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George Washington (February 22, 1732[b][c] – December 14, 1799) was an American political leader, military general, statesman, and Founding Father, who also served as the first president of the United States (1789–1797). Washington commanded Patriot forces in the new nation's vital American Revolutionary War, and led them to victory over the British. Washington also presided at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, which established the new federal government. For his manifold leadership during the American Revolution, he has been called the "Father of His Country".
Washington succeeded a prosperous family of slave–holding planters in colonial Virginia. He had educational opportunities and launched a favorable career as a surveyor. He then became a leader of the Virginia militia in the French and Indian War. During the Revolutionary War he was a delegate to the Continental Congress, was unanimously appointed commander-in-chief of the Army, and with help from France, led an allied campaign which ended victoriously at the Siege of Yorktown. Once victory was in hand in 1783, he resigned as commander-in-chief.
Washington was unanimously elected President by the Electoral College in the first two national elections. He promoted and oversaw implementation of a strong, well-financed national government, but remained impartial in the fierce rivalry between subordinates Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. In the French Revolution, Washington proclaimed a policy of neutrality while sanctioning the Jay Treaty. He set enduring precedents for the office of president, including the title "President of the United States". Washington's Farewell Address was widely regarded as one of the most influential statements on republicanism.
Washington owned, worked, and traded African slaves, but became troubled with the institution, and freed them by his 1799 will. He was a member of the Anglican Church and the Freemasons, and urged tolerance for all religions in his roles as general and President. Upon his death, he was eulogized as "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." Washington has been memorialized by monuments, art, various locales, stamps, and currency. Many scholars view Washington as first-ranking among U.S. Presidents, because he essentially created the office. The office was only vaguely defined by the U.S. Constitution.
Washington succeeded a prosperous family of slave–holding planters in colonial Virginia. He had educational opportunities and launched a favorable career as a surveyor. He then became a leader of the Virginia militia in the French and Indian War. During the Revolutionary War he was a delegate to the Continental Congress, was unanimously appointed commander-in-chief of the Army, and with help from France, led an allied campaign which ended victoriously at the Siege of Yorktown. Once victory was in hand in 1783, he resigned as commander-in-chief.
Washington was unanimously elected President by the Electoral College in the first two national elections. He promoted and oversaw implementation of a strong, well-financed national government, but remained impartial in the fierce rivalry between subordinates Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. In the French Revolution, Washington proclaimed a policy of neutrality while sanctioning the Jay Treaty. He set enduring precedents for the office of president, including the title "President of the United States". Washington's Farewell Address was widely regarded as one of the most influential statements on republicanism.
Washington owned, worked, and traded African slaves, but became troubled with the institution, and freed them by his 1799 will. He was a member of the Anglican Church and the Freemasons, and urged tolerance for all religions in his roles as general and President. Upon his death, he was eulogized as "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." Washington has been memorialized by monuments, art, various locales, stamps, and currency. Many scholars view Washington as first-ranking among U.S. Presidents, because he essentially created the office. The office was only vaguely defined by the U.S. Constitution.
George Washington - Wikipedia
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George Washington Documentary - Biography of the life of George Washington
Biographical Documentary on the life of George Washington, First President of the United States. A documentary on the life of George Washington, from his chi...
Thank you, my friend Maj Marty Hogan for making us aware that February 22 is the anniversary of the birth of French & Indian War hero, landowner and planter, leader of the Continental Army and first president of these United States George Washington.
Images:
1. The portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart (circa 1797) is one of several replicas painted by Gilbert Stuart of his "Landsdowne" portrait.
It is the only object known to have remained in the White House since 1800 (except during renovations). This is the painting that Dolley Madison famously stayed late to ensure was rescued (by breaking the frame) when British troops sacked Washington and burned the White House and other government buildings.
2. George Washington's estate at Mount Vernon, from which he served much of his second term
3. This portrait of Washington was painted in 1772 by Charles Willson Peale, and shows Washington in uniform as a colonel of the Virginia Regiment. The original hangs in Lee Chapel at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. It is the earliest known depiction of Washington.
4. George Washington quote "If the freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led away, like sheep to the slaughter "
George Washington Documentary - Biography of the life of George Washington
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBIGl61oxnA
Background from whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/george-washington/
"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.
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. “As the first of every thing, in our situation will serve to establish a Precedent,” he wrote James Madison, “it is devoutly wished on my part, that these precedents may be fixed on true principles.”
Born in 1732 into a Virginia planter family, he learned the morals, manners, and body of knowledge requisite for an 18th century Virginia gentleman.
He pursued two intertwined interests: military arts and western expansion. At 16 he helped survey Shenandoah lands for Thomas, Lord Fairfax. Commissioned a lieutenant colonel in 1754, he fought the first skirmishes of what grew into the French and Indian War. The next year, as an aide to Gen. Edward Braddock, he escaped injury although four bullets ripped his coat and two horses were shot from under him.
From 1759 to the outbreak of the American Revolution, Washington managed his lands around Mount Vernon and served in the Virginia House of Burgesses. Married to a widow, Martha Dandridge Custis, he devoted himself to a busy and happy life. But like his fellow planters, Washington felt himself exploited by British merchants and hampered by British regulations. As the quarrel with the mother country grew acute, he moderately but firmly voiced his resistance to the restrictions.
When the Second Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia in May 1775, Washington, one of the Virginia delegates, was elected Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. On July 3, 1775, at Cambridge, Massachusetts, he took command of his ill-trained troops and embarked upon a war that was to last six grueling years.
He realized early that the best strategy was to harass the British. He reported to Congress, “we should on all Occasions avoid a general Action, or put anything to the Risque, unless compelled by a necessity, into which we ought never to be drawn.” Ensuing battles saw him fall back slowly, then strike unexpectedly. Finally in 1781 with the aid of French allies–he forced the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.
Washington longed to retire to his fields at Mount Vernon. But he soon realized that the Nation under its Articles of Confederation was not functioning well, so he became a prime mover in the steps leading to the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia in 1787. When the new Constitution was ratified, the Electoral College unanimously elected Washington President.
He did not infringe upon the policy making powers that he felt the Constitution gave Congress. But the determination of foreign policy became preponderantly a Presidential concern. When the French Revolution led to a major war between France and England, Washington refused to accept entirely the recommendations of either his Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, who was pro-French, or his Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, who was pro-British. Rather, he insisted upon a neutral course until the United States could grow stronger.
To his disappointment, two parties were developing by the end of his first term. Wearied of politics, feeling old, he retired at the end of his second. In his Farewell Address, he urged his countrymen to forswear excessive party spirit and geographical distinctions. In foreign affairs, he warned against long-term alliances.
Washington enjoyed less than three years of retirement at Mount Vernon, for he died of a throat infection December 14, 1799. For months the Nation mourned him.
The Presidential biographies on WhiteHouse.gov are from “The Presidents of the United States of America,” by Frank Freidel and Hugh Sidey. Copyright 2006 by the White House Historical Association."
FYI Nicci EisenhauerSGT Tim Fridley (Join to see) CPT Enrique M. SSG David Andrews SPC Gary Welch SGT Rick Colburn SMSgt Tom Burns SP5 Geoffrey Vannerson SPC Paul C. MSgt Dale Johnson Capt (Join to see) CWO3 Randy Weston Alan K.SGT Denny Espinosa SGT Randal Groover PO3 Craig Phillips PVT Mark Zehner LTC Jesse Edwards
Images:
1. The portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart (circa 1797) is one of several replicas painted by Gilbert Stuart of his "Landsdowne" portrait.
It is the only object known to have remained in the White House since 1800 (except during renovations). This is the painting that Dolley Madison famously stayed late to ensure was rescued (by breaking the frame) when British troops sacked Washington and burned the White House and other government buildings.
2. George Washington's estate at Mount Vernon, from which he served much of his second term
3. This portrait of Washington was painted in 1772 by Charles Willson Peale, and shows Washington in uniform as a colonel of the Virginia Regiment. The original hangs in Lee Chapel at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. It is the earliest known depiction of Washington.
4. George Washington quote "If the freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led away, like sheep to the slaughter "
George Washington Documentary - Biography of the life of George Washington
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBIGl61oxnA
Background from whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/george-washington/
"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.
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. “As the first of every thing, in our situation will serve to establish a Precedent,” he wrote James Madison, “it is devoutly wished on my part, that these precedents may be fixed on true principles.”
Born in 1732 into a Virginia planter family, he learned the morals, manners, and body of knowledge requisite for an 18th century Virginia gentleman.
He pursued two intertwined interests: military arts and western expansion. At 16 he helped survey Shenandoah lands for Thomas, Lord Fairfax. Commissioned a lieutenant colonel in 1754, he fought the first skirmishes of what grew into the French and Indian War. The next year, as an aide to Gen. Edward Braddock, he escaped injury although four bullets ripped his coat and two horses were shot from under him.
From 1759 to the outbreak of the American Revolution, Washington managed his lands around Mount Vernon and served in the Virginia House of Burgesses. Married to a widow, Martha Dandridge Custis, he devoted himself to a busy and happy life. But like his fellow planters, Washington felt himself exploited by British merchants and hampered by British regulations. As the quarrel with the mother country grew acute, he moderately but firmly voiced his resistance to the restrictions.
When the Second Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia in May 1775, Washington, one of the Virginia delegates, was elected Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. On July 3, 1775, at Cambridge, Massachusetts, he took command of his ill-trained troops and embarked upon a war that was to last six grueling years.
He realized early that the best strategy was to harass the British. He reported to Congress, “we should on all Occasions avoid a general Action, or put anything to the Risque, unless compelled by a necessity, into which we ought never to be drawn.” Ensuing battles saw him fall back slowly, then strike unexpectedly. Finally in 1781 with the aid of French allies–he forced the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.
Washington longed to retire to his fields at Mount Vernon. But he soon realized that the Nation under its Articles of Confederation was not functioning well, so he became a prime mover in the steps leading to the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia in 1787. When the new Constitution was ratified, the Electoral College unanimously elected Washington President.
He did not infringe upon the policy making powers that he felt the Constitution gave Congress. But the determination of foreign policy became preponderantly a Presidential concern. When the French Revolution led to a major war between France and England, Washington refused to accept entirely the recommendations of either his Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, who was pro-French, or his Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, who was pro-British. Rather, he insisted upon a neutral course until the United States could grow stronger.
To his disappointment, two parties were developing by the end of his first term. Wearied of politics, feeling old, he retired at the end of his second. In his Farewell Address, he urged his countrymen to forswear excessive party spirit and geographical distinctions. In foreign affairs, he warned against long-term alliances.
Washington enjoyed less than three years of retirement at Mount Vernon, for he died of a throat infection December 14, 1799. For months the Nation mourned him.
The Presidential biographies on WhiteHouse.gov are from “The Presidents of the United States of America,” by Frank Freidel and Hugh Sidey. Copyright 2006 by the White House Historical Association."
FYI Nicci EisenhauerSGT Tim Fridley (Join to see) CPT Enrique M. SSG David Andrews SPC Gary Welch SGT Rick Colburn SMSgt Tom Burns SP5 Geoffrey Vannerson SPC Paul C. MSgt Dale Johnson Capt (Join to see) CWO3 Randy Weston Alan K.SGT Denny Espinosa SGT Randal Groover PO3 Craig Phillips PVT Mark Zehner LTC Jesse Edwards
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