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George Washington
- George Washington was the first President of the United States, and lead the U.S. continental Army to defeat the British in the Revolutionary war. Washington is viewed as a symbol of the United States and republican party. He has been consistently ranked by citizens as one of the greatest presidents of the United States.
==
George Washington (February 22, 1732
[
O.S.
February 11, 1731]
[Note 1]
– December 14, 1799), was one of the
Founding Fathers of the United States
, serving as the commander-in-chief of the
Continental Army
during the
American Revolutionary War
and later as the new republic's first
President
. He also presided over the convention that drafted the
Constitution
.
Washington, D.C.
, the capital of the United States, is named for him, as is the
State of Washington
on the nation's Pacific Coast.
Washington was elected president as the unanimous choice of the 69 electors in 1788, and he served two terms in office. He oversaw the creation of a strong, well-financed national government that maintained neutrality in the wars raging in Europe, suppressed rebellion, and won acceptance among Americans of all types. His leadership style established many forms and rituals of government that have been used since, such as using a
cabinet system
and delivering an
inaugural address
. Washington is universally regarded as the "father of his country."
[3]
Washington was born into the provincial gentry of
Colonial Virginia
; his wealthy planter family owned tobacco plantations and slaves. After both his father and older brother died when he was young, Washington became personally and professionally attached to the powerful
William Fairfax
, who promoted his career as a surveyor and soldier. Washington quickly became a senior officer in the colonial forces during the first stages of the
French and Indian War
. Chosen by the
Second Continental Congress
in 1775 to be commander-in-chief of the
Continental Army
in the American Revolution, Washington managed to
force the British out of Boston
in 1776, but was defeated and almost captured later that year when he
lost New York City
. After
crossing the Delaware River
in the dead of winter, he
defeated the British
in two battles, retook New Jersey and restored momentum to the Patriot cause. Because of his strategy, Revolutionary forces captured two major British armies at
Saratoga in 1777
and
Yorktown in 1781
. Historians laud Washington for his selection and supervision of his generals, encouragement of morale and ability to hold together the army, coordination with the state governors and state militia units, relations with Congress and attention to supplies, logistics, and training. In battle, however, Washington was repeatedly outmaneuvered by British generals with larger armies. After victory had been finalized in 1783, Washington resigned rather than seize power, proving his opposition to dictatorship and his commitment to
American republicanism
. He retired from the presidency in 1797 and returned to his home,
Mount Vernon
, and his domestic life where he managed a variety of enterprises. He freed all his slaves by his final 1799 will.
Dissatisfied with the weaknesses of
Articles of Confederation
, in 1787 Washington presided over the
Constitutional Convention
that drafted the
United States Constitution
.
Elected unanimously
as the first President of the United States in 1789, he attempted to bring rival factions together to unify the nation. He supported
Alexander Hamilton
's programs to pay off all state and national debt, to implement an effective tax system and to create a national bank (despite opposition from
Thomas Jefferson
). Washington proclaimed the United States neutral in the wars raging in Europe after 1793. He avoided war with Great Britain and guaranteed a decade of peace and profitable trade by securing the
Jay Treaty
in 1795, despite intense opposition from the
Jeffersonians
. Although never officially joining the
Federalist Party
, he supported its programs. Washington's
"Farewell Address"
was an influential primer on republican virtue and a warning against partisanship, sectionalism, and involvement in foreign wars.
Washington had a vision of a great and powerful nation that would be built on republican lines using federal power. He sought to use the national government to preserve liberty, improve infrastructure, open the western lands, promote commerce, found a permanent capital, reduce regional tensions and promote a spirit of American nationalism.
[4]
At his death, Washington was hailed as "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen".
[5]
The Federalists made him the symbol of their party but for many years, the Jeffersonians continued to distrust his influence and delayed building the
Washington Monument
. As the leader of the first successful revolution against a colonial empire in world history, Washington became an international icon for liberation and nationalism, especially in France and Latin America.
[6]
He is
consistently ranked
among the top three presidents of the United States, according to polls of both scholars and the general public.
Early life (1732–1753)
The first child of
Augustine Washington
(1694–1743) and his second wife,
Mary Ball Washington
(1708–1789),
George Washington was born on their
Pope's Creek Estate
near present-day
Colonial Beach
in
Westmoreland County, Virginia
. According to the
Julian calendar
and
Annunciation Style
of enumerating years, then in use in the British Empire, Washington was born on February 11, 1731; according to the
Gregorian calendar
, implemented in the British Empire in 1752, according to the provisions of the
Calendar (New Style) Act 1750
, the date was February 22, 1732.
[7]
[8]
[Note 1]
Washington's ancestors were from
Sulgrave
, England; his great-grandfather,
John Washington
, had immigrated to Virginia in 1657.
[9]
George's father Augustine was a slave-owning tobacco planter who later tried his hand in iron-mining ventures.
[10]
In George's youth, the Washingtons were moderately prosperous members of the Virginia
gentry
, of "middling rank" rather than one of the leading planter families.
[11]
At this time, Virginia and other southern colonies had become a slave society, in which slaveholders formed the ruling class and the economy was based on slave labor.
[12]
Six of George's siblings reached maturity, including two older half-brothers,
Lawrence
and Augustine, from his father's first marriage to Jane Butler Washington, and four full siblings, Samuel, Elizabeth (Betty), John Augustine and Charles. Three siblings died before becoming adults: his full sister Mildred died when she was about one,
[13]
his half-brother Butler died while an infant,
[14]
and his half-sister Jane died at the age of 12, when George was about 2.
[13]
George's father died when George was 11 years old, after which George's half-brother Lawrence became a surrogate father and role model.
William Fairfax
, Lawrence's father-in-law and cousin of Virginia's largest landowner,
Thomas, Lord Fairfax
, was also a formative influence.
Washington spent much of his boyhood at
Ferry Farm
in
Stafford County
near
Fredericksburg
. Lawrence Washington inherited another family property from his father, a plantation on the
Potomac River
which he later named
Mount Vernon
. George inherited Ferry Farm upon his father's death and eventually acquired Mount Vernon after Lawrence's death.
[15]
The death of his father prevented Washington from crossing the
Atlantic
to receive the rest of his education at England's Appleby School, as his older brothers had done. He received the equivalent of an elementary school education from a variety of tutors,
[16]
and also a school run by an Anglican clergyman in or near Fredericksburg.
[17]
Talk of securing an appointment in the
Royal Navy
for him when he was 15 was dropped when his mother learned how hard that would be on him.
[18]
Thanks to Lawrence's connection to the powerful Fairfax family, at age 17 in 1749, Washington was appointed official surveyor for
Culpeper County
, a well-paid position which enabled him to purchase land in the
Shenandoah Valley
, the first of his many land acquisitions in western Virginia. Thanks also to Lawrence's involvement in the
Ohio Company
, a land investment company funded by Virginia investors, and Lawrence's position as commander of the Virginia militia, Washington came to the notice of the new lieutenant governor of Virginia,
Robert Dinwiddie
. Washington was hard to miss: At exactly six feet, he towered over most of his contemporaries.
[19]
In 1751, Washington travelled to
Barbados
with Lawrence, who was suffering from
tuberculosis
, with the hope that the climate would be beneficial to Lawrence's health. Washington contracted
smallpox
during the trip, which left his face slightly scarred, but immunized him against future exposures to the dreaded disease.
[20]
Lawrence's health did not improve; he returned to Mount Vernon, where he died in 1752.
[21]
Lawrence's position as Adjutant General (militia leader) of Virginia was divided into four offices after his death. Washington was appointed by Governor Dinwiddie as one of the four district adjutants in February 1753, with the rank of major in the Virginia militia.
[22]
Washington also joined the
Freemasons
fraternal association in Fredericksburg at this time
يتيم الاب في سن الـ 11
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