Essay about George Washington

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George Washington is a man that will never be forgotten in American history. George was born in February of 1732 and in his lifetime did many things to become a great American. George was the son of Augustine Washington and Augustine’s second wife Mary Ball (Madison 2009). George was the oldest of six children, born and raised in Virginia (Henretta 2010). The Washington family lived on Pope’s Creek and was part of Virginia’s “middle class”. Although not a lot is certain about his childhood he made a name for himself as an adult. Not only did George Washington serve as an American General and Commander in chief for the colonial armies during the American Revolution, but he also became the first President of the United States and went on to be considered one of the nations Founding Fathers (Madison 2009). It is said that on June 15th 1775 Washington was appointed Major General and Commander-in-Chief of the colonial forces against Great Britain (Howard 1923). Washington was the best choice for this position for many reasons. One reason being his prestige military experience and other reason’s being political. Although Washington was experienced with military he didn’t have experience with the large numbers of soldiers like Britain did (Howard 1923). Either way Washington was courageous, determined and smart enough to keep one step ahead of the enemy. General Howe of the Britain forces wintered his troops at Trenton and Princeton, which left Washington able to attack at the time and place of his choosing (Howard 1923). Britain had a tradition of halting campaign in the cold winter months that allowed Washington to plan his surprise attacks (Henretta 2010). For example, Christmas night of 1776 Washington led his men across the Delaware River and Attacked Hessian mercenaries at Trenton (Henretta 2010). Over the years of the war the French joined the Americans and through many battles eventually won the war with the final battle being in Yorktown. Eventually the left over Britain troops evacuated and by December 1783 Washington resigned from Commander-in-Chief and returned home to Mount Vernon (Howard 1923).
“On April 30, 1789, George Washington, standing on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York, took his oath of office as the first President of the United States.” (George Washington). A few years prior gaining independence created some struggle under the Articles of Confederation, a structure of the government that centered power with the states (Madison 2009). At this point the states were not unified and fought among themselves. To rectify the fighting and create unity Congress approved a convention to be held in Philadelphia to amend the Articles of Confederation (Madison 2009). At this Constitutional Convention George Washington was unanimously chosen to be the first President of the United States. Washington knew that his presidency would set the tone for all Presidents to follow in his footsteps so he remained hard working and vigilant to do his best. The first president received $25,000 as
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