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| Birth Name(s) : George Washington |
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Full George Washington Biography
George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799) was a central, critical figure in the founding of the United States of America, as well as the nation's first president (1789–1797). Before becoming one of the major founding fathers of the nation, as well as president, Washington led the Continental Army to victory over the Kingdom of Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783).
Washington was seen as symbolizing the new nation and republicanism in practice. His devotion to civic virtue made him an exemplary figure among early American politicians. During Washington's funeral oration, Henry Lee said that of all Americans, he was "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." Scholars perennially rank him among the top three U.S. Presidents along with Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Due to his military experience, charisma, leadership of the patriot cause, and political base in Virginia, the Second Continental Congress chose him, in 1775, as the commander-in-chief of the American revolutionary forces. In 1776, he forced the British out of Boston, but, later that same year, was defeated, and nearly captured, when he lost New York City. However, he revived the patriot cause by crossing the Delaware River in New Jersey and defeating the surprised enemy units. As a result of his strategy, Revolutionary forces captured the two main British combat armies, first at Saratoga in 1777 and then at Yorktown in 1781. Negotiating with Congress, the colonial states, and French allies, he held together a tenuous army and a fragile, nascent nation amid the threats of disintegration and failure. Following the end of the war in 1783, Washington retired to his plantation on Mount Vernon.
In 1755, Washington joined British General Edward Braddock in a major effort to retake the Ohio Country. While Braddock was killed and the expedition ended in disaster, Washington distinguished himself as the Hero of the Monongahela. While Washington's role during the battle has been debated, biographer Joseph Ellis asserts that Washington rode back and forth across the battlefield, rallying the remnant of the British and Virginian forces to a retreat.
In fall 1755, Washington was given a difficult frontier command in the Virginia mountains. In 1758, he took part in the Forbes Expedition, which successfully drove the French from Fort Duquesne. Later that year, Washington resigned from active military service and spent the next sixteen years as a Virginia planter and politician.
Washington's marriage to a wealthy widow greatly increased his property holdings and social standing. He acquired one-third of the 18,000 acre (73 km²) Custis estate upon his marriage, and managed the remainder on behalf of Martha's children. He frequently purchased additional land in his own name, and was granted land in what is now West Virginia as a bounty for his service in the French and Indian War. By 1775, Washington had doubled the size of Mount Vernon to 6,500 acres (26 km²), with over 100 slaves. As a respected military hero and large landowner, he held local office and was elected to the Virginia provincial legislature, the House of Burgesses, beginning in 1758.
Although negative toward the patriots in the Continental Congress, British newspapers routinely praised Washington's personal character and qualities as a military commander. Moreover, both sides of the aisle in Parliament found the American general's courage, endurance, and attentiveness to the welfare of his troops worthy of approbation and examples of the virtues they and most other Britons found wanting in their own commanders. Washington's refusal to become involved in politics buttressed his reputation as a man fully committed to the military mission at hand and above the factional fray.Washington crossing the Delaware River depicted by Emanuel Leutze.
Washington's Farewell Address (issued as a public letter in 1796) was one of the most influential statements of American political values. Drafted primarily by Washington himself, with help from Hamilton, it gives advice on the necessity and importance of national union, the value of the Constitution and the rule of law, the evils of political parties, and the proper virtues of a republican people. In the address, he called morality "a necessary spring of popular government." He said, "reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle" – making the point that the value of religion is for the benefit of society as a whole.
Though Washington had no children, he did have two nephews. Bushrod Washington became an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and Burwell Bassett was a long-time congressman in both Virginia State and United States government.In 1796, Gilbert Stuart painted this famous portrait of Washington from life, and then used the unfinished painting to create numerous others, including the image used on the U.S. one-dollar bill. |
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