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Homework Help: Social Studies: People: George Washington
by Alexander Chuang
Early Life
George Washington was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, on February 22,
1732. In 1743, George lived with his brother at Mount Vernon Estate. With
the help of his brother, George became a surveyor, which was George's first
career. George's brother caught tuberculosis, a type of lung disease. In
1751, George went to Barbados with his brother, who hoped to regain his
health. It was George's only trip outside the US. A year later, his brother
died and George inherited Mount Vernon Estate.
French and Indian War
Washington joined the Virginia Militia in 1753. A militia was a army made up
of volunteers to protect their homes from Indians, and other competing
countries. The French Empire in North America was expanding. French soldiers
claimed the Ohio River Valley, but the British also claim that land. The
governor of Virginia asked Washington to travel to the Ohio Valley and warn
the French to get off British territory. The French were polite to
Washington, but they did not want to give up that territory. When Washington
got back to Virginia, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and return to the
Ohio Valley with 150 men to guard it against the French. The French establish
a fort in the Ohio Valley. Washington and his men built a fort called, "Fort
Necessity." He attacked a small French force and withdraw to Fort Necessity.
The French retaliated by sending a much larger force to attack Washington's
army. After a day of fighting, Washington's army was forced to surrender.
British and colonial officers were upset by Washington's defeat. Washington
decided to resign from the militia in 1754. In the following year, he
volunteered to join a expedition under British general Braddock to destroy
Fort Duquesne, a French fort that controlled the Ohio Valley. The French and
Indians ambushed Braddock's army. Washington tried to rally the Virginia
troops during the confusion, but the expedition was a failure, but this event
enhanced Washington's military skills and reputation. After Braddock's
defeat, the governor made Washington chief of the Virginia militia. In 1758,
he helped the British army take over Fort Duquesne.
After the French was driven away from the Virginia Colony, Washington retired
from the army in 1758 and return to Mount Vernon. He constructed new
buildings, refurnished his house, and planted new crops. Then Washington
served in Virginia's House of Burgesses for 15 years. During that period,
Washington married Martha Dandridge Custis, a young widow with two small
children.
American Revolution
After the French and Indian War, British government needed to raise money to
pay war debts taxed the colonies. The Sons of Liberty, a group of men,
protested against the taxes. The Continental Congress was formed. It was a
committee of concerned citizens who want most of the taxes abolished. In 1774
and 1775 Washington was a delegate to the First Continental Congress, but
Parliament, law making body of British government, still taxed them. The
Second Continental Congress sent a petition to King George III to ask him to
repealed all the acts Parliament passed. George III declared war on the
Americans instead. The Second Continental Congress appointed Washington as
commander in chief of the Continental forces. Washington took command of the
troops at Boston on July 3. When cannons were brought from Fort Ticonderoga
in March 1776, Washington's men place them on Dorchester Heights and aim them
at Boston. British army evacuated Boston on March 17. Then Washington moved
his army to defend New York City, from General Howe, a British general.
Howe's forces drive the Continental Army out of New York. Washington made a
daring attack. His troops crossing the Delaware River to attack New Jersey on
Christmas night. They took the British by surprise and defeated them within a
hour. Washington spent a difficult winter in Valley Forge. The army had low
numbers of supplies. Washington's soldiers were unprepared for the cold harsh
winter, as a result most of them died of disease and from the cold weather.
Despite all the problems, Washington's army was overjoyed when they learned
that a smaller army took down a much larger British army at the Battle of
Saratoga. This event was the turning point of the war. France decided to
help the Continental Army by sending its troops into the colonies.
Other European countries help the Americans by donating Congress huge amount
of money. Spain also sent troops to help the Continental Army. Baron
Fridrich von Steuben, a Prussian soldier, help the Continental Army by
spending the winter in Valley Forge training Washington's troops. By spring
of 1778, Washington's troops became a very disciplined army. In 1781, with
the help of the French army and navy, Washington and his troops launched the
Yorktown Campaign against Major General Cornwallis, another British general,
and his army. Washington's and the French troops blocked all land routes,
while the French Navy blocked the harbor. Cornwallis was forced to surrender.
October 19, 1781, marked the end of the American Revolution.
The Constitution Convention
In 1787, 6 years after the war, Washington went to the Constitutional
Convention to ratify the Articles of Confederation. All the delegates arrived
except for Rhode Island. Everyone at the convention decided not to let the
public know what was happening during the convention. News and rumors about
the convention would cause political problems. They elected Washington as the
president of the convention. A Virginia delegate presented the Virginia Plan.
It included three branches (legislative, executive, judicial) that insured
all laws are implemented fairly. They also included a two House legislature.
The number of member or representatives is determined by population. The
smaller states oppose the Virginia Plan because the larger states would have
more members in a house. After a month of debates, they came up with a
solution. There would be two senators from each state and the number of
members in the House of Representatives would be based on population. After 4
months of hard work, the Constitution was finished. In September 17, 1787,
most of the delegates signed it.
Presidency
After the Constitution was finished, the first presidential election started.
Washington won all electoral votes. He became President and John Adams became
Vice-president of the United States. On April 30, 1789, Washington wrote and
took the oath of office. Washington accomplished a lot of important tasks
during his presidency. Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of Treasury, established
the Nation Bank. He and Thomas Jefferson, also create the District of
Columbia the future American Capitol. It is a special territory that doesn't
belong to any state. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was the American Capitol
while the new capitol was under construction.
Alexander Hamilton requested to place taxes on certain manufactured goods
(Example: whiskey) to raise money and make foreign goods expensive. Farmers
did not want to pay taxes on whiskey. They thought the whiskey tax was as
unfair as the British taxes in the 1760's. The farmers rebelled and fighting
broke out. This event was known as the Whiskey Rebellion. Washington
responded by sending army to put it down. It proved that the federal
government was strong enough to enforce their laws.
When the Napoleonic Wars started in Europe, Washington send John Jay to
England to make a peace treaty because Washington did not want to get involved
in the wars in Europe. Thomas Pinckney went to Spain to form a treaty with
them. Spain allowed US ships to use the Mississippi River to trade with New
Orleans, a Spanish Port.
During Washington's second term as president, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander
Hamilton started two political parties. The Federalists headed by Alexander
Hamilton wanted to be allies with Great Britain. The Democratic-Republican
party led by Thomas Jefferson wanted to be allies with France. There was a
lot of conflicts between the two political parties. Washington tried to stay
out of the two parties' conflicts by issuing the Proclamation of Neutrality in
April 1793. The act stated that the United State will continue trade with
Britain and French, but keep out of their national affairs.
After Washington's second term, he resigned. Many people wanted Washington to
serve another term, but he wanted to go back to Mount Vernon. He set a limit
that a American president can serve no more than two terms. This standard
lasted until 1941. In December 1799, Washington became ill with a severe
throat infection. On December 13, 1779, George Washington died.
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