
John Jay - Chief Justice - 1789
-
John Rutledge - Chief Justice - 1795
-
Oliver Ellsworth - Chief Justice - 1796
-
James Wilson - 1789
-
John Rutledge - 1790
-
William Cushing - 1790
-
John Blair - 1790
-
James Iredell - 1790
-
Thomas Johnson - 1792
-
William Paterson - 1793
-
Samuel Chase - 1796
Related articles
External links
