The defining moments of George Washington's life
The defining moments of George Washington's life
An overview of George Washington.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Transcript
NARRATOR: President George Washington has been labeled "Father of His Country" because of the great role he played in the founding of the United States. He commanded the Continental Army during the American Revolution, led the convention that wrote the U.S. Constitution, and served as the country's first president.
As an adolescent Washington studied mathematics and developed a strong interest in mapmaking and surveying. When he was 16 Washington surveyed the land of a colonial Virginia lord who later helped him earn a surveyor appointment. This was the future president's first public office, held at the age of 17.
Washington married Martha Dandridge Custis, a widow with two young children. They lived at Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate that Washington inherited in 1752. Martha was a gracious and loyal partner, spending winters at her husband's camps during the American Revolution.
When the American colonies declared independence from Britain in 1776, the Continental Congress named Washington commander in chief of the colonial military forces. A pivotal period of the war was the winter of 1777 to 1778, when the Continental Army camped in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. There the soldiers suffered from bitter cold, lack of clothes, semi-starvation, and rampant disease. Washington fought to keep troop morale high while Baron Frederick William von Steuben instructed them in military drill. The troops emerged in the spring as a well-disciplined and efficient fighting force.
On October 19, 1781, Washington's army, combined with French naval and ground forces, staged a siege at Yorktown, Virginia. The commander of the British army, General Charles Cornwallis, was forced to surrender, ending the fighting in the American Revolution.
In 1787 Washington was chosen to serve as chairman of the Constitutional Convention, which drafted the United States Constitution.
Two years later he was unanimously elected as the nation's first president, with John Adams as vice president. His cabinet included Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. In 1792 Washington won reelection, again unanimously.
Two positions taken by President Washington had a lasting impact on American politics: his policy of neutrality and his decision to limit himself to two terms in office.
In 1793 war broke out between Great Britain and France. Though expected to come to France's aid, Washington felt that the United States was not prepared to enter another war so soon. He issued the Proclamation of Neutrality, which stated that the United States must maintain a sense of national identity, independent from any other country's influence. The proclamation influenced the foreign policy of several presidents who followed.
After his second term, Washington refused to run for a third, thinking it unwise for one person to hold such a powerful position for that long. The next 30 presidents followed Washington's lead, with no president serving more than two terms until the 1940s. In 1951 an amendment to the Constitution limited presidents to being elected to only two terms.
Washington retired to Mount Vernon, where he spent time with his family and oversaw their farms and estates. At the time of his death, Mount Vernon had the largest whiskey distillery in America.
On December 12, 1799, Washington spent the day outside in cold, wet weather. He fell greatly ill the next night and requested that doctors take large amounts of blood from him—a fairly common medical practice at the time. The doctors bled him four times, but neither the bleeding nor any of their other efforts helped. Washington died during the night of December 14.
Because of his great influence on American history, Washington's life inspired a lot of folklore. One popular myth says that he had wooden teeth. While he did wear many different dentures, none of them were made of wood. Their materials ranged from gold metal wire to hippopotamus ivory.
Washington's teeth caused him trouble for the majority of his life. But they also helped win the American Revolution. In 1781 the British intercepted a letter from Washington to his dentist which requested tooth scrapers to be sent to him outside New York. This led the British commander to believe that Washington's army would remain in the New York area rather than travel south to challenge the British. This helped Washington and the French allies catch Cornwallis unprepared at Yorktown, ending the war in victory for the American colonists.
As an adolescent Washington studied mathematics and developed a strong interest in mapmaking and surveying. When he was 16 Washington surveyed the land of a colonial Virginia lord who later helped him earn a surveyor appointment. This was the future president's first public office, held at the age of 17.
Washington married Martha Dandridge Custis, a widow with two young children. They lived at Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate that Washington inherited in 1752. Martha was a gracious and loyal partner, spending winters at her husband's camps during the American Revolution.
When the American colonies declared independence from Britain in 1776, the Continental Congress named Washington commander in chief of the colonial military forces. A pivotal period of the war was the winter of 1777 to 1778, when the Continental Army camped in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. There the soldiers suffered from bitter cold, lack of clothes, semi-starvation, and rampant disease. Washington fought to keep troop morale high while Baron Frederick William von Steuben instructed them in military drill. The troops emerged in the spring as a well-disciplined and efficient fighting force.
On October 19, 1781, Washington's army, combined with French naval and ground forces, staged a siege at Yorktown, Virginia. The commander of the British army, General Charles Cornwallis, was forced to surrender, ending the fighting in the American Revolution.
In 1787 Washington was chosen to serve as chairman of the Constitutional Convention, which drafted the United States Constitution.
Two years later he was unanimously elected as the nation's first president, with John Adams as vice president. His cabinet included Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. In 1792 Washington won reelection, again unanimously.
Two positions taken by President Washington had a lasting impact on American politics: his policy of neutrality and his decision to limit himself to two terms in office.
In 1793 war broke out between Great Britain and France. Though expected to come to France's aid, Washington felt that the United States was not prepared to enter another war so soon. He issued the Proclamation of Neutrality, which stated that the United States must maintain a sense of national identity, independent from any other country's influence. The proclamation influenced the foreign policy of several presidents who followed.
After his second term, Washington refused to run for a third, thinking it unwise for one person to hold such a powerful position for that long. The next 30 presidents followed Washington's lead, with no president serving more than two terms until the 1940s. In 1951 an amendment to the Constitution limited presidents to being elected to only two terms.
Washington retired to Mount Vernon, where he spent time with his family and oversaw their farms and estates. At the time of his death, Mount Vernon had the largest whiskey distillery in America.
On December 12, 1799, Washington spent the day outside in cold, wet weather. He fell greatly ill the next night and requested that doctors take large amounts of blood from him—a fairly common medical practice at the time. The doctors bled him four times, but neither the bleeding nor any of their other efforts helped. Washington died during the night of December 14.
Because of his great influence on American history, Washington's life inspired a lot of folklore. One popular myth says that he had wooden teeth. While he did wear many different dentures, none of them were made of wood. Their materials ranged from gold metal wire to hippopotamus ivory.
Washington's teeth caused him trouble for the majority of his life. But they also helped win the American Revolution. In 1781 the British intercepted a letter from Washington to his dentist which requested tooth scrapers to be sent to him outside New York. This led the British commander to believe that Washington's army would remain in the New York area rather than travel south to challenge the British. This helped Washington and the French allies catch Cornwallis unprepared at Yorktown, ending the war in victory for the American colonists.